They were gourmets, the Coast Salish First Nations. They lived along the shores of the Puget Sound, inhabiting the bays and estuaries in the days before the white man came, enjoying the bounty of the Pacific Northwest.

Through time, the women developed ingenious methods of cookery to nourish and delight those who dined at their fires. They learned when the food was ripe for harvesting. They discovered which kinds of wood best suited their fires. They designed and made their own cooking equipment from the materials available to them. It is the aim of this book to give the reader an understanding of Indian cookery- with practical recipes where appropriate- and to explain the close relationship between First Nation’s food and the Northwest Coast Salish culture.