When the Moon Gate’s alive, and they bake pizza pies Whitemouth guest house’s weekly ’za nights prove popular By: Eva Wasney Posted: 5:49 PM CDT Tuesday, Jun. 30, 2026

WHITEMOUTH — It’s a sunny Friday afternoon and Michel Dupas is busy stoking the fire inside Rusty’s glowing red maw. The outdoor pizza oven — named for its intentionally rustic construction — takes hours to reach the ideal internal temperature and customers could be arriving soon. Emphasis on could.

“You never really know who’s going to come,” shrugs Michel, who runs Moon Gate Guest House and its weekly pizza nights with his wife Jenny Dupas.

Moon Gate is a charming riverside bed and breakfast located off a gravel road 100 kilometres east of Winnipeg in the RM of Whitemouth.

When the couple purchased the property in 2009, it was home to little more than an aging farmhouse and an abandoned egg sorting facility. But the land had potential — and 400-amp electrical service.

“We’re very good at visualizing things,” Jenny says.

Jenny was born in Brandon and Michel in Churchill, both into large immediate families. The couple, who met in The Pas and celebrate their 35th wedding anniversary this year, wanted to build a wellness retreat where city folks could unplug and where their two sons could grow up in a rural setting.

So they packed up their home in West St. Paul and got to work making their vision a reality.

Today, Moon Gate can accommodate more than a dozen overnight guests for private stays and group retreats. Visitors can book reiki, reflexology and massage therapy sessions, and participate in stargazing, foraging walks and smudging ceremonies hosted by Jenny and Michel, both of whom are Métis.

The property is dotted with gardens, birdhouses and buildings made from reclaimed material.

During a tour, Michel proudly relays the origins of each handmade object — a long sturdy table made from gymnasium flooring, a sauna decorated with driftwood from the nearby Whitemouth River, a round guesthouse built from salvaged wood and windows, and a gazebo that was more trouble to reconstruct than its free price tag was worth.

Michel is something of a renaissance man, having learned carpentry from his father and myriad other skills from years spent working in a variety of trades. He’s also a musician, reflexologist and passionate cook.

The latter is what prompted the Dupas to add pizza to the menu seven years ago.

Michel was inspired to build his own pizza oven (from salvaged bricks, of course) after meeting Cornelius and Dora Friesen, who run successful wood-fired pizza nights on their farm-turned-bakery in Riverton.

Moon Gate hosts pizza nights from 5 to 9 p.m. every Friday and Saturday throughout the summer. Reservations and pre-orders are recommended, but walk-ups are welcome.

The couple serves an average of 25 pies a night, but the guest house’s out-of-the-way location and the weather can put a damper on visitation. Last summer’s wildfire season kept a lot of people away.

“It can be unpredictable, but it’s been well-received. We’ve got a lot of repeat customers, people come from Winnipeg just for pizza,” Jenny says.

She hopes Moon Gate’s inclusion in a new cross-province culinary trial promoted by Culinary Tourism Alliance will make more people aware of the events.

Jenny takes care of hosting duties while Michel holds court over Rusty. The pizza oven is surrounded by picnic tables and a large screened patio where guests can sit and eat their ‘za.

Since Moon Gate is private property, visitors are invited to BYOB, alcoholic or otherwise.

The nine- and 12-inch pizzas are made with local ingredients, such as crusts made from organic Manitoba flour, pepperoni from Archie’s Meats and cheese from Bothwell Cheese, among other local suppliers.

Salad fixings are sourced from nearby farmers, and special toppings, such as pickled hot peppers, are gleaned from trades with neighbours.

The thick marinara sauce is processed from garden tomatoes and last week’s cheesecake special was made with haskap berries growing on the grounds.

“I like making everything fresh, and I like experimenting with different stuff,” Michel says.

He’s recently added Bison Bites (buttermilk bannock balls filled with spiced meat), tacos and empanadas — which were dubbed “dynamite” by a friend during an overheard phone call — to the menu.

Prior to opening, Michel and friend Brad Fenwick are busy preparing toppings and rolling out dozens of balls of dough. Music from a small portable speaker wafts through the kitchen.

Fenwick, a baker and musician from Hadashville, has been helping out since the inception of the pizza nights.

“I like meeting the people that come here; there’s always interesting conversations. And I love it when they come and tell us it’s the best pizza they’ve ever had,” he says.

Fenwick’s favourite pizzas are the Hang Loose (Hawaiian-inspired with feta cheese and hot peppers) and the Hot Métis (hot sausage, salami, prosciutto and mushroom).

Lacey and Ian Kurian are partial to the BMP (bacon, mushroom and pepperoni). The couple live up the road in Elma and this is the second time they’ve stopped for a bite in two weeks.

“I don’t have to cook,” Ian says with a laugh. “It’s good food — good people too.”

“We try and support them as much as we can,” Lacey says. “It brings people together, but it’s also the authenticity of it. You can get a pizza anywhere, but this offers a unique taste and a unique feeling.”

The Moon Gate pizza nights wrap up on Sept. 12, after which the Dupas plan to host Métis kitchen parties with multi-course meals, storytelling and live music.

eva.wasney@winnipegfreepress.com