Dolly (Watts) McRae

Dolly (Watts) McRae’s restaurant, the Liliget Feast House on Vancouver’s Davie Street, was open for 12 years. The 52-seat restaurant received a four-star rating from the New York Times for offering the best Aboriginal food in North America. McRae has also garnered her share of awards including the National Aboriginal Achievement Award in 2001 and a gold medal in the Iron Chef competition, received at the age of 69. A strong entrepreneurial spirit has motivated McRae from the time she was a young, resourceful child until her initiative inspired her to return to university as a mature student where she studied anthropology. Later, she established her catering business, which, in turn, led to the opening of The Liliget Feast House. McRae’s legacy carries on with the 2007 publication “Where People Feast: An Indigenous People’s Cookbook” which she co-authored with her daughter Annie.