by TRISH KELLY
EAT IN
Looking for a caterer to make your Christmas party green? At the Capers Living Naturally Fair, food lovers got to see Culinary Capers chef Jonathan Chovancek’s commitment to sustainability—in the flesh. After his appearance, I chatted with him as he stripped off his chef whites and showed me his new tattoo of the lilies at Sooke Harbour House. It’s a tribute to his formative years at Sooke, and a colourful reminder of how deliciously edible B.C. can be. This new addition (which graces the better part of his arm) joins a smaller but no less emblematic tat of the Slow Food snail, another key influence on his philosophy. If he’s willing to ink it onto his skin, you can bet it’s reflected in his menu. Info: culinarycapers.com.
CHECK OUT
If you’ve had a latte at Caffe Artigiano, you’ve experienced the quality milk from Meadowfresh Dairy. Om Natural Lassi is the local, independent dairy’s first foray into retail. Founder Rahim Talib was working another trade show, trying to win over new restaurant customers for his locally produced milk and yogurt. To make things a bit more interesting, he whipped up a batch of traditional yogurt lassi using his family’s recipe. Not only did he win new customers, he created a waitlist for the lassi drink itself. Om Lassis come in traditional mango, vanilla chai, and an über-trendy pomegranate-and-açai combo. As a bonus, the probiotics in the yogurt culture are good for digestion—something Indian moms and Ayurvedic doctors have known for generations. Find Om Lassis in the drink cooler at your favourite natural foods store, and at omnaturalproducts.com.
EAT OUT
Andrea Gray-Grant had a great family recipe and the conviction her mother’s Maritime pickles could sell. With a background in natural foods, she was also prepared for all the hoops she’d need to go through to get her product on the shelf. But finding a cuke farmer to supply her business put this local foodie in a real pickle. “We’re losing our farmers,” she explains. Why? She chalks it up to a shrinking agricultural land reserve, farmers retiring, and some growers’ lack of marketing savvy . Happily, Gray-Grant eventually discovered Bill Zylman of Richmond’s W&A Farms, and now her Tarragon Foods is in business. Part of Tarragon’s mission is to help local farmers find ways to stay in business and thrive. Gray-Grant is starting with cucumber farmers for pickles and relish, but plans to begin working with local carrot growers in the near future. It’s an ongoing project that should keep local on our lips until next year’s farmers’ market. Info: tarragonfoods.com.
