EAT Magazine 27-01 January|February 2023

WELCOME TO OUR FIRST ISSUE OF THE NEW YEAR. You made it through the holidays and are hopefully excited for 2023. Maybe you made a few resolutions?

I look forward to visiting new restaurants and shops, as well as returning to some old favourites; to the slow simmering stews of January while planning out the garden for the spring; to a few more walks in the snow; and to the first snowdrops and crocuses poking out of the ground in February.

While it is true that Victoria is a small (but growing) city, we punch above our weight when it comes to our food scene. Just look at the number of new restaurants, delis, shops, and cafés that opened last year. Our farmers are resilient and fill markets with some of the highest quality produce in the country. Local products are popping up in good grocery stores across the city.

In this issue, Cinda Chavich goes on a trip to the Cowichan Valley checking out local dairies, and Camille Germain takes a trip to Quadra Island. We catch up with Fuego for breakfast and Oak Bay Seafood for lunch. And we have some stellar dinner recipes to keep things interesting in your kitchen.

Thank you to everyone on the EAT team—from the creatives to those printing and delivering the magazine. To our loyal advertising clients, a big thank you as well. Without your support, there wouldn’t be a magazine. To our loyal readers, a heartfelt Happy New Year!

To me, food is as much about the moment, the occasion, the location, and the company as it is about the taste.

CYNTHIA ANNETT-HYNES EDITOR

CITY EATS

—Heston Blumenthal

REBECCA BAUGNIET

Happy New Year, EAT readers! The days are getting longer again, but if the promise of cherry blossoms in February is not quite enough to get you through the month of January, how about some tropical eats to warm you up? In case you missed it last fall, MAiiZ Nixtamal opened at 540 Fisgard St. You can stop in seven days a week for their authentic, high-quality tortillas made with stone-ground certified organic corn, or you can stop in for hot food, served Friday through Sunday.

If one of your resolutions is to master a new cuisine (or just learn how to make a few new dishes) then you are in luck. Cook Culture’s in-person cooking classes are back. Chef Mara Jernigan will be hosting a series of regional Italian cooking classes including Warm Sicilian Flavours and Puglia’s Fields of Flavours.

Parry Bay Sheep Farm

Metchosin, BC

Parry Bay Sheep Farm along with Stillmeadow Farm sells lamb, pork and roasting chicken to restaurants and butcher shops in Victoria and through our on-farm market in Metchosin. We truly appreciate those who “walk the talk” and support local producers. From picturesque pastures to backyard barbecues Parry Bay lambs make people smile.

John & Lorraine Buchanan 250.478.9628

instagram: @parrybayfarm contact@parrybaysheepfarm.com facebook.com/parrybaysheepfarm www.parrybaysheepfarm.com facebook.com/ParryBayFarmMarket

The popular gourmet burger restaurant The Pink Bicycle closed its doors this past fall, after 13 years in business. Burger fans can now try a new variety of burgers in the same location at 1008 Blanshard St., at the recently opened Yukatsu & Uburger. The Yukatsu menu has loin, fish, chicken, and cheese katsu on offer, with a choice of bulgogi and chicken burger on the Uburger menu.

A new destination for coffee and vinyl lovers, Torch Song Café has opened at 1812 Government St. serving Bows and Arrows coffee and featuring lunch options and pastries as well as a collection of new and used records and books. This will be a spot for great sipping, listening, and reading.

Goodside Baking, maker of the most exquisite cream puff and mousse pastries, has acquired a space for a storefront at 1805 Fort St., and we can’t wait for it to open. Owner/chef Haley Landa has been a pastry chef for close to a decade, has worked at Working Culture, and does a monthly radio segment for CBC’s North by Northwest.

Refire Kitchen has opened a second location at 100 Aldersmith Pl. in View Royal. Refire offers a delicious selection of gourmet, fully prepared meals to take and bake.

The Hotel Grand Pacific will be hosting the popular Victoria Whisky Festival again this year. The festival will include master classes and grand tastings as well as the 13th Annual Canadian Whisky Awards Presentation and Dinner. Jan 19–22.

Destination Greater Victoria and the BC Restaurant & Foodservices Association (BCRFA), Victoria Branch, are once again teaming up to organize the always-popular Dine Around and Stay in Town Victoria. From Jan. 20–Feb. 5, more than 50 of Victoria’s best restaurants are offering set three-course menus at deliciously low prices. A gala launch will be held at the Crystal Garden on Jan. 19. Both locals and visitors alike delight in the wide range of culinary experiences as well as the host of world-class accommodations to be had in the Greater Victoria area.

FOUNDER

Gary Hynes

PUBLISHER Pacific Island Gourmet

EDITOR Cynthia Annett-Hynes

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR / COPY EDITOR Carolyn Bateman

SENIOR WINE WRITER Larry Arnold

ART DIRECTOR Cynthia Annett-Hynes

PRODUCTION AND DESIGN Rhonda Ganz

REGIONAL REPORTERS Victoria, Rebecca Baugniet

CONTRIBUTORS

Isabelle Bulota, Cinda Chavich, Jacqueline Downey Gillie Easdon, Camille Germain, Andrea Mackenzie, Elizabeth Monk, Elizabeth Nyland, Adrian Paradis, Shelora Sheldan, Johann Vincent, Rebecca Wellman

REGIONAL/NATIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGER Susan Worrall

ADVERTISING ACCOUNT MANAGER Ron Metella

CONTRIBUTING AGENCIES iStock.com pages 3, 6, 9, 17 | Shutterstock page 18

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STOCKISTS

The Gary Hynes Foundation

The Gary Hynes Foundation was established to continue Gary’s lifelong goal of helping others become the best they can be in the culinary, journalism and music disciplines—to continue his work of mentoring, supporting the food and beverage industry, believing in the power of the printed word, and loving a good bass line in a song.

All donations go to scholarships for those studying these disciplines. Please donate to keep his dream going by visiting vancouverfoundation.ca/hynes

Seedy Saturday events are returning to Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands this year. Seeds of Diversity has been supporting these events for more than 30 years. Each event is independently organized and run by groups of dedicated individuals across the country. Some are volunteers, some are paid staff members with local organizations, but there is one thing they all have in common: they care about preserving Canadian seed heritage and diversity. At press time, Seedy Saturday was scheduled to take place in Qualicum Beach on Feb. 4, Salt Spring Island on Feb. 25, and Duncan on Mar. 19.

Watch for tickets to go on sale very soon for Victoria’s first natural and organic wine festival, Barnyard Natural Wine Festival. Wineries attending will be from BC and all over the globe. The festival is on Mar. 24, 7pm–10pm at the Lions Den Restaurant at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre.

Visit eatmagazine.ca for more articles, recipes, news and events.

EAT is delivered to over 200 pick-up locations in BC. PRINTED IN CANADA EAT® is a registered trademark. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Pacific Island Gourmet / EAT Magazine. EST. 1999

GARY HYNES — EAT MAGAZINE FOUNDER, PUBLISHER AND EDITOR FOR 19 YEARS

NEW WINES TO TRY FOR A NEW YEAR

Five European wines to smooth the way into the new year stylishly and economically.

WELL, HERE WE GO AGAIN, almost a quarter of the way through the new century with a fresh batch of wines to help you ease into the new year and not put too much strain on the old pocketbook!

Saint-Louis Blanc De Blancs Brut NV France $15.00

A big hit with savvy wine buyers and impoverished Champagne drinkers, this blend of Ugni Blanc and Airén undergoes its secondary fermentation in massive pressurized tanks before being fined, filtered, dosed, tweaked, and finally bottled under pressure. Sort of Champagne-like but very much cheaper. A lovely mousse, with an attractive floral nose, it’s fresh and creamy with white peach, citrus, and pear flavours. Very much made in an aperitif style with a delicate fruity finish. The wine has some sweetness but, all in all, a pretty classy fizz considering the price.

El Tocador Old Vines Tempranillo 2019 Spain $16.00

This hearty Tempranillo from the hot, dusty plains of Castilla-La Mancha surrounding Madrid in the heart of Spain oozes with the heady aromas of concentrated black cherries, blueberries, spice, and wild herbs. Fullbodied and savoury with juicy berry flavours, firm, fine-grained tannins, and a long, dry finish.

Ormarine Picpoul De Pinet Les Pins De Camille 2020 France $19.00

With spring just around the corner (we hope), Picpoul de Pinet is the perfect wine for the season. The grape is indigenous to a small area near Montpellier in the south of France. Some consider it the Chablis of the south. I would venture closer to Muscadet and leave it at that. Very crisp, with citrus, passion fruit, and subtle floral aromas. Clean and fresh, with simple fruit flavours, a slightly oily texture, and soft acidity.

Tollo Pietrame Edizione Limitata Montepulciano D’Abruzzo 2019 Italy $15.00

Another winner from Italy, and again it is Montepulciano D’Abruzzo on the podium. With more than 800 members farming more than 3,000 hectares of vineyards, Cantina Tollo offers consumers a significant selection of Abruzzi wines at a multitude of price points. This hearty red spends 18 months in used French barriques followed by a further six months in the bottle before release to the public. Very dense with sweet black cherry, herbs and cassis flavours, soft tannins, and a long firm finish that just keeps going.

Mas de Sainte Croix Tendresse d’un Climat Côtesdu-Rhône-Villages Valréas 2019 France $20.99

The tiny village of Valréas is firmly ensconced in the northeastern corner of the Côtes du Rhône Villages appellation. It is near the point where the Southern Rhône meets the Northern. Slightly cooler and windier, if that is at all possible, the commune straddles the warmth of a Mediterranean climate to its south and the extremes of the continental to the north. A blend of Grenache and Syrah, hold the Mouvedré, Tendresse is medium- to full-bodied with dark fruit, Provençal herbs, and anise on the nose. Very lush, with strawberry, spice, and violet notes on the palate and a firm tannic structure. This tasty red really opens up after a few minutes in the glass or decanter.

Dr. Loosen “Dr. L” Riesling 2021 Germany $18.00

At a mere 8.5% alc/vol. this classy little Riesling, sourced from the steep slate slopes of Germany’s Mosel Valley, shouldn’t put you out for the night if you enjoy a glass or two as a nightcap. Elegant but racy with a bouquet of spring flowers, peaches, and minerals on the nose. Soft and fruity with fresh peach and citrus flavours and a cut of zippy acidity balancing the natural sweetness.

Cantine Florio, Marsala Superiore, Dolce Vecchioflorio 2018 Italy $21.00

Marsala is a fortified wine (18% alc/vol.) produced on the western edge of the island of Sicily, just off the toe of Italy. Historically, its roots run deep, but Marsala in its present-day incarnation has only been around since the mid-17th century. Aged for a minimum of 24 months in Slovenian oak casks, the Dolce is sweet with 108 g/l of residual sugar. Very rich, with plenty of heft, and pronounced notes of dates, raisins, molasses, figs, nuts, and spice. It’s sweet, but there is more than enough acidity to offset its potentially cloying nature. This is not just an Italian cooking wine your grandmother used to deglaze the pan, the bottle sitting, unloved, firmly attached to a shelf in the liquor cabinet. Rich, indeed. Complex, you bet. Delicious, more please!

Prices may vary and do not include tax and deposit.

and amazing memories.

Enjoy handcrafted pizza, custom cocktails, local wines and wine flights in our modern tasting room or covered, heated outdoor patio.

Good for You THE WHITE STUFF

In which our fearless columnist, Carolyn Bateman, embarks on a quest for a Sugar-Free January.

I LOVE CHOCOLATE-MACADAMIA NUT cookies and those cookie dough ice creams. Even though I eat a healthy diet and live a healthy lifestyle, I still crave the white stuff. What’s with that?

Turns out we modern people still possess prehistoric brains, and they’re seriously due for an upgrade. Our grey matter is wired to identify sweet things as good because, two million years ago, detecting sweetness meant we’d found food teeming with calories. Our predecessors needed all the energy they could get for full days of hunting, gathering, building shelters, raising young, and running from predators.

So we’re wired to love sweetness, despite modern human brains knowing about things like obesity, heart disease, diabetes, cognitive decline, and cancer.

Laughing in the face of neuroscience, I’m taking the Sugar-Free January challenge this year (I think, maybe). Full disclosure—I tried this the first time I heard about Sugar-Free January and noticed that dozens of websites were ready and waiting to support us hapless aspirants. I won’t need support, I thought. This will be easy. I’ll just avoid foods with added sugars. The problem is almost all processed foods contain added sugars, and not just the obvious ones like candies, cookies, and soft drinks. Breads, pasta sauces, granola bars, frozen pizzas, even fish cakes for goodness sake contain added sugars because manufacturers know it makes them irresistible to these prehistoric brains.

So, yes, cutting out sugar means transforming our diets from a reliance on packaged foods to an emphasis on whole foods, that’s true. But I’m still not quite ready to banish sweetness from my life. Surely some sugary foods are safe to eat?

Definitely, but before we take a look, let’s be clear. Replacing sugar with substitutes like aspartame and sucralose is not the answer. Health studies have been warning about chemical sweeteners for years. The latest nail in the coffin of guilt-free sugar comes from a large-scale nutrition study from France, the NutriNet-Santé Study, which found associations between consuming artificial sweeteners and cardiovascular disease and cancer.

So let’s find some healthier alternatives:

Stevia The leaves of the Stevia rebaudiana plant have long been used by native peoples to sweeten food with no calories or sugars. Nanaimo’s Crave Stevia, which started in 2002 and is now an international company, makes organic stevia drops, powder, and baking mixes processed to have the colour, texture and dissolvability of table sugar. You can also buy powdered stevia leaf in its more natural green form. Stevia is about 200 times sweeter than sugar so a little goes a long way. It can have a slightly medicinal aftertaste so I sometimes mix it with a little brown coconut sugar.

Monk fruit Extracts of this Asian melon have been used as sweeteners for centuries. Like stevia, it has no calories, carbs, or effect on blood sugar. It’s often mixed with non-GMO erythritol to create a substitute that’s probably the closest to sugar you’ll find. Erythritol is a sugar alcohol, a form of carbohydrate, and while it’s not made from chemicals like aspartame, it is processed. The reason it doesn’t have any calories is because it’s not actually metabolized by the body (unlike stevia). Consequently, it can cause digestive distress if it ferments in your gut. Eeeww, I know, but give it a try and see if it works for you in moderation. Monk fruit (as well as stevia) is readily available in grocery and health food stores.

Dates When sugar cravings pounce, I sometimes grab an organic date. This complex carbohydrate contains fibre, calcium, magnesium, potassium, vitamin B6, iron, copper, and a low glycemic level (around 42 compared to table sugar at 65). The fibre makes dates metabolize slowly, which means less immediate impact on blood sugar. Try baking with them or use raw, unprocessed date sugar.

Raw honey Different honeys have different glycemic levels, but on average it’s about a 58. Raw honey is not heated or filtered, so the bee pollen, royal jelly, and propolis are intact. Those healthy nutrients mean it gets metabolized more slowly in the body, so if you’re going to eat sugar, it might as well be healthy sugar. Buy local, like Babe’s raw and unpasteurized honey in Saanich, Fredrich’s unpasteurized honey (Nanaimo), and Queen Bee raw honey (Malahat). Considering taking on the Sugar-Free January challenge yourself? I’m feeling more positive I can do it now I know my love of sugar isn’t some weakness of mine but a real, if antiquated, biological need. And that helps.

THE STINKING LILY SHINES

The humble onion is an inexpensive ingredient that can easily become the delectable main event.

CONSIDER THE ONION. An essential bit player that provides needed backbone to stocks, stews, and a multitude of sauces, the onion is a staple of almost every cuisine. Rare is the cookbook that is onion-free.

A member of the genus Allium in the lily family, which includes leeks, garlic, chives, scallions, and shallots, onions are the oldest crop known to humans. Native to southern Asia and the Ural Mountains, they have long been valued in China and India for their pungent flavour. It’s this distinctive aromatic property that has given them the nickname “the stinking lily.”

During our fall and winter harvests, sacks of onions are plentiful and relatively affordable, considering rising food costs. In Canada, yellow onions are the norm, with red and white varieties stepping up to the plate. And in the long, dark stretches of winter, there’s no better time to explore onion’s potential for healthy sustenance.

In its raw state, an onion is overpowering in flavour, but that hasn’t deterred some from relishing its sharp, acidic jab. The celebrated chef, writer, and bon vivant James Beard, for example, made an onion sandwich famous. Created to spruce things up in the hors d’oeuvres world, the now catering classic consists of

two slices of brioche, challah, or white bread, cut into circles, and spread with mayonnaise and thinly shaved onion. The edges of the circular sandwich are then rolled in mayonnaise and chopped parsley for a green, frilly finish.

I’m not a fan of raw onions and I wish restaurants would stop using chopped raw scallions as a colourful garnish. You’re left with nothing but its lingering pungency on your palate for hours.

When freshly chopped raw onions are asked for in a recipe, as in a guacamole, I always soak the chopped onions in cold water for about 20 minutes before draining and adding them to the avocado. It deflames them, taking out the bite without ruining flavour and texture. I find white onions have a cleaner taste and hold their shape better than yellow onions. (White onions are the preferred allium in Mexican cuisine.)

We’ve all shed many a tear chopping onions, and there are various tricks out there to prevent the waterworks. I’ve tried many of them—including wearing goggles— but the most effective is refrigerating the onion beforehand—it works!

Sautéing this global ingredient transforms its pungency into something sweet and savoury, but you can obtain similar flavour profiles by baking, roasting, or grilling it. A favourite recipe of mine—and so easy—is thickly sliced red onions, marinated in cider vinegar, salt, and chopped mint, and then grilled. It’s a great accompaniment to grilled salmon and other barbecued proteins in the summer. Baked, gratinéed, or stuffed onions are all excellent and make wonderful side dishes to roasted meats or as a first course. Battered and deep fried they’re

moreish for their crispy, crunchy texture, enjoyed on their own or added to a burger. Onions can also be pickled. Pearl onions are de rigueur in a Gibson cocktail or served with raclette, and a light pickling of sliced yellow or white onions in lime juice or other acid are great as an addition to curries or tacos.

Caramelized, onions transform into something deeply complex—sweet, jammy, and flavourful. It requires time and patience to coax every little bit of caramelized colour and complexity from them, so go low and slow. Bonus: your kitchen is going to smell amazing. It can take up to an hour to obtain the right deep luscious colour, so don’t be tempted to turn up the heat. They can burn easily and give a bitter taste to the end result. And don’t forget to deglaze your pan once they’re done. You don’t want to miss any of that stuck-on deliciousness at the bottom of the pan. Balsamic vinegar works well for this, especially if you’re making an onion jam, for example. If you’re making soup, try deglazing with white wine or brandy.

Chef and instructor Heidi Fink likes to use up a surfeit of onions by caramelizing them deeply. She suggests using their versatility in lasagna (or any baked pasta), soups, sandwich spreads, as a topping for burgers or pizza, and on charcuterie boards.

They’re also an essential ingredient in pissaladière, a French pizza-like dish scattered with anchovies and black olives. French onion soup is my go-to comfort dish in the winter months. Caramelized onions are added to a rich chicken, beef, or even roasted vegetable broth and topped with cheese taken to a bubbling melted finish. It’s a dish to impress, lunch, or dinner. I prefer a nutty cheese such as Gruyère, but Swiss is equally welcome—it’s stringier when melted, with a sweet note. (Ideally you want a molten-hot, stringy, and gooey topping.)

The onion soup at Victoria’s Brasserie l’Ecole is a real decadent animal. First, yellow onions, with the skins on, are halved then roasted, cut-side down—not sautéed. They’re then added to a large pot of chicken stock along with bacon lardons, a large amount of dark beer, and a cheesecloth sachet filled with bacon ends, parmesan rinds, the roasted onion skins, garlic, peppercorns, and fresh herbs to simmer into a deeply rich and flavourful conclusion. Each order, served in a classic French crockery bowl, is capped off with a generous amount of Swiss cheese, broiled to a golden-brown with crusty bits that have melted onto the side of the bowl, before being brought to the table. A stinking lily no more!

EHAURYLIK

ISTOCK.COM/

Eating Well For Less MIDDAY TRAVEL TO OTHER LANDS

Go to Japan or the Caribbean on your lunch hour this week.

Stir It Up

760 YATES ST., NEAR DOUGLAS STREET, 778-432-0133

CAN’T MAKE IT TO the Caribbean this winter? For a feeling of sunshine and Caribbean flavours, try Stir It Up, located in a wide alley off Yates Street near the Cineplex Odeon. The atmosphere is casual and fun, with blue and yellow on the walls connoting ocean and sun. Reggae plays in the background. The restaurant has been in Victoria for 15 years, and the owner Natalie Justin

Every day there is your choice of roti or rice along with chicken curry or vegetable curry, or jerk pork or jerk chicken, for $18. Also always on the menu are veggie or beef patties for $5. My veggie curry roti was a soft pillowy pancake of a wrap encasing white curried potato, stewed lentils, and the occasional bite of sweet potato. It gave an overall impression of sweetness, with gentle hints of spices such as curry, turmeric, marjoram, and thyme. The jerk chicken meal consists of three pieces of grilled chicken with flavourful jerk spice topping with peppercorns, ghost peppers, and habanero peppers. I opted for a drizzle of house-made hot sauce on top. The chicken is served on an immensely flavourful rice dish seasoned with coconut milk, nutmeg, and cinnamon, and dotted with beans. It made me vow to up my boring rice game at home.

There’s nothing more enjoyable than a handheld meaty snack. The beef patty does not disappoint with its flaky pastry, an enticing dark yellow colour from the turmeric, stuffed with ground beef seasoned with thyme, rosemary, and ghost peppers.

Stir It Up is open Monday to Saturday and each day features a daily special. I will definitely be back on a weekend to try Friday’s curry goat and Saturday’s ox tail.

Toro Bar & Bar

250-381-8868

HIRO FANG, A FORMER HEAD CHEF from Nobu, opened Toro Japanese restaurant in August. The restaurant is spacious and airy, but with lots of booths for a more intimate meal, and splashes of vibrant red making the space seem both playful and sexy. And with the lunchtime bento box offering a generous 10 items for $18.99, it is hard for an Eating Well for Less fan to resist.

Nine items are served in gorgeous, square, blue pottery bowls, and a miso soup is served alongside.

One tiny dish is a daily special, which on my day was plump, pan-fried pork dumplings with a lightly vinegared sauce on top. Tempura-battered yams are crisp and toothsome, the two prawns large and juicy.

Vegetables figure as well in this cornucopia. Kaiso, or seaweed, salad is dressed in a honey-Dijon mayonnaise and topped with a decorative slice of grilled lotus. The daily salad has some crunch to it, with mixed greens and cranberries topped with dried onions, carrot, and red cabbage.

Meanwhile, the lunch bento box also contains the requisite sushi—one dish with California roll, one with Dynamite roll—and one very special one. Aburi tuna oshi means flame-seared tuna that is also pressed. This dense, smoky square of sushi is decorated with a smear of egg yolk pesto and sprinkled shiso. Lunchtime desserts vary, but on my day, there was honeydew melon and strawberry.

A number of other meal-sized dishes are under $20, including Ichiban Charsiu Ramen for $18. This is a huge chicken and fish stock-based noodle soup served in a blue pottery bowl, with barbecue pork in the centre, surrounded by dollops of edamame beans and corn, as well as seaweed, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, shitake mushrooms, and a jammy half egg.

At Toro, you can find affordable food, an inventive and extensive menu for evening dining, and elegant surroundings.

Oak Bay Seafood

The market’s fresh fish fuels an array of inspiring fare made by a kitchen team who clearly enjoys each other and their work.

“YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT Oak Bay Seafood’s Taco Tuesday,” recommends my aunt. “They’re really out of this world.” Curious and always up for quality time with tacos, I venture there a few times over the next couple of weeks and sample most of the kitchen’s menu. And yes, the fish tacos are amazing, but that’s only the tip of this culinary tale.

My first foray to this seafood market on Oak Bay Avenue isn’t on a Tuesday, so the tacos have to wait. I go for the halibut and chips, deconstructed salmon burger, coleslaw, popcorn shrimp, chipotle aioli, wasabi aioli, and tartar sauce. The fish is exquisite and fresh. All the batters, sauces, and dips are house-made. The batter is crispy and light, the tartar flavourful, complementing the fish without the “glugginess” of mass-produced sauces. The fries are made with Kennebec potatoes, valued for their nuttiness and low water volume, which produces a firm shell when fried—a solid fry. The red cabbage coleslaw is thinly shredded, dressed with vinaigrette. The chipotle and wasabi aiolis are fantastic, imparting more flavour than heat.

The salmon “burger” was grilled with cumin brown sugar, lemon zest, and thyme. I had expected a ground patty, so this Caribbean-barbecue-flavoured piece of salmon is a fantastic surprise. Then come the popcorn shrimp, tiny machine-peeled shrimp encased in cornmeal and cornstarch with chipotle seasoning. Salty, spicy, juicy, with a yummy texture from the cornmeal—delicious.

The following week, on Taco Tuesday, I’m back, ordering halibut tacos, salmon tacos, fish stew, crispy fried oysters, seafood chowder, and the popcorn shrimp again (had to). This time, I meet V, as he is known, the executive chef. Vihanga Manukulasuriya has been with Oak Bay Seafood since mid-2022. We set a time to chat the next day, and I head home to feast (the store only has a couple of tables indoors).

You get two large flour tacos stuffed with cumin, lemon juice, garlic, and dill-spiced ground salmon

or halibut with an order: fragrant, fresh, and filling, easily a meal by themselves. V uses fish scraps for the tacos. Nothing is wasted. The fish stew is tomatobased with red wine, fennel, and caramelized honey to reduce the acidity. Perfect for a chilly night with warm crusty bread. The crispy fried oysters are from Baynes Sound, the channel between Denman and Vancouver Island. They are very yummy, very big oysters.

Next, I dive into the seafood chowder. My God. Deane is one of Oak Bay Seafood’s cooks, and he spent years on sauces and soups at the long-gone Samuel’s, perfecting his craft. His chowder, the kitchen’s bestseller, includes potatoes, leeks, cream, garlic, celery, carrot, onion, shrimp, rockfish, cod, halibut, salmon, spices, fish stock, and love. That night, even after putting leftovers into the fridge and freezer, stuffed to the gills, I keep eating the chowder. I couldn’t help myself.

The next morning, I head back to the shop/kitchen. V has a stunning plate of appetizers laid out for me, part of a catering gig to celebrate the 10th year of the

Chef Vihanga Manukulasuriya of Oak Bay Seafood

FERNCAFEANDBAKERY.CA

Oak Bay Beach Hotel renovation. (Oak Bay Seafood doesn’t generally do catering.) The prawn nestled in a shot glass of French cocktail sauce, smoked albacore tuna with tamarind on a cucumber, and salmon mousse topped in caviar on a crouton were stunning examples of V’s talent and creativity. “I had to make the salmon mousse a few times to get the consistency right for the piping bag.”

V moved to Victoria in 2020. He’s from Windsor, Ontario, and planned to become a banker, like his father. But while studying economics, he started working with chef Don Kumarasinghe at 3D Live Caterers. Most of V’s Italian and French training took place during off-season with chef Don when engaged couples would do tastings to select their opulent wedding banquets. After nine years (2009–2018) working with the catering company, V opened a Five Guys a burgers and fries franchise in Windsor. When the pandemic hit in 2020, he shut it down and moved to Victoria to work as head chef at The Beach House Restaurant, then Browns Socialhouse, and finally settling in at Oak Bay Seafood. During his time at the Beach House Restaurant, he met chef Anne Tippawan, who now also works part-time at Oak Bay Seafood. She studied culinary arts in Thailand and spent years cooking at the Thai Embassy in China. She makes an incredible Tom Yum soup with her house-made fish stock, and you’ll often see Thai

curry dishes on the specials menu. “There’s so much flexibility and access, having a kitchen as part of a seafood store,” V enthuses.

Oak Bay Seafood is committed to not wasting anything. Fish frames (entire bone structure) are used in stocks, scraps are used in tacos, and on quiet days, the kitchen produces food for the freezer—chowders, mussel soups, etc. “I shucked mussels for a soup, then Anne made a Thai coconut soup from the broth from shucking.” It’s a chef’s dream, really. “You don’t have to think about pricing as much; you just have access to this incredibly fresh seafood,” says V, passion emblazoned on his face. “I also love that it is an open kitchen. We have no secrets. Customers can see what we are doing, and we can get to know them.” He pauses and bids a warm welcome to Vivian, a regular, offering her his chair. Clearly, V’s settling in well and creating community in what is already a thriving, well-loved, ethical business.

Owners and fisherfolk Gregg and Anne Best have been fishing and bringing high-quality, locally sourced seafood to their customers for more than four decades. They even built their own troller/ longliner, The Hopeful (“let’s hope it’s full”), in 1981. In 2010, they opened their first retail outlet in Cowichan Bay, then moved to the Victoria Public Market at the Hudson, until dropping anchor in Oak Bay. The shop has a range of fresh and frozen seafood, spices, rubs and dips, and a fantastic freezer full of take-home shepherd’s pie, Tom Yum Soup, seafood chowder, and whatever else they feel like making. Gluten-sensitive or intolerant folk will be thrilled to learn that most items are gluten-free or can be modified.

Wrapping up the interview, V hands me a container of tropical salsa made of tiny diced pineapple, red onion, red peppers, cilantro, honey, oil, and hot sauce, to give to my aunt. Then he asks if I have time for lunch and, why yes, I do. He presents me with a gorgeous piece of seared halibut on a bed of rice with a yellow Thai curry. It transports me back to Thailand, with its luscious flavour of curry pastes from scratch. Yum. It’s heartwarming and appetite-kindling to witness the dedication, warmth, and inspiration fuelled by fresh flavours and a team who clearly enjoy each other and their work. Future plans include outside dining, as there are only a couple of tables inside and the shop gets busy. Great idea, because the secret’s out now.

Seafood risotto with grilled salmon and a tropical salsa

JOHANN VINCENT

REPORTER

Fuego Old Town Eatery

Buenos dias! Fuego brings the colours and flavours of Mexico to hearty, healthy breakfasts in Victoria.

OVERLOOKING THE JOHNSON STREET BRIDGE on the west side of Market Square, Fuego has been Victoria’s spot for a Mexican breakfast for almost eight years.

The restaurant occupies the former location of neighbouring Café Mexico’s takeout counterpart, Café Mexigo. “But after the fire in 2014 happened,” says Fuego and Café Mexico co-owner Hilda Olberg, “we were devastated and wondered if we would stay in business or pack it in.” Instead, inspired by a Mexican breakfast concept they’d been thinking about for some time, Fuego (Spanish for fire) opened in 2015.

The extensive menu of both breakfast and lunch offerings is a testament to the fact that Mexican cuisine goes way beyond tacos and burritos. “There are so many great breakfast dishes in Mexico,” says Olberg, noting that many options on the menu can be made gluten-free or vegan. One fan favourite is the Conquistador— two eggs atop crispy potato pancakes covered in house-made hot sauce and salsa roja. The hot sauce is vibrantly orange, and habanero peppers give it a fruity spiciness. If you’re particularly fond of the hot sauce, you can buy your own bottle to take home.

And if you’re looking for something a little different, the Chilaquiles Skillet resembles breakfast nachos in the best possible way. Tortilla chips with refried beans, cheese, and salsa roja are baked in a skillet and then topped with eggs, guacamole, queso fresco, and pico de gallo.

Impossible to miss when you enter the space is a large mural of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo on the right-hand wall (one of the only surviving artifacts from the original Café Mexico). A tribute to not only the spirit of Mexico but also strong women and resiliency, it seems like a fitting portrait to occupy this space.

Fuego is open seven days a week for all-day breakfast and lunch and offers both vegan and gluten-free options. ADRIAN

PARADIS

Dashi-Poached Sablefish Noodle Soup

INGREDIENTS

2 x 150g pieces Wild BC Sablefish 3 cups dashi broth (or other flavourful stock)

1 Tbsp each miso paste, soy sauce, honey and sambal

1Tbsp + 1tsp minced ginger

1 tsp minced garlic

2 cups sliced shitake mushrooms 1/3 pack enoki mushrooms

1 Tbsp sesame oil ½ tsp kosher salt 4 green onions 125g soba noodles Finest at Sea Shichimi Togarashi, to garnish

METHOD : In small sauce pot, heat dashi broth over medium heat. Add miso paste, soy sauce, honey, sambal, 1 Tbsp minced ginger and bring to a gentle simmer. Place sablefish in the broth and allow to poach at a gentle simmer for 12-15 minutes (depending on the thickness). While the fish is poaching, sautee shitakes, sesame oil, garlic and remaining ginger in a pan with ½ tsp salt. Set aside

when mushrooms are tender. Cook soba noodles in boiling water as per package instructions. Divide cooked noodles into 2 deep bowls, top with the sablefish and pour broth over top. Garnish with sauteed shitakes, raw enokis, sliced green onions and a sprinkle of togarashi. Enjoy hot with someone you love.

The Beet Goes On

All the hearty, healthy goodness of borscht in an elegant warm salad that’s perfect for those after-holiday blues.

RECIPE

Andrea Mackenzie

STYLING + PHOTOGRAPHY

Jacqueline Downey

Are you feeling the aftermath of the holiday high? A little jaded from all of the charcuterie boards, sweets, and turkey? Here’s a recipe that will bring you back to life with bright flavours, helping you kick off the new year with a tasty, healthy dish.

If you’re unfamiliar with this traditional Ukrainian dish, borscht is a hearty soup made with beef broth, various root vegetables, and cabbage. Beet’s beautiful colour makes the characteristic deep red of the dish, and then it is topped with sour cream and dill to bring all the flavours together.

Take all the vibrant flavours from this soup and create a side dish extraordinaire or one that stands beautifully on its own as the main attraction. And since we’re in the midst of the winter season, you can get most of these ingredients at farm markets.

What better way to start your year off than by supporting local businesses while eating healthy at the same time?

Warm Borscht Salad

Beets

10 beets (medium size)

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Individually wrap each beet with tinfoil so fully covered, place on a baking sheet, and cook for 55–60 minutes until soft.

Unwrap as soon as you can. Let cool for at least 30 minutes. Then peel the skin off with a paring knife (or cloth that you don’t mind getting stained), and cut into quarters (use kitchen gloves to prevent staining your hands).

Braised cabbage

1 yellow onion (small dice)

2 Tbsp canola oil

5 cups red cabbage (large dice)

1 tsp dried thyme

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup water

1 Tbsp grainy mustard

5 Tbsp maple syrup

1 tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

Sweat onions in canola oil in a deep saucepan for 5 minutes on medium heat. Add cabbage and continue to sauté for an additional 6–8 minutes, then add dried thyme, vinegar, water, grainy mustard, maple syrup, salt, and pepper. Stir all ingredients to incorporate, then cover with lid, and continue to cook on mediumlow for another 50–55 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

Once cooked, strain, reserving all the cabbage juice liquid (about 1½ cups worth) for the dressing.

Dressing

1½ cups reserved cabbage juice

1 Tbsp maple syrup

2 Tbsp grainy mustard

Juice of ½ lemon

2 cooked beets (small dice)

1 cup canola oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Combine cabbage liquid, maple syrup, mustard, lemon juice, and beets in a bowl and puree with a hand blender until smooth. While still mixing on low, add canola oil until well incorporated (creating a smooth, emulsified texture).

Add potatoes to a pot and cover with cold water. Add vinegar and salt, bring to a boil on high heat, and boil until fully cooked. Drain and set aside.

Dill Sour Cream

1 cup sour cream

2 Tbsp dill (chopped fine) plus some for garnish

½ tsp garlic salt

Zest and juice of ½ lemon

Combine sour cream, chopped dill, garlic salt, lemon zest and juice, and mix well. Let sit for at least 2 hours before serving to let flavours meld.

Put it together

Combine roasted beets, braised cabbage, dressing, and potatoes in a casserole dish and toss together until well coated. Place casserole dish in oven and warm at 400°F for 5 minutes.

Once warm, portion out onto plates or serve family style. Finish with dollops of Dill Sour Cream on top and garnish with fresh dill and salt.

TIP

Potatoes

12 Baby Gem potatoes

Water

2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

Salt

Instead of sour cream, use yogurt or a vegan alternative. If you’re feeling sassy, add goat cheese or ricotta. Or, if you’re ambitious, make the crème of the crèmes—your own crème fraîche!

ISTOCK.COM/ ROTTSTRA

It’s mid-morning on a chilly fall day and Renee Davy has just emerged from her steamy little dairy at Cowichan Station Creamery. I’ve arrived just as she’s finished cutting the curd for her latest batch of farmstead cheese—the selections here are as eclectic as the small mixed herd of cows grazing outside.

A farrier-turned-cheesemaker, Davy is passionate about making farmstead cheese, but especially about caring for their happy cows on this small farm in the Cowichan Valley. And, yes, these animals are clearly living a good life—when Davy steps into the pasture and whistles, the cows literally come charging over a hill to nuzzle her side, ready for scratches and snacks.

Davy and her husband, Henry Rekers, are just a few of the Island’s small farmers offering unique and truly local dairy products, with small-scale and organic production methods, innovative direct marketing, and farm-gate sales. It’s a way to keep these family farms viable while offering consumers artisan cheese, yogurt, and fresh milk with local provenance, direct from pasture to plate.

Small Scale, Big Heart

At Cowichan Station Creamery, Rekers and Davy are truly doing dairy differently.

When a calf is born, it’s kept with its mother for months until weaned. Male calves have a home for life here, along with the “girls” who have retired from milking. Cows have shelter in an airy, bright, steel-and-fabric building, and there’s a live “farm cam” that lets you tune in online to watch their lives unfold in real time. It all makes for happy animals and high-quality milk for cheese, says Rekers, and it’s enlightening to see the amount of hands-on care these farmers provide to them.

Davy’s cheese creations run the gamut of classic styles, from fresh curds to whimsically named Cheddah, Svizz, and grateable Farmesan, the tasty, washed rind Norrie Creek and creamy Koksilah, named for the local terroir. Most wedges are artfully encased in creamy wax and decorated with herbs and flowers. And they’ve recently installed what may be the country’s first automated, refrigerated cheese vending machine outside their farm shop—The Shoppertron— to give customers access to their cheese seven days a week.

Visit the farm store on weekends or just tune in online to watch this transparent picture of animal welfare and farm fresh food.

Message on a Bottle

You’ll pass other larger dairy farms along Koksilah Road, but one that’s taking fluid milk directly to the people is The Cowichan Milk Co. This is the latest incarnation of the vanBoven family’s multi-generational dairy business, milking

cows here since the early 1960s and now processing, bottling, and delivering their own milk to retailers, restaurants, and homes all around the Cowichan Valley. There’s also a large refrigerator filled with their “cream on top” milk and 10 per cent cream at the farm gate, for honour-system sales.

Ben vanBoven grew up on this farm and now runs it with his wife, Margie, and son Matt, milking 50 Holsteins. “This started with Ben’s parents and now we have the third generation, our son Matt and his wife, Darby, who are half owners,” says Margie, “We wouldn’t have done this if it wasn’t for them.”

Their closed herd is fed on their own grass (no corn or silage). The new robotic milking parlour, low-temperature pasteurizing facility, and bottling line makes this farm self-contained for direct milk sales.

Cowichan Milk began local milk deliveries in four small vans in late 2019 and, when the pandemic shut down farmers’ markets, leaving small Valley food producers struggling with distribution, they set up an online store to deliver other local food products, too. (Due to limited supply, deliveries are confined to the Cowichan Valley.)

But many city dwellers now make regular “milk runs” to the farm to buy fresh bottled milk from their self-serve farm stand. Even as many Island dairy producers struggle with high land and labour costs, lack of processing infrastructure and low margins, Ben says their “grass-toglass” model is keeping the family farm viable.

“Dairy farms on Vancouver Island are dying for economic reasons,” he says, “but if we produce valueadded products we can stay in the game. We’ve chosen to stay and work through the hurdles.” The message emblazoned on The Cowichan Milk Co. glass bottles is simple—“Thanks for supporting your local family-owned dairy”— something that’s essential, vanBoven says, if Islanders want local milk producers to survive.

Some of the products available from Cowichan milk producers

WORDS + PHOTOGRAPHY Cinda Chavich

Make a dairy tour of the Cowichan Valley your next delicious day trip

How Now Brown Cow

At Promise Valley Farm & Creamery near Crofton, Mark and Caroline Nagtegaal are focusing on organic, regenerative farming and the heirloom Guernsey breed of dairy cows.

It’s the Island’s first (and only) certified organic dairy farm and milk processor, farming using zerotill methods that improve the soil and sequester carbon. Their small herd of grass-fed Guernsey cows naturally produce A2 milk that’s high in butterfat and beta carotene, and it’s slowly pasteurized, but not homogenized, in their “micro-dairy.”

There’s a stylish farm shop, too, where you can buy their golden cream-top milk from a milk dispensing machine, farmstead yogurt, and feta cheese, all in completely compostable, plant-based packaging.

It’s a unique niche and a win-win formula that proves small-scale dairy farming is viable in the Cowichan Valley, says Mark, who hopes their example will encourage other young dairy farmers to enter the industry.

The couple began their dairy farming “journey” 16 years ago by buying the 25-acre farm and selling milk into the conventional system. As first-generation dairy farmers, with the high input costs of buying land and quota, dairy farming “wasn’t making ends meet,” Caroline says, and after a decade they decided to sell their cows and quota. Three years later, they learned about the Guernsey breed at a dairy farm in Washington and decided to jump back into the dairy business.

“On-farm processing and direct marketing of our organic dairy products became the key to establishing a viable dairy farm,” says the mother of four. “It’s what we’re feeding our kids, and people are getting it. The

support has been amazing.” You may even find their organic milk in local treats, including Kid Sister ice cream pops and Gondola Gelato.

Learning about organic food production has also led them to seasonal sales of their own pasture-raised chicken and plans for raising grass-fed beef in the future. They want to stay small and help other small, island dairy farmers succeed. “I’m not from a dairy farming family, and if I can prove a business model that works, it merits a huge shift from where the industry is going,” says Mark. “We want to prove that if we can change our approach, small can work.”

Goats Galore

There’s a gaggle of goats—about 140, to be exact—on a farm outside Duncan where Cory Spencer and Kirsten Thorarinson produce traditional, raw-milk cheese at Haltwhistle Cheese Co.

Spencer gave up a career in software development to follow his passion for cheesemaking, starting with apprenticeships with several artisan cheesemakers in England and France before buying a small herd of goats and a farm with views across lush pastures in the Cowichan Valley.

They make the kind of raw sheep and cow’s milk cheeses you need for a beautiful cheeseboard—from fresh cheese curds and spreadable chèvre, to creamy blue Abergavenny, alpine-style Belmont (the rind washed in white wine as it ages), Tadwick cheddar, buttery Clevedon and the signature Tomme de Vallée (goat milk) and Thombury (cow’s milk), both versions of the farmer’s cheeses of the French Alps.

“Good milk makes good cheese,” he says, then it’s all about the aging or “affinage” at Haltwhistle. Spencer keeps the wheels in his aging room for four to six months (even longer for their reserve cheeses) where they’re carefully washed with brine and flipped to create the natural rinds and robust flavours that are the signature of these artisan cheeses. Every wedge is then wrapped in their custom cheese paper that lets the cheese breathe.

While the family farm and dairy is not open to visitors, you can find their fine cheeses is all of the best places, from city cheese mongers to top restaurants, as well as Moss Street, Esquimalt, and Duncan farmers’ markets every week.

A Dairy Day Trip

The Cowichan Valley makes for a great day trip.

You can head to the source and the self-serve farm stands and farm shops at Cowichan Station Creamery, Cowichan Milk Co., and Promise Valley Farm & Creamery. Or shop at the independent rural markets and delis that carry their milk, cheese, and yogurt,

including Sweet Meadows Market, Great Greens Farm Market and Cure Artisan Meat & Cheese, all excellent retailers of local Cowichan Valley foods.

With many family dairy farms closing across Canada and dairy barns standing empty on Vancouver Island, these innovative farmers are working hard to find new ways to insure we have access to local dairy, even as big companies centralize production. Putting local dairy products on your shopping list helps. “Support local, small dairy and voice concerns to the BC Milk Marketing Board,” says Mark Nagtegaal. “Lobby for more small-scale processing and grants and incentives for young farmers. Support those who are making changes.”

Caroline Nagtegaal of Promise Valley Farm & Creamery is on an organic mission

Cory Spencer, cheesemaker at Haltwhistle Cheese Co.

Henry Rekers and Renee Davy of Cowichan Station Creamery with their menagerie of cows, including the sacred Indian Gyr cows. And don’t forget Bill the water buffalo (though not pictured).

Roasted Chicken

Roasted chicken is low-key comfort food. Adding a simple wine and nutmeg-scented creamed kale sauce is the supreme part of the endeavour.

Chicken Supreme is really just a fancy way of saying chicken breast.

In this case, I have left the wing attached to the breast (or should I say, my butcher did—thanks Village Butcher). This makes for a little more of a fancy presentation and gives you the slight advantage of having a bone in, which brings flavour and depth when roasting. This recipe is very simple and an absolute comfort food in the dead of winter.

RECIPE + STYLING + PHOTOGRAPHY

Rebecca Wellman

While yes, this is technically a recipe, I am mostly here for inspiration. In other words, make this your own! You see, in freezing cold, slightly miserable January, I prefer to leave the house as little as possible, and tend to shop in my fridge and pantry instead of running out to the shops. Feel free to use thyme instead of rosemary, spinach or chard instead of kale, Asiago instead of Parmesan if that is what you have on hand. And the non-recipe recipe for the drizzle of jus is also extremely flexible.

Add a spot of cream to the sauce, flavour it with a bit of miso or mushroom powder or more Parmesan. Maybe you even spice it up with a few chili flakes. Put the fire on, pour a glass of whatever, and tuck in to the ultimate comfort food. See you in March!

Low-Key Roasted Chicken Supreme with Creamed Kale Serves 4

For the chicken

4 chicken supreme, or 4 chicken breasts, skin on (about 3½ lbs)

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 tsp finely minced rosemary

1 tsp finely minced lemon zest

1 tsp finely minced garlic

For the kale

¼ cup dry white wine (or more lemon juice)

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 lb fresh kale, roughly chopped

1¼ cups heavy cream

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper

Heat oven to 450°F.

Whisk together the olive oil, rosemary, lemon zest, and garlic.

Set the chicken in a shallow baking pan, making sure there is some room between the breasts. Pour the marinade over top and massage it into the skin, being sure to get into all the nooks and crannies. Season well with salt and freshly ground pepper. Let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Roast, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Spoon any drippings over top of the chicken, then roast for a further 10–20 minutes, depending on the size of the breasts. The skin should be crispy and brown, and the internal temperature of the chicken should be 165°F.

Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before serving.

While the chicken is roasting, set a large pot over medium-high heat and add the wine and lemon juice. Bring the liquid to a simmer.

Add the kale to the pot. Using tongs, toss the kale with the liquid. Let it cook down a bit, until it’s wilted and bright green, 3–5 minutes, depending on the toughness of the kale. Using the tongs, transfer the cooked kale to a large bowl, leaving any remaining liquid in the pot.

Add the cream and the nutmeg to the pot, and bring it to a simmer, stirring regularly so the cream doesn’t burn. Cook the cream until it reduces by about half and coats the back of a spoon.

Return the kale to the pot and season with salt and pepper. Toss the kale until it is all coated with cream and warmed through.

Stir in the Parmesan and toss to combine.

Serve the chicken and kale on a bed of creamy garlic mashed potatoes.

Note: Depending on how juicy the chicken breasts are, you may get some decent drippings from the meat, though because we are using breasts here, it will be quite lean. You can transfer the drippings to a small pot over medium heat, add some chicken stock or bouillon, a teaspoon or two of Dijon mustard, herbs and spices of your liking, and a knob of butter. Reduce the mixture by about half until it is thickened. Season with salt and pepper, and drizzle over the chicken to serve.

A Perfect Weekend

It’s not every day that an impromptu weekend away can impact the way you feel about what it really means to be part of a community.

But that’s what happened when I spent a few days on Quadra Island this past fall. My partner is a passionate cook, so he and I were excited to go to Quadra Island and attend a dinner celebrating the launch of a community cookbook called A Taste of Life on Quadra Island: Island Cookery III. The cookbook, which was first published in 1981 and is now in its third edition, was a labour of love for local creatives, filled with family recipes passed down through generations.

Covid-19 has been challenging for Quadra Islanders, as it has been for many rural communities who socialize in each other’s kitchens and living rooms. Jeanette Taylor, a local author and historian, explained how the cookbook, which was created as a fundraiser for the heart of the community, the Quadra Children’s Centre, brought the community back together, adding simply, “We were lonely.” Most of it was compiled at picnics and on porches, she says, lovingly describing it as a “portrait of us, wrapped around food.” I found this story inspiring and couldn’t wait to experience Quadra Island.

When we arrived, the marina was quiet; the sun was glittering on the water and warming our cheeks. The dinner was hosted by Herons Restaurant in the historic Heriot Bay Inn. The inn was first built in 1895 and rebuilt in 1912 after being destroyed by fire. It has a full-service restaurant, lounge, and pub. It is reportedly haunted, and many staff members have stories of strange occurrences and curious

sightings. I, however, found the hotel warm and inviting, with a beautiful rock fireplace in the lounge. Each of the hotel rooms was given ensuite bathrooms as late as 1986, making the rooms smaller but very cozy. Our rustic little room had a large antique wardrobe, a charming bed quilt, and a French door leading to an oversized, shared veranda with a cushioned wicker loveseat.

Before dinner, we purchased a couple of the cookbooks from the hotel’s gift shop, grabbed a couple of pints from the pub, and went outside to enjoy the view. We were looking forward to dinner; we wanted to meet some locals, and we knew that much of the food would be locally caught, foraged, and farmed. Chef Patrice offered a menu he had chosen from the pages of A Taste of Life on Quadra. To start, I chose the tomato and goat cheese salad. The beefsteak, cherry, and Roma tomatoes were fresh and sweet. We were delighted to learn that the farmer, Sarah Sopracolle, who was also attending the dinner, had brought in the tomatoes from her garden that morning. My partner chose the cream of mushroom soup. The chef used locally picked oyster and lobster mushrooms, and it was flavourful and creamy, perfect for a crisp autumn evening.

Farmer Sarah Sopracolle

Historic Heriot Bay Inn is the place to stay on Quadra Island

Rebecca Spit Marine Provincial Park

The launch party for Quadra Island’s new community cookbook was the perfect excuse for a relaxing weekend of food, art, and sightseeing.

WORDS

Camille Germain

PHOTOGRAPHY Johann Vincent

This was followed by a butternut squash and caramelized onion galette. A classic, savoury French galette, it was rustic, golden, and colourful. This perfect expression of rural life featured squash and onions from the field, local feta, and bright, tangy chèvre delicately tucked up in a flaky pastry. The delicious line-up of comfort food was perfected by a generous piece of apple cake with velvety mascarpone icing. The cake was a hit, and it’s no wonder—it was rich, moist, and luscious. Of course, the apples had been collected from a local orchard. The evening’s success was a testament to Chef Patrice’s talent and showcased the love and pride the locals have for Quadra Island, their farms and gardens, and each other.

As we had hoped, we did meet many Quadra Island locals and were moved by their hospitality and generosity. We were invited to stop by the Quadra Children’s Centre and tour farms and private gardens. We had also been invited to lunch at the home of a local fisherman and his wife, Bruce and Pilar Martinelli. Their boat, the Tantrum No. 1, supplies Quadra with hook-caught cod, snapper, halibut, and tuna. We couldn’t believe our luck; Pilar was making us the recipe that graces the cover of the community cookbook: seared albacore tuna with mirin and lime dressing. The tuna was lightly seared while maintaining its mild, buttery texture.

Seared sesame seeds added crunch and a nutty flavour that matched the sweetness of the mirin dressing perfectly. While it felt as if this was a oncein-a-lifetime experience, this is just one example of Quadra Island hospitality.

The raw, wild beauty of Quadra Island is intoxicating, and the grit, self-determination, and heartiness of the Islanders will no doubt inspire you. Home to many accomplished artists and artisans, there are many places to see and things to do on Quadra. All you’ll need is a car, a map, and a raincoat.

There is no better way to start exploring the island than with a great cup of coffee from the highly praised Café Aroma. They serve coffee from Aroma Coffee Roasters who roast certified organic and fairtrade beans. Take your caffeine to-go and head to the famed Rebecca Spit Marine Provincial Park. The two kilometre sand spit is beautifully unique, with trails to explore the beaches on either side. Leaving the park, you’ll notice the We Wai Kai Campsite, which is meticulously maintained by the We Wai Kai Nation, who share this land with visitors all year round. The campsite has 160 sites, 61 of which are oceanfront and have incomparable views.

Next, stop by James Pottery. Martha and Gordon James have been crafting fine porcelain, stoneware, and earthenware for more than 45 years. They welcome visitors to their historic home and studio all year round but call ahead before venturing out.

Southend Farm Winery and Distillery is another wonderful place to visit. Ben McGuffie and Jill Ogasawara offer red, white, and rosé wines from grapes grown on their property, and their small batch, hand-crafted gin is made from foraged botanicals. Feel free to stop by their farm; they welcome visitors and are happy to give a tour of the vineyard.

Whatever you decide to do on Quadra Island, it is the people that will leave the biggest impression. Taking the time to hear their stories, relish their rich history, and eat food fresh from their fields will genuinely give you a taste of life on Quadra Island.

A Taste of Life on Quadra Island: Island Cookery III is sold at Munro’s Books and Russell Books as well as bookstores on Quadra, Campbell River, and the Comox Valley.

The Cape Mudge Lighthouse, built in 1913, is worth a stop. The lighthouse is a marvellous example of a 20th-century lighthouse with its classic Canadian redand-white exterior and octagonal shape.

Grab lunch at Farm to Table, a quaint café near Quathiaski Cove, before searching for local treasures to take home with you. We were able to visit the home of artist and craftsperson David MacLean. David forges custom steel knives, under the company name Spin Drift, with beautiful, salvaged wood handles. Send him an email ahead of time if you want to see his gorgeous designs.

Martha and Gordon James have been crafting fine porcelain, stoneware, and earthenware for more than 45 years at James Pottery

Visit islandcookery.com to read about how this community cookbook came to be

Artist and craftsperson

David MacLean forges custom steel knives

Ben McGuffie & Jill Ogasawara from South End Farm Winery & Distillery

SAVOURY HAND PIES

Every culture has its own take on the hand pie—a convenient way to stuff a hearty meal into a tasty sheath of pastry. In Latin American countries, it’s the empanada.

When my family and I went to Sayulita a few years ago, a small but charming town north of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, we fell in love with the empanadas at the Empanadería & Coffee. We tried several of them, which reminded us how versatile and delicious these little hand pies are!

Empanadas are a staple of South American cuisine, and homemade empanadas can be served as a main dish or as a hearty snack.

There are countless variations of empanadas, and many regions have their own traditional recipe. A disc of dough is stuffed with different fillings—meat, fish, vegetables, hard-boiled eggs and cheese—then folded on itself and baked or fried. Eaten as an appetizer or as a main course accompanied by a green salad, empanadas have already captured the fancy of many.

.

Isabelle Bulota

Chicken Chorizo Empanada

Makes 14 empanadas

Empanada dough

500 grams (4 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp sea salt

200 grams (scant 1 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

1 egg, lightly beaten ⅓ cup ice water

2 tsp white wine vinegar

1 additional egg, beaten, for glaze

Place the flour and salt in a food processor. Pulse for two seconds to combine.

Add the butter and pulse for 20 seconds, until the butter is in small, pea-sized pieces covered with flour.

Add the egg, ice water, and the vinegar, and blend until a ball of dough forms, for 20 to 30 seconds.

Remove the dough and place it on a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough into two equal smooth balls. Using a rolling pin, roll each ball out on parchment paper, then roll up paper and dough together and wrap in cling film. You should get an 11-inch by 18-inch rectangular for each. Place the dough in the refrigerator for 20 to 60 minutes until ready to use.

Filling for empanadas

1 cup small cubed sweet potato

¼ cup water

1 Tbsp avocado oil

½ cup diced white onion

½ cup diced tomato

½ cup sliced green onion

¼ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

¾ tsp sea salt

Mexican Chicken Chorizo (see below)

1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese (set aside)

Mexican chicken chorizo

1 lb ground chicken thighs

1 Tbsp smoked paprika

½ tsp cayenne pepper

1 Tbsp chili powder

½ Tbsp oregano 1/16 tsp ground cinnamon 1/16 tsp ground cloves

½ Tbsp ground cumin

1 tsp sea salt

2 cloves garlic, crushed ¼ cup apple cider vinegar

Place all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Using clean hands, mix until well combined, set aside.

To make the filling:

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sweet potato and the water. Cover and cook until the water has evaporated and the sweet potato begins to soften, for about 4 minutes.

Add the oil and the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, for about 2 more minutes.

Add the tomatoes and the green onions and cook for 3 more minutes. Add the cilantro and garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, for about 30 seconds.

Push the vegetables to the sides and add the prepared chicken chorizo to the centre of the pan. Cook, crumbling with a wooden spoon, until brown, for about

3 minutes. Stir the vegetables and chorizo together, then add the vinegar and the salt. Cook, stirring, until the liquid has mostly evaporated, for about 1 minute.

Unroll the chilled dough; if it breaks, gently press it back together. Cut out fourteen 5-inch circles and roll out each to a 6-inch circle. Place about 1 Tbsp of grated cheese and about ¼ cup of the filling into the centre of each circle. Fold over and pinch closed. Crimp edges with a fork or your hands.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place empanadas on the prepared baking sheet. Cold pastry bakes best, so after filling and sealing the edges, return to the refrigerator for 10 minutes before removing and brushing with egg.

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Bake the empanadas, until golden brown, for about 18 to 20 minutes or until the tops are golden.

Serve with your favourite guacamole, salsa, and/or hot sauce.

In need of shortcuts?

If you prefer a shortcut to the empanada dough, you can use a pre-made pie crust found in the supermarket frozen foods section, or use puff pastry, which will be softer and flakier.

To save time, skip making the Chicken Chorizo and get the Mexican Chicken Chorizo from Haus Sausage Co. You can also find amazing locally made salsas at a farm market near you.

Sweet Endings

A Boozy Twist on Bread Pudding

Simple and easy, bread pudding uses up leftover, stale bread and makes a delicious addition to your go-to dessert recipes. This is a slightly boozy take on this age-old dessert. But even without the alcohol, it is a warm, comforting treat on the long nights of winter.

CYNTHIA ANNETT-HYNES

RAISIN BOURBON BREAD PUDDING

Makes 10 servings

6 cups stale bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (challah, brioche, sourdough, or French bread are all fantastic choices for bread pudding)

1 cup raisins (optional)

¼ cup bourbon or rum, for soaking the raisins (optional)

2 Tbsp butter, melted 3 eggs

2 cups milk

¾ cup sugar plus 1 Tbsp (divided)

1 tsp vanilla 1 tsp cinnamon ½ tsp nutmeg

¼ cup sliced almonds (optional)

Before you start:

Soak raisins in bourbon, allowing them to soak up the liquid for at least 30 minutes to a day or two ahead. I soak mine for at least an hour.

For an alcohol-free version, soak the raisins in water instead of bourbon, then drain and discard water.

For a raisin-free, but still boozy, version, add 2 Tbsp bourbon to the egg and milk mixture.

If using fresh bread, place cubes on a baking sheet and put in 200°F oven for 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Pour melted butter into an 8-inch square baking dish to coat bottom and sides of dish.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, ¾ cup sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Drain the raisins, reserving any remaining bourbon— feel free to mix some or all of the bourbon into the egg and milk mixture, according to your taste.

Pile bread into bowl with egg and milk mixture. Add the drained raisins and mix in. Lightly push the bread cubes down until all the bread is covered in the liquid. Allow mixture to sit and the bread to soak up the liquid. (I usually allow 10 minutes.) Note that the longer you soak the bread, the softer and more custard-like the interior of the pudding will be.

Right before baking, scatter sliced almonds on top and sprinkle with remaining 1 Tbsp sugar.

Bake for 45–55 minutes. Pudding is done when edges start to brown and pull away from sides of pan and top springs back when lightly pressed.

Serve the pudding warm with a caramel sauce, a vanilla sauce, or a hard sauce.

To store, allow the pudding to cool completely. Cover tightly or transfer to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Bread pudding can be frozen for up to three months. Once cool, wrap the pudding tightly in a layer of plastic wrap and at least one layer of foil. To use, thaw in refrigerator overnight.

Boozy bread pudding outshines even the vintage 1930s Clarice Cliff tea set

The addition of bourbon elevates classic bread pudding.