‘It felt like we were of the same tribe’: Chinese-Canadian food documentary also tells stories of migration
- House Special follows Chinese-Canadian chef Jackie Kai Ellis as she meets chefs making Chinese food in small-town restaurants in British Columbia and Alberta
- The five-part online docuseries explores Chinese identity in Canada through food, and reveals some of the struggles of migrants to the country
Anyone who has eaten Chinese takeaway in Canada will be familiar with dishes like sweet and sour pork, chicken chow mein and chop suey. Despite these staples being widely recognised and loved, however, the people who cook them day in, day out aren’t as well known.
This is what web documentary series House Special – streaming now – sets out to change. Inspired by journalist Ann Hui’s 2016 book Chop Suey Nation, the five-episode show tells the stories of Chinese restaurant owners in the small towns of British Columbia and Alberta provinces, in western Canada, whilst also weaving in little-known Chinese-Canadian history.
The show’s host, chef Jackie Kai Ellis, was picked by director Ryan Mah on the strength of her experience owning a Vancouver bakery and publishing a book titled The Measure Of My Powers: A Memoir of Food, Misery and Paris.
“I wanted to find someone that was Chinese Canadian, and I listened to her audiobook, and she’s so good at recollecting memories [of] growing up as a kid. I was like, ‘this is the person to do it, because she’s just so descriptive’,” Mah says.
House Special also has elements of a travel show, with viewers following Kai Ellis as she compares her on-screen experiences with those of her childhood and finds surprise in the familiarity she feels when meeting the small-town chefs.
“They felt like my aunt or my cousin,” she recalls of filming the series. “It just didn’t feel like meeting a stranger. There was a quality to their stories and a quality to their values and this shared experience that felt like we were of the same tribe.”