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A few years later, by the time David Wolfman had entered cooking school, he was struck by the deep comforts of a home-cooked dinner. “Even more than loving food, I noticed — I have two sisters, and my mom and dad — and as soon as food went on the table, they went quiet, and they were at peace. There was sort of a moment of sharing … It’s almost like our stomachs and hearts were talking the same time.”

Now 56, Wolfman has been renowned for more than half his life for what he calls Indigenous fusion cuisine. He combined the chef’s skills and knowledge he learned at George Brown College with the inspiration of his mother’s heritage and other Indigenous traditions, first as a caterer, then as a culinary arts professor at his alma mater, and then as a TV chef who hosted his show Cooking With The Wolfman on APTN for nearly two decades.

This fall, Wolfman is launching his first cookbook, Cooking With The Wolfman: Indigenous Fusion, co-authored with his wife, Marlene Finn, who is Métis. This month, his book tour will take him beyond Toronto to Ottawa, Edmonton and Victoria.

The highly personal book teems with recipes that range from basic to more elaborate, with an emphasis on game-meat dishes such as slow-cooked ginger caribou shanks and rosemary tatanka (buffalo) with sardine tapenade.

The book is also clearly the work of a culinary prof — its directions are extremely thorough, its introductory chapters cover basic kitchen techniques and tips, and scattered through it are primers on cooking methods and more.