Sustainability Matters to Chef Shane Robilliard

ETHICAL DINING ON THE NORTH SHORE

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Shane Robilliard once drove across Nova Scotia with three Styrofoam boxes jury-rigged together and filled with rapidly melting ice in the back of his truck. It wasn’t pretty and it wasn’t easy, but the content of those boxes made it all worthwhile. As the executive chef at Fox Harb’r Resort, he had been trying for months to get hold of a sustainably caught swordfish. That’s a fish that’s been harpooned rather than caught on a long line — a practise that results in lots of unwanted and unfortunate bycatch, like turtles.

Though harpoon fishing does happen in Nova Scotia, the fish is usually shipped south immediately after landing. Getting one locally is next to impossible. But Robilliard didn’t give up and after about 50 phone calls and lots of pleading, someone finally agreed to sell him one. He just had to get to the dock, load it up and somehow get the five foot long, 60-pound fish back to his restaurant safely.

That’s just one example of the lengths to which Robilliard will go in support of his quest to use sustainably harvested seafood.

“I grew up on the ocean and I love the ocean,” he explains. “We have an obligation as chefs to do the right thing. There are fish I choose not to buy because they aren’t sustainable, like sea bass from Chile. There’s no need for me to use it.”

Similarly, he won’t cook with dredged scallops, non- Tues. July 19 | 7:30 PM land-based farmed salmon or lobsters with too many traps hauleR — to a line. He uses Ocean Wise to help with his choices. The Vancouver-based organization publishes a sustainable seafood The New Face of Cape guide and labels seafood as recommended or not recommended. breton Traditional Music

But, of course, nothing is ever as simple as it first appears. Blue $25 +tax+feesfin tuna stocks are in deep trouble as a result of over-fishing off Prince Edward Island, for example. Big boats catch 35 at a Two thirds of the award-winning Cape Breton time and ship them to Japan within minutes of harvesting them. band Slowcoaster, combined with acclaimed Normally such an endangered fish would be off the menu at Fox fiddler Colin Grant, take traditional tunes and Harb’r simply because of the non-sustainability of the majority of make them all their own. They put the same the harvest. But Robilliard believes there can be exceptions. energy into their own songwriting. Sooo good.

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Chef Shane Robilliard checks out the catch of the day with local fishermen at Chase’s Lobster Pound in Pugwash.

“There are a lot of factors you have to take into consideration. If I know the fisherman and he catches two fish a year, it’s hard not to think about the local effect of his fishery.” As he explains it, the local fisherman isn’t the one doing the damage to the tuna stocks and supporting him supports the entire community. Which is one of the reasons why shopping locally is another important tenet of Chef Shane’s cooking philosophy. He reckons that 90 per cent of the seafood served at Fox Harb’r is locally sourced. And it extends beyond seafood. The beef comes from P.E.I. and most other proteins are sourced in the Maritimes as well. You are also unlikely to see asparagus, for example, on the menu in the early spring. At that time of year most of that vegetable comes from California or somewhere else with a warmer climate than our northern shores. So instead, he relies on root vegetables like beets and parsnips that have been saved over the winter. Robilliard says the attitude towards ethical dining is slowly changing — a little more slowly on the East Coast than in British Columbia where he is from. “It’s a long process. Chefs in nice places with high-end product are training the up and coming, and all the culinary programs now focus on sustainability. We’re changing the culture in the food service industry.” After serving as executive chef at Fox Harb’r for seven years, Robilliard now has the opportunity to showcase that change in attitude in his very own kitchen. “I don’t know if there’s a single chef out there who doesn’t have a dream to have their own place,” he says. Robilliard once fulfilled that dream for three short months and then had it snatched away when the building his restaurant was in burned to the ground. Now, he’s giving it another shot. He and his wife, Stephanie Thompson, have purchased the Whirligig Cafe in Wallace and have big plans to turn the space into a casual bistro restaurant. Thompson will be in charge of the front of house and Robilliard will rule the kitchen. They have no plans to alter the layout and décor. “We love the authentic interior,” says Robilliard. “The bright colours, the booths and the best sunsets in the entire area.” But the restaurant will be rebaptized as Wiley’s By the Wharf in an homage to Wiley Grant, who established Grant’s Store in that location in 1941. Robilliard plans on offering everything from Wagyu beef (occasionally) to standard hamburgers. Defining itself as a bistro means the menu will be subject to change. What won’t change is Robilliard’s belief in the importance of sustainably

See the recipe for Sous vide lobster with pea risotto, lemon gel and Acadian sturgeon caviar beurre blanc on the ah! website. athomeonthenorthshore.ca

sourced food and shopping locally. “I’m committed to 100 per cent sustainable and I can be even more supportive of small farmers.” But what about everyone else when it comes to ethical eating? For people who don’t have the resources of an upscale resort like Fox Harb’r — Robilliard admits that when chasing down that first swordfish, money was no object — sustainability can look like more of a problem. But there are ways to achieve a more sustainable diet. It takes effort and time, but he insists, “the effort is a bit less than you think in the first place and we only have one Earth.” It’s a compelling argument. One easy method is to look for the blue MSC label when shopping or dining out. The Marine Stewardship Council guarantees that such fish have been ethically and sustainably harvested. Another is to choose carefully where you shop. Robilliard is a big fan of Afishionado Fishmongers in Halifax, which sells local, responsibly sourced products. As for hunting down swordfish, Robilliard now has a regular supply, proving his contention that all it takes is time and effort. And maybe a pile of Styrofoam on the bed of your truck.

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The Langley family on the beach in front of their renovated summer home, which they call their “SALT + sea RV.”

beautifyingthe

RV

Chic, modernized fifth wheel becomes family’s home away from home on the Northumberland Strait

BY LORI MCKAY

RVlifestyle PHOTOS BY STEVE SMITH, VISIONFIRE STUDIOS “I’m not a camper,” is the first thing Amanda Langley says when we sit down to talk about her revamped RV, which rests in a quiet sand dune overlooking the Northumberland Strait. The view through the windows is breathtaking, and inside is pretty amazing too. Unlike the typical, brown, beige and dated RVs you’ve seen in the past, this space is bright, modern and fresh. It has white walls and a cheery beachy décor. Sitting at her small kitchen table doesn’t feel like camping. “This is what you can do with some sweat equity and vision,” she laughs. “These RVs can be completely transformed. We wanted it to feel like a cottage, and the end product is that when people come in, they don’t think they’re in an RV.” Amanda, her husband, Adam, and their children, Elle, 14, and Gray, 12, had been using a shared family camper and boathouse on Sinclair’s Island, N.S., since the kids were small. But with the children getting older, the family felt they needed a space of their own. After seeing some revamped RVs on Instagram, Amanda decided she wanted to create her own “cottage on wheels.” They started by searching for the just-right base trailer.

The boathouse was once part of the original Sinclair family farm property and used as a tomato shed. Today, it’s the perfect casual space for games of ping pong or just hanging out.

BELOW: The “before” photos. When the Langleys bought the RV, everything was brown, beige and dated.

‘BEFORE’ PHOTOS SUPPLIED

“We knew we wanted something older so we could put our stamp on it,” says Amanda. “It wouldn’t feel right if you had a brand-new camper and started painting and changing everything.” They contacted Pictou County’s Stone’s RV dealership and began their search. “We went there a few times to look at the different layouts,” says Amanda. “I needed to walk into the space and visualize it. I needed to know if I could make it functional and pretty.” The fifth wheel offered the ideal layout, with its high ceilings and the bunk room and bedroom at opposite ends. The model they finally decided on had just one previous owner, who took good care of it. Amanda says when she told the staff at Stone’s what they were planning, they were surprised but interested. “I’ve never seen anyone do a renovation to that extent,” says Jonathan Stone, owner of Stone’s RV. “They did a beautiful job. It completely modernized the trailer and made it look like one of the new RVs.” Although the Langleys planned to start work on their new reno project early last spring, they got off to a rocky start. Due to a pandemic lockdown, they couldn’t leave the city and ended up organizing the septic, power hook-up and delivery of the RV over Facetime.

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“It was hilarious watching and giving directions through a screen,” says Amanda, “because we had a very specific idea of what we wanted. The most important thing was the view, so it had to be positioned just right.” With their late season start, Amanda spent much of last summer painting. The process, she says, began with an electric sander, to scuff the walls, then a coat of high-quality primer, followed by many coats of paint. “It was labour intensive,” she says. “I felt like I was painting for weeks. That’s why people don’t often take on projects like this. It has to be something you really want to do.” In addition to the painting, they made other small changes but kept the RV’s original structure and weight in mind. Although they had no plans to travel with the camper, they didn’t want it compromised if someone wanted to tow it in the future. For example, Amanda was tempted to rip up the carpet, but because the RV has so many slides, she worried it would cause problems, so she shampooed it instead. In the kitchen she wanted a real backsplash behind the sink and used a small penny tile. Next, they changed what was typically used as a small laundry room into a walk-in pantry. They switched out the camper lights for residential ones and added a real kitchen faucet. They also updated all the

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hardware in the kitchen to brass, painted the fridge mint green, removed the cupboards and ripped out the U-shaped built-in sofa. “It’s so much airier now, and the real star of the show is the view,” Amanda says. “Nothing is distracting from it now.” Through the windows, you can see the ocean mere metres away, along with the fishing boats along the nearby wharf. Off in the distance, the P.E.I. ferry crosses the Northumberland Strait. But Amanda says the sunsets are the best part.

“We call it magic hour,” she says. The ocean plays an important role for the Langley family. Not only do they spend their summers on their Boston Whaler boat, which takes them beach hopping on sunny days, the couple owns Superyacht East Coast, a marketing and communications business that helps clients find elevated destinations and experiences on the East Coast. “This is our happy place,” says Adam. “Watching our kids running around the island, messing around in boats while spending endless days at the beach is like watching a movie of me as a kid. I realize now how lucky I was to grow up in, on and around water.” And when the RV becomes too cramped for the family of four, there’s always the boathouse next door. The boathouse was once part of the original Sinclair family farm property and used as a tomato shed. Adam’s father moved it from the centre of the island to its present location in the ’70s. Today, it’s a shared family space, where the kids like to hang out with their friends. It has a full-size fridge, bathroom, and a ping pong table. “We also really do store boats in it,” laughs Adam.

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Adam and Amanda Langley at their property on Sinclair’s Island.

Easy and affordable ideas for renovating an RV

1. Paint 2. Remove the wallpaper border(s) 3. Replace the furniture 4. Add a backsplash in the kitchen 5. Remove all curtain valances 6. Replace the lighting 7. Decorate

Tips for renovating an RV

Paint

If you are going to paint any surfaces, be prepared for a lot of wall prep. Everything must be sanded first or nothing will adhere, then you have to wipe it down with TSP, apply a good quality primer (don’t skip this step!) and then paint. Use lots and lots of coats, especially if you are going with white.

Decals

Removing the manufacturer’s exterior decals is time consuming but worth it. A heat gun, a plastic scraper and an alcohol-based cleaner (for decal residue) will be your friends for this project.

Weight

The Langleys are not planning to tow their RV anywhere (it’s hooked up to a septic and power at their beach lot), but they didn’t want to do anything that would affect its resale value for those who might want to tow it in the future. They removed the built-in banquette, two sofas, quite a few cupboards and some cabinetry doors. In the end, the RV ended up lighter than when they started.

Tile

Some renovators recommend using peel and stick tile only, as it doesn’t add any additional weight or break during towing. Others are absolutely against peel and stick and say to use real tile (small format to limit tow weight and breakage) because it stands up better to fluctuating temperatures (hello Nova Scotia winters!). The Langleys used real tile and mortar and so far, so good.

Lighting

You can buy a standard light fixture from your local hardware or lighting store and install it in your RV, if you make sure your lightbulb matches the voltage of the existing fixture.

Faucet

You can install any faucet in an RV, as long as you have the appropriate adapter. Note, the pipes in a residential house are not the same size as an RV.

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