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Just like home: Patrice and Nadege Bernier explore their Haitian heritage

Click to play video: 'Just like home: Patrice and Nadege Bernier at Agrikol'
Just like home: Patrice and Nadege Bernier at Agrikol
WATCH ABOVE: It can be hard to grow up as a visible minority in Canada. It can feel as though you are caught between two cultures. Global's Rachel Lau finds out how siblings Patrice and Nadege Bernier have managed to keep in touch with their Haitian roots, despite never having visited the country – May 31, 2018

Siblings Patrice and Nadege Bernier have never been to Haiti, but that doesn’t mean they’re out of touch with their culture.

“Since you’re a kid, the rice, the beans, the chicken, the griyo, the bannann peze (fried green plantain), you grew up with it and it’s you,” Patrice tells Global News, as he sits next to his sister at a small table one Sunday.

“As you grow up, you have to understand the Haitian culture and you understand it through the food.”

The two have memories of their mother in the kitchen, cooking up a feast.

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“My mum never let me be in the kitchen. So, for my mum, it’s like a sanctuary, even until now. If you want to go help out, it’s blocked,” says Patrice.

“That’s true,” agrees Nadege.

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Patrice, former captain of the Montreal Impact and South Shore native, points out there has always been a large Haitian community in Montreal.

“People are just noticing, but it’s always been there,” he told Global News.

READ MORE: Patrice Bernier and one last goal for the Montreal Impact

One of the restaurants that cater to the ever-thriving community: Agrikol (1844 Amherst St.).

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Wanting to be as authentic as possible, the restaurant sourced Chef Paul Toussaint directly from … well, the source.

“It’s soul food and it’s more traditional food,” Toussaint explains, noting that he moved to Montreal in late 2017 after being offered the job.

“For me, it’s very good. I love it, but it’s not the kind of fancy cuisine, but it’s more like soul food.”

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Toussaint is described by his colleagues as more of an artist than a typical chef — always going the extra mile to bring out unique flavours, while satisfying Haitians with comfort food “just like my mother used to make.”

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“What I can say is it’s more a spicy food, but not hot. When I’m talking spicy, I mean it’s a mix of spices,” he tells Global News.

READ MORE: Just like home: North Indian spices bring out a sense of nostalgia

“That’s why in Haitian culture, you’ll see people are going to braise after they’re going to fry or roast. They always try to have the best flavour for the food.”

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To offer an example, Toussaint, holds up a mason jar of pickled cabbage.

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“This is the pikliz, I don’t know how to describe that,” he says.

“Yeah,” Toussaint agrees.

“Power!” Patrice quips for emphasis.

A mural at Agrikol. Rachel Lau

Sitting in the restaurant, sharing plates of griyo (or griot), chicken, rice and beans and legumes, Toussaint tells Patrice and Nadege how he overcame his own hardships — having had to convince his father he wanted to be a chef instead of a lawyer.

“He told me, you can’t stay in my house if you want to go in that direction,” he remembers.

“I believe you,” Nadege answers.

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If there’s one thing the three agree on it’s that no food can ever come close to what your mum makes at home.

“Being around the spices and the odours in your house, it’s part of your DNA,” Patrice adds.

READ MORE: Just like home: Filipinos say eating with your hands shows community, love

“Wherever else you go, that’s the number one. The standard is placed number one and that’s what you compare everything else to.”

Bernier’s wife is half Italian — something he says is actually a blessing because he isn’t forced to “compare your wife and your mum’s [cooking.]”

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Toussaint says the greatest compliment is when Haitians say, ‘it’s just how my mother makes it.”

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“I’m so happy. I feel like I got that customer,” he said.

“I feel that person’s going to come back. Like, he or she can say, ‘OK, I can come to Agrikol.'”

Nadege explains that for women, who are still seen in traditional domestic roles, it’s a source of pride to cook.

WATCH BELOW: Patrice Bernier wants to see where his parents grew up

Click to play video: 'Just like home: Patrice Bernier wants to see where his parents grew up'
Just like home: Patrice Bernier wants to see where his parents grew up

“When you invite people over and you have different types of food, people taste them and like them, it’s pride,” she tells Global News.

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“I’ve been in the kitchen all day and I made all this food and everybody’s enjoying it, so it’s passion and pride.”

Chef Paul Toussaint cooking up a feast at Agrikol. Max Kalinowicz/Global News

At Agrikol, Toussaint admits only about 20 per cent of the restaurant’s customers are Haitian because most people walk in, curious to know what Haitian food actually is.

“This is the best way to sell your culture. Through food, you can bring everyone together,” he says smiling.

WATCH BELOW: Just Like Home bringing people together

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Just Like Home is a series that discovers the restaurants and places Montrealers from all walks of life go to have a little, nostalgic taste of their home countries.

rachel.lau@globalnews.ca

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