Who’s ready for an all-Canadian, all-awesome adventure?

Indulge your five senses in Canada’s North.

SMELL

Whitehorse

Within 15 minutes of arriving in the city, I was inhaling the savoury steam of a sizzling cross-rib elk roast at the Fireweed Community Farmers Market along the banks of the Yukon River. Chef Michele Genest was searing the meat before tucking it into a Le Creuset pot with root veggies, spruce tips, juniper berries and Labrador tea—an herb that grows wild in the boreal forest—along with a splash of local stout and espresso.

“People here are more willing to experiment with wild foods, and braising is a good way to work with wild meat,” explained the author of The Boreal Feast: A Culinary Journey Through the North to onlookers at her plein-air cooking workshop. (If we wanted to have a taste, we’d have to come back in three to four hours to sample the finished product.)

Those meaty scents mingled in the fresh summer air with those of Indian samosas, Mexican tacos and yeast—thanks to the whole-wheat loaves and berry pies from the Home Sweet Home Baking stand. Given Whitehorse’s location north of the 60th parallel, I was surprised to see stacks of vibrant-hued local carrots and red potatoes. On the August day I visited, there was even a busker selling homegrown lettuce out of his guitar case for $5 a (giant) head. It turns out that this city of close to 30,000 is the warmest spot in Canada’s North due to its location in the protected Whitehorse valley. It also has more than 20 hours of summer sunshine a day, which supercharges its otherwise short growing season.

Whitehorse, the Yukon’s capital city, is built along the banks of the Yukon River.

One of the many vibrant buildings in the community of Carcross—a must-see stop near the Carcross Desert.

Whitehorse-based chef Michele Genest’s latest cookbook