Food Artisans of Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands

FOREWORD BY JO-ANN ROBERTS

To my mother and father, who laboured every day

to provide our family with good food from our garden.

Contents

Foreword by Jo-ann Roberts

Introduction

How to Use this Book

A Few Words about Sustainability

Bakeries

Beverages and Specialty Liquids

Butchers, Charcutiers, and Salumists

Chefs and Instructors

Chocolate

Coffee Roasters and Tea Blenders

Cooking Gear and Kitchen Shops

Dairy—Cheese, Ice Cream, Yogurt

Farmers’ Markets

Farms and Farmers

Processed Food Products

Seafood, Fresh and Processed

Specialty Shops

Suggested Saturday Sojourns

Suggested Reading

Appendix: Artisans by Region

Index

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Sunset on the west coast of Vancouver Island

VANCOUVER ISLAND REGIONS

1 Comox Valley

2 Cowichan Valley

3 Gulf Islands

4 Nanaimo and Surrounding Area

5 Saanich Peninsula

6 Greater Victoria

FOREWORD

I first met Don Genova the way many people do—on the radio. I was hosting a CBC Radio morning show on the East Coast; he was a national food columnist based on the West Coast. We played his column every week on our show. He and I had never met or even talked, but like so many listeners, Don and I quickly became radio friends. I loved his passion for everything related to food—trends, recipes, equipment, books, and people. As the mother of four school-aged children with a full-time job, my food world ran the risk of being reduced to what the kids would eat and what I could get on the table quickly. But hearing Don on the radio would inspire me to try something different or expand my family’s palate.

Just before I ended up moving to the West Coast, I learned that Don was planning to visit Moncton, New Brunswick, where I was living. I was so excited for the chance to meet him. I took my tape recorder and arranged to meet Don in the kitchen of a very accomplished chef at a rather posh hotel. I had lived in the city for almost a decade and had never been invited into the hotel’s kitchen to meet the chef. We not only met him, but the chef also prepared an amazing meal of local foods for Don, and me, as it turned out, to sample. I did an interview with both Don and the chef about the meal to run on the show the next day. It was the beginning of a delicious friendship.

Shortly after that working lunch in the hotel kitchen, in 2004, I found out that I would be moving to Victoria to host a new afternoon show for Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, and the Sunshine Coast. One of the first people to learn the news was Don. I remember teasing him: Now when you talk about food I won’t have to imagine it, I’ll be able to taste it because I’m going to insist you come into the studio with samples. And he has, almost every week for the past ten years. (There have been a few exceptions, like when he was away or the year he was studying in Italy.)

With our weekly chats about island food artisans, Don has continued my food education. I have loved my role as enthusiastic student and taster. The audience loves him too. I often meet people who say, You were really enjoying that orange coconut brioche Don brought in for you. And when Don posts a recipe on our website the number of visits spike. His column is the most downloaded audio as well.

I have tried locally made cured meats, organic sodas, Phrog gin, and Fry bread. I’ve tasted Denman Island chocolate and admired Cosmo knives. I even considered becoming a barista just so I could have my own Reg Barber coffee tamper. I go to Cook Culture and Capital Iron for cool gadgets and have a tea-brewing cup that Daniela Cubelic of Silk Road Tea helped design. And I never drive by Drumroaster in Cobble Hill without stopping for an Americano and sometimes a brioche. All thanks to Don.

Even more importantly I have learned to seek out farmers, chefs, and other regional food artisans, some of whom I have heard about from Don and others I have found on my own because Don has raised my awareness and heightened my senses. Knowing Don has made my world a richer, more sustainable, and delectable place. He has helped me savour Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. I hope that reading this book will do the same for you.

—Jo-Ann Roberts

Host, All Points West, CBC Radio One

INTRODUCTION

When I first came to Vancouver Island as a typical tourist, I made the same vow I’m sure many other visitors have probably made: Someday I’m going to live here. Over the course of several more visits, that vow was reaffirmed many times, and finally, in 2003, I did make the move. I settled in the Cowichan Valley, a perfect base from which to explore many parts of the region. I have been lucky enough to see the island and the Gulf Islands from the air, from the water, by bicycle, on foot, and of course by car. It’s a region best seen in as many ways as possible, especially when it comes to your palate. A walk in the woods yields juicy wild berries or earthy mushrooms; boating means great fishing, crabbing, and shrimping; and cycling on a hard-packed sand beach at low tides allows for scooping up oysters and digging for clams. I hop in my car to visit blueberry farms, hazelnut groves, and apple orchards. Then there are the growing numbers of farmers’ markets, wineries, cideries, and distilleries.

Over my years of exploring, I have met some very special people. They are the food and beverage artisans I talk about on my CBC Radio segment every week and they are all people who take great pride in their work and display a passion for the products they create. Whether they are farmers growing fresh ingredients, cheese makers coaxing curds from fresh cow’s, sheep’s, or goat’s milk, or chocolatiers crafting mouth-watering sweets, they all work very hard to make wonderful stuff for us to eat or drink.

The best part about our artisan culture is that it is growing at a rapid pace, aided by the way our coastal food culture is changing. More than ever, people care about where their food comes from and how it is produced, and they are driving the production of local cheeses, pasture-raised beef and chicken, and even sea salt from the waters around our islands. There are far more farmers’ markets now than there were ten years ago. You can even find them in urban parking lots and next to office buildings.

The average age of a farmer in Canada is around fifty-two, and some artisans in the meat-processing business have retired or simply closed their businesses because of changes in meat inspection regulations. (The new regulations often required expensive modifications and upgrades to existing processing plants that the butchers simply couldn’t afford.) You might think losing these experienced veterans would hamper local production, but somehow I feel a change is upon us. I’ve met many young people over the past few years who are either getting into farming or, more frequently, developing artisan food products. They are brave and bold and aren’t necessarily taking over a family business. In fact, it’s more likely they’ve come to a realization they don’t want nine-to-five office jobs and don’t mind getting into something they make and own themselves, even if it means getting dirty and working from dawn until after dark.

While I prefer to eat and drink food and beverages made from local ingredients, I have a far-ranging palate. I’m not going to give up coffee, lemons, olive oil, or cinnamon just because you can’t produce those commodities on Vancouver Island. That’s why in this book I tell you where to find the best olive oils or spices from faraway countries. But keep in mind that we still produce a woefully small percentage of the food we eat on these islands, so where there is a choice, please purchase locally. You’ll encourage the growth of community-owned businesses and support people who really deserve your patronage.

This book is meant to salute and share my knowledge of all the great artisans and shopkeepers and farmers I’ve met during the twenty-plus years I’ve lived in British Columbia. I want to pass on their stories of how they got started, or why I like their products in particular. No snapshot in time like this book could cover all the artisans who are out there, but I can tell you that I’ve visited each and every one of the businesses listed here or sampled their products. I am sharing my favourites and asking you to trust my judgment. It’s not too much of a stretch; with my eating history, I have a pretty good idea of what makes an excellent product! I may not mention your personal favourite, but I would love to hear about it so more artisans can be included in a future edition of this book.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

I’ve split the artisans featured in this book into different categories, so if you’re looking for seafood, page through that section; the same for chocolate, specialty beverages, and so on. Some artisans may be mentioned in several sections as their businesses are diverse: Organic Fair in Cobble Hill, for example, manufactures chocolate, roasts coffee, and blends spice rubs as well as soda syrups. This book isn’t designed as a typical travel guide, although you will have to travel to various corners of the island and Gulf Islands to find some of these products as they may be available only at farm-gate shops or particular retailers; others will be available at your local grocery store or through a few clicks to do a mail order on your computer. Many smaller shops will happily bring in a product for you if you can demonstrate your continued demand and loyalty.

But no matter where you live or where you visit, just page your way through the different sections of this book to find something good to eat or drink. If the travel bug does hit you, make sure you check the section on day trips that will leave your appetite sated and your cloth shopping bags and cooler full of enough goodies to keep you happy in the days ahead. When you get those bags and coolers home, have a look at the recipes scattered throughout the book, from me and some of my friends, that will help you use some of the products you’ve purchased. Check the websites or Facebook pages of the companies listed for the latest details on products, business hours, phone numbers, and addresses.

A FEW WORDS ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY

Shoppers want it all these days: local, seasonal, certified organic, and sustainable. Over the past few years, the word sustainable has become a catchword not only for the environmental movement but also for marketers and entrepreneurs eager to hitch a ride on the desires of those who want to be more careful with their purchasing power. But what is sustainability? The definition of sustainability that the David Suzuki Foundation has used before comes from the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development back in 1987: Sustainability is meeting the needs of the present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

For a little more detail, look at the foundation’s Sustainability within a Generation document: Sustainability means living within the Earth’s limits. In a sustainable future, no Canadian would think twice about going outside for a walk or drinking a glass of tap water. Food would be free from pesticide residues, antibiotics, and growth hormones. Air, water, and soil would be uncontaminated by toxic substances. In a sustainable future, it would be safe to swim in every Canadian river and lake; safe to eat fish wherever they were caught. Clean, renewable energy would be generated by harnessing the sun, the wind, water, and heat of the Earth.

That’s a mouthful. But look at the clues contained within the statement Food would be free from pesticide residues, antibiotics, and growth hormones. That’s your key to seek out organic meats and produce and seafood from uncontaminated waters. What about when you see farmers advertising no spray or pesticide free produce at the farmers’ markets? Well, that’s not certified organic, and organic goes beyond the non-use of herbicides and pesticides. That’s when your own judgment has to come into play. Talk to the farmer. Ask how the vegetables were grown. Do his or her chickens have access to the open air? What do they eat? If you do want to eat in a more sustainable fashion as per the definition above, you have to get a little homework under your belt. It’s a good idea to learn the difference between free-range and free-run, what pastured poultry is and what the benefits of eating grass-fed beef or lamb can be.

No doubt you’ll come across the phrase 100-mile diet. I’ve interviewed the writers who coined that phrase and they told me they picked the figure arbitrarily out of the air. Even though they’re Canadians living with the metric system, they thought the 100-mile diet sounded better than the 160-kilometre diet. The concept of looking for lower food miles (or kilometres), i.e., food that hasn’t been shipped to you from great distances, is noble on the surface. The celebrated farmer/photographer/author/activist Michael Ableman of Salt Spring Island once said at a talk I attended, I’d rather eat a non-organic bunch of broccoli grown on a farm down the street than an organic bunch of broccoli shipped in from Chile. Local is better, right? Usually.

Cowichan Valley morel mushrooms are a springtime delight.

But is there anything wrong with eating mangoes from Mexico or drinking coffee from Panama when these products are produced by fairly paid farmers and transported in large quantities by boat instead of fuel-gobbling jets? People in Third World countries are depending on us for a living as well. You’ll come across many conundrums such as this when you are trying to live a more sustainable lifestyle.