Tundra to Table
Dining beneath the Northern Lights in Churchill Manitoba
The sky is overcast and the March air is crisp as we make our way in the Frontiers North Tundra Buggy across the frozen Churchill River.
Our destination? A one-of-a-kind dining experience on Manitoba's subarctic tundra.
I'm not quite sure what to expect of this experience in the middle of Manitoba's northern wilderness but as we pull up to our destination, I'm greeted by a large, white mobile structure that seems to blend into the white tundra that surrounds it.
Inside it is warm and cozy, with a beautifully set table laid out to host 20 guests. On one side, an open kitchen showcases Chef Conner MacAulay and his kitchen staff prepping to serve a five-course dinner.
This is the famous Frontiers North Dan's Diner, where chefs serve tundra-inspired cuisine under the dancing Aurora Borealis.
The name, Dan's Diner, is a bit of a misnomer to what the experience is all about — it is neither a diner nor is there currently a Dan in charge — but it harkens back to the days when the concept of dining on the tundra was first conceived.
It was in the late 1970s and early 1980s when Dan Guravich, a photographer and Len Smith (who came up with the concept of the Tundra Buggy), worked together to operate a mobile lodge that allowed them and their fellow adventurers to safely live longer among Churchill's wilderness.
Dan became the defacto camp cook. In 1983, a kitchen unit was added to the lodge, fabricated out of the body of a school bus.
Old photos hanging inside the new spacious dining area show the original diner, with guests happily crammed inside the tight interior.
While the body of the diner has changed significantly — now housed inside a bright, spacious and modern buggy — the concept of dining amongst the wilderness remains.
The evening begins with a sunset that stretches across the uninterrupted horizon, painting the white tundra red with its glow. I gaze out at the mesmerizing sight, wine in hand. Even though the sky is cloudy, the sun still impresses.
By the time the first course is served, the guests are already buzzing with excitement and awe at the surroundings.
The food is spectacular, served course by course with a theme of forest, land and sea.
As evening settles in, we are served the fourth course — a delicious take on the 'Northern Lights' theme, a tease of the spectacle we are hoping to see outdoors shortly.
We head outdoors, where a warm and cozy fire is roaring and an ice bar, complete with a whisky chute, is ready for us to indulge in. We have the option to make our fifth course over the fire: s'mores composed of butter cookies, luxurious chocolate and a perfectly toasted marshmallow.
And we enjoy sending shots of Glenfiddich down the chute to get properly chilled. It is such a fun and enjoyable experience that I almost don't notice that the sky has cleared of clouds and is now sparkling with millions of stars.
As the evening winds down, we wave goodbye to the amazing staff from Dan's Diner and climb back onto our Tundra Buggy to await the Northern Lights. They do not disappoint.
The experience is exceptional in every way: the setting, the feeling of exclusivity, the quality and creativity of the food and the warm camaraderie between staff and guests all combine to take this dining experience to the next level.
There is nowhere else on Earth that you could experience the magic of the subarctic and the cuisine of the tundra in this spectacular way. It is an experience that will stay with me forever.
Watch below as Chef Conner discusses what makes Dan's Diner so special:
Please note: Frontiers North operates Dan's Diner during the winter season when most of the Churchill area polar bears are out hunting on the sea ice. Safety precautions are always in place in case of a stray polar bear encounter.
During the autumn, Frontiers North utilizes the diner buggy as part of the Tundra Buggy Lodge, allowing guests to sleep safely amongst the migrating polar bears — just as Dan and his guests did in the 1980s. To learn about the different options when visiting Churchill, please feel free to reach out to me anytime.
Aurélie Gilles - Director of Canadian Travel, Landsby
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