A passion for northern delicacies: Kenora-born chef returns home to start thriving business showcasing fish from local lakes.

• Author: McKinley, Karen
• Position: Small Business Focus

Jay Barnard says he is living the dream.

Not just as a successful if, business owner, motivational speaker and turning his life around from rock bottom, but sharing his passion for local food and keeping local fishing traditions alive.

He's been hard at work the last few years promoting the joy of eating locally caught fish in new and inventive ways.

Last fall, he purchased a fish plant in Kenora, allowing him to expand his ever-growing business, Freshwater Cuisine, and a growing line of "value-added fish products" that go beyond the usual fillets and whole fish, as well as utilizing species most people overlook, or have probably never heard of.

Several restaurants in northwestern Ontario now carry his products, with more inquiring, and there's great potential to expand internationally.

Although the profits, business expansion and fame look good, he said it's all about supporting the local economy and promoting the culture.

"I have around 56 people working on this. That includes all the fishers I buy from and full-time and part-time employees," he said. "It's been great to get to know them. They work really hard for their money and take really good care of their fish and are very passionate about what they do."

Most are Indigenous fishers, who have fished the waters of the region for generations, he said.

His approach has been as unique as his products, from having a tattoo artist design the product labels to the names of the dishes he serves up at his restaurant. His goal is to get people to enjoy the bounty that is teeming in the lakes that make the area famous.

Freshwater Cuisine's products include Popcorn Pickerel Cheeks, Fresh Water Whitefish Cakes and Wild Caught Northern Pike Cakes. All of them, he said, are to showcase not only parts of the fish usually not eaten, but under-appreciated fish as well.

"Pickerel cheeks are a local delicacy, but they are hard to get off the fish, so often they are left behind," he said.

He explained that pickerel is a popular species because of its mild flavour and can easily take on introduced flavours.

"There are so many kinds of fish, each one with its own unique flavour and texture, and is sold cheap or thrown away as bycatch in the commercial operations."

Barnard's journey was a rocky one, he said, starting with a series of addiction problems that led him to seek help from the Salvation Army in Ottawa.

From there, he said he sobered up, enrolled in classes at Algonquin College, received his chef's...