And Then There Were Three: Tall Grass Bakery grows... like the harvest
We here in Manitoba have been enjoying a very warm and perfect autumnal fall season. The leaves are glorious shades of orange and red, and it seems they have been staying longer on the trees due to the warm weather. It is hard to believe that Thanksgiving is upon us.
Now is the time we can rejoice in the harvest and reap the benefits of tasty dishes provided by a bakery that is a Winnipeg icon.
Tall Grass Bakery at the Forks Market and at 859 Westminster Avenue in Wolseley has been Manitoba’s premiere locally sourced, organic bakery for more than 30 years.
When it comes to the harvest, the bakery celebrates the abundance of the season. Tall Grass Bakery every year receives some 4000a pounds of pumpkins, and they have been making pumpkin filled goods such, as pies, loaves, and muffins.
For Tall Grass Bakery, the making of bread is also an important way to give thanks. The Scottish tradition of making a loaf called Struan Micheil is observed at the bakery. Micheil refers to St. Michael who was the guardian of the harvest and head of all of the Arc Angels. The bread was originally made for an ancient festival that was held in Scotland to honour St. Michael. It contained all the ingredients grown and used for the season.
Tabitha Langel is Co-Owner of Tall Grass Bakery as she explains, "When you were giving thanks for this bread, you were giving thanks for the harvest,” states Langel. “I think in almost every culture bread is sacred and is used in sacred ceremonies…communion is one of the ways we do that where we express peace to each other. And whether you are religious or not, I think it is especially important to share bread in peace together in this time of Truth and Reconciliation… to use bread that we acknowledge comes to us as a total gift from the earth and the creator… and to use that energy to work together for peace and good.”
One of the extremely exciting things that is happening at the Bakery this year is that they are opening a third location at 390 Provencher, towards the back of the building where the woods begin and the Seine River flows. The name of the new bakery is Tall Grass sur la Seine.
Langle describes the necessity for this third space, “What brought us to this point? The Forks Market was needing our tiny kitchen space back. We also realized that our Forks kitchen was far too small for all we do – from canning, jam making, ready meals and soup preparation, sandwich making to deli catering and wholesale. We were ready as a company to look at a third location.”
This third location offers literally tons of opportunities. “The space allows us to deal with our large seasonal produce deliveries more efficiently. What do you do when 4,000 lbs of pumpkins arrive to be processed? Or thousands of pounds of cucumbers for pickling season. Never mind tomatoes for salsa making. At Provencher we will be able to use the space efficiently. Customers love to see the bounty of the land,” says Langel.
The third space will complement the existing bakeries. As Langel explains, “Equipped for large bulk bakes, the third location will allow us to have each of these sites work to their strengths. We will shift some of the bulk baking to Provencher and then ship it to The Forks, but also keep enough actual baking at The Forks. The two locations will really work in tandem.”
“Tall Grass is continuing to bake for the Wolseley neighborhood and beyond from our original Tall Grass bakery at 859 Westminster. Our celebration of the ancient tradition of bread making at The Forks Market also continues. And we are looking forward to turning 390 Provencher into a little treasure for the city, as well.”
Break bread courtesy of Tall Grass Bakery. Celebrate the Earth and all that it provides for us, with their organically grown, locally sourced ingredients, and delicious baked goods. There is no better way to celebrate the harvest.
