Featuring Jared Qwustenuxun Williams of Quw'utsun Tribes
Qwustenuxun is a passionate Indigenous Foods educator, who had the privilege of spending much of his youth with his late grandmother, immersed in Salish culture. After graduating from culinary school he spent more than a decade working in restaurants across BC. Before he moved back home to Cowichan to take the role of Elder’s Kitchen Manager. Now, after more than 13 years of cooking for the Cowichan elders, Qwustenuxun works as an Indigenous foods educator, writer, and consultant for various universities, ministries and health authorities.
Most recently Qwustenuxun won several Canadian Online Publishing Awards, gave a TEDX talk on the power of Indigenous Foods, presented at the UN World Food Forum in Rome, and was elected as the chair of the Indigenous Advisory Council to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food.
But, most importantly, when he is not working on furthering Indigenous food sovereignty. Qwustenuxun spends much of his time with his wife and children on their small hobby farm in Cowichan.
Event Details
🗓 Date: October 21, 2026
⏰ Time: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM PDT
📍 Location: Online Webinar
Workshop Description
Indigenous foods have always fed our communities, but bringing foods like wild berries, traditionally caught fish, deer, and moose into hospitals, schools, and restaurants can quickly become complicated by food safety regulations. This talk explores the work we are doing to find practical pathways through those regulations, not by lowering food safety standards, but by asking where the real risks are and how they can be safely managed. From wild-harvested foods, to fish moving through licensed processors, to creating approved spaces for traditionally smoked fish and game meats, the goal is to turn the pathways we are finding into clear roadmaps that other Indigenous communities can follow.