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    The Main

    Montreal's Cultural Directory

    Help us improve! Share your thoughts on how we can make your experience better.

    Leave feedback

    For partnerships and collaborations:

    partnerships@themain.com

    Content

    • Articles
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    Explore Montreal

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    The Main Media Inc. 2026

    ✦ Built By Field Office

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      Beyond Montreal

      Old Habits Fish Sauce from Vancouver Island is True Canadian Umami

      Nathan Gawalko left high-end restaurants across the world to bottle ancient traditions of fish, salt, and time on British Columbia's coast.

      ByJ.P. Karwacki

      April 2, 2025 · 6 min read

      Old Habits fish sauce from Vancouver Island is true Canadian umami

      The Main is reader-supported. Subscriptions are what keep us independent. Five dollars a month — the restaurants, the guides, the weekly bulletin, and what to do each weekend. Support us today.

      From a facility on Vancouver Island's Port Alberni, a coastal town where fishing boats dot the inlet visible from his office window, Nathan Gawalko is practising something nearly lost to time: traditional fish sauce fermentation.

      It's taken enough time as it is for Nathan to acclimate himself to a slower pace. Five years into running Old Habits—one of Canada's very few fish sauce manufacturers—he admits with a laugh that he still hasn't fully adapted to the waiting game that defines his craft.

      Nathan on the docks.

      "It was great for the first couple of years," he says about trading kitchen chaos for fermentation's languid rhythms. "Then I started to miss it. I don't know what to do with that excess energy."

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      Follow on Google
      Beyond Montreal

      Old Habits Fish Sauce from Vancouver Island is True Canadian Umami

      Nathan Gawalko left high-end restaurants across the world to bottle ancient traditions of fish, salt, and time on British Columbia's coast.

      ByJ.P. Karwacki

      April 2, 2025 · 6 min read

      Old Habits fish sauce from Vancouver Island is true Canadian umami

      The Main is reader-supported. Subscriptions are what keep us independent. Five dollars a month — the restaurants, the guides, the weekly bulletin, and what to do each weekend. Support us today.

      From a facility on Vancouver Island's Port Alberni, a coastal town where fishing boats dot the inlet visible from his office window, Nathan Gawalko is practising something nearly lost to time: traditional fish sauce fermentation.

      It's taken enough time as it is for Nathan to acclimate himself to a slower pace. Five years into running Old Habits—one of Canada's very few fish sauce manufacturers—he admits with a laugh that he still hasn't fully adapted to the waiting game that defines his craft.

      Nathan on the docks.

      "It was great for the first couple of years," he says about trading kitchen chaos for fermentation's languid rhythms. "Then I started to miss it. I don't know what to do with that excess energy."

      Free account required

      For readers who care about Montreal

      Create a free account to read this story and access 3 articles per month, plus our weekly Bulletin.

      Independent. Local. Reader-supported.

      or

      Already a member? Sign in

      The Main

      Comments

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      Share your thoughts and join the conversation. Please be respectful and constructive.

      No comments yet. Be the first!

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