Dinner on Jasper’s South Boundary Trail—Lagrace Campground in the Medicine Tent Valley. Brian Patton photo.
Backpackers often carry a lot of sophisticated and expensive technology these days. But they are notoriously frugal when it comes to their food, often subsisting on a variety of grocery store concoctions when they head to the backcountry.
So, what better way to treat them at Christmas than a bag or three of Canadian-made freeze-dried or dehydrated meals? Something they might never buy for themselves.
When we started this backcountry adventure several decades ago, we would often pack one or two commercial freeze-dried or dehydrated dinners—just add boiling water and ouila! Something that was quick and easy for an emergency or when we were too pooped at the end of the day to fuss with dinner.
But these meals were expensive (still are), so they were strictly a treat, something we would only use once or twice per trip.
In those days, none of these lightweight, prepackaged vittles were produced in Canada. We had to purchase them in the States. But today, dehydrated and freeze-dried food enterprises are nearly as numerous in Canada as coffee roasters and craft breweries.
If you purchase one of these pre-packaged meals at an outdoor shop, you’ll still need to be careful—many are still made in the U.S. But ever since I ran into a couple Canadian “kitchens” at the Banff Mountain Film Fest trade show, I’ve been collecting menus from across the country. I’ve even purchased a selection and tried a few.
Recently, I sent out messages to seven or eight companies and asked them for suggestions on their most popular meals. And what was their personal favourites. Here’s feedback I received from a few of them:
YAMNUSKA BACKCOUNTRY KITCHEN
Located in Canmore, Alberta, Yamnuska Backcountry Kitchen is a spinoff of the venerable Yamnuska Mountain Adventures operation: “… our best seller is definitely Bison Stew with mashed potatoes. Vegetarians always go for Lentil Curry served with rice, which is a great blend of veggies and legumes, and when you add some mango chutney, it is a perfect combination. Hard to say my favourite one, every guide has a different one. But when I exclude the ones mentioned above, it would be Chicken Curry, it has a little bit of heat with a nice blend of Indian spices.” (Kamila Prochazka, Backcountry Food Services Mgr)
WILD MOUNTAIN EATS
Sarah Tyers is the principle and head chef at Wild Mountain Eats. Based in Calgary and retailed at several outdoor outlets in and around the city as well as online. “Our best sellers are the Thai Curry and the Pulled Pork Mac N’ Cheese. And I think we would be most proud of with the Thai Curry or Shepherd’s Pie—Shepherd’s Pie is one that most companies make, however ours has an added thyme, rosemary and mushroom gravy that makes it pretty tasty!” (Sarah Tyers)
WEST COAST KITCHEN
Based out of Vancouver Island’s Cowichan Valley and specializing in freeze-dried meals: “Our best seller is the butter chicken with rice. It’s awesome. We also just launched two new entrees last week and I think the West Coaster in particular is going to be a killer—we’ve been testing samples at Xmas markets and everyone loves it! For the ratatouille we are responding to those of our customers who can’t handle legumes, it’s super yummy.” (Penny)
CAMP COOKS CACHE
Marketing dehydrated meals from their base in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. “Typically best-sellers are our Peach Whisky Baked Bean, Mushroom Risotto, & our Beet Burgers. If I were to share one I’m particularly fond of, it would be the Beet Burgers. They’re tasty, vibrant, and diverse—we’ve used them for their intended purpose, as burgers, as a protein in breakfast skillets, or on top of pastas in the form of ‘vegan meatballs’. The best part about them is that we’ve even managed to ‘convert’ beet haters with them.” (Sirenna, Director/Head Chef)
HAPPY YAK
Based in Cowansville, Quebec, Happy Yak vittles are probably the best distributed freeze-dried meals in Canada. While I wasn’t able to connect with staff for this piece, I did talk at length with a rep at the Happy Yak booth during last year’s Banff Mountain Film Fest trade show. She indicated that Pad Thai was their most popular meal (confirmed by a sales associate at a local outdoor outfitter that handles Happy Yak entrees).
Here are a few other purveyors of backcountry meals (mostly dehydrated) that you should also check out:
PeakEATS, Canmore, Alberta peakeatsfood.com
Nomad Nutrition, Burnaby, BC nomadnutrition.co
Wild Edge Keto, Powell River, BC wildedgeketo.ca
Harvest Foodworks, Caledon, Ontario harvestfoodworks.com
Many of these selections can be found at major retail chains, like MEC, Valhalla Pure, Atmosphere, and regional outfitters. When selecting a purchase, make sure to read user testimonials on company, retailer and reviewer websites. And please send along a comment to this blog with your personal favourites and recommendations.
For the time being, I’m intrigued by Sirenna’s beet burgers. I think I’ll give ’em a try.
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