The next time you find yourself on the patio of The Teahouse in Stanley Park soaking up one of Vancouver’s most beautiful views, hopefully before summer’s end, take another look at the lush garden growing around you.

^ Swiss chard, sage, oregano, marjoram, thyme, mint and more.

By request of the new restaurant chef François Gagnon early in the spring, the surrounding decorative flora has been removed at considerable expense and replanted with all manner of herbs, vegetables and fruit trees, effectively transforming the restaurant grounds into a thriving, edible food garden.

^ Dwarf apple trees line the fence

^ Sous Chef Scott McLennan showing the rooftop heirloom tomato and basil garden

^ Green zebra tomato

While, admittedly, the restaurant is far from becoming self-sufficient, which is unrealistic, the move does symbolically honour the importance of fresh local food in the presence of their customers. It’s a wonderful thing to watch a chef clipping fresh herbs directly from the garden and head straight to the kitchen. All the rosemary and most of the basil used in the restaurant comes from their efforts. And with a bumper heirloom tomato crop fully ripening on the sunny rooftop of the restaurant over the next few weeks, now is an opportune time to drop in for a visit.

The Teahouse
Stanley Park Drive, Ferguson Point | Vancouver
Tel: (604) 669-3281
www.vancouverdine.com

HOW TO GET THERE

~ PK

I have copies of all three of the excellent Cook the Hood cookbooks (Commercial Drive, Kitsilano, West End) up for grabs, and as an added bonus during this festive time I will also throw in a copy of the brilliant Vancouver 100-Mile Diet Foodshed poster to the first person to complete the challenge inside.

Good luck! ~ PK

UPDATE: No correct answers yet. Contest is now extended until January 4th. I will collect comments until then and reveal the winner in the new year.

HOT TIP: the mystery restaurant is on Vancouver Island.

1) Who are the author(s) of “The 100 Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating”

2) State 3 important reasons for supporting local food security.

3) What 2 BC cities have joined the Cittaslow movement?

4) Name 5 local foods that are in season this winter.

5) Correctly name the restaurant in the following picture.

Last Thursday, hundreds of people braved the rain to gather at Performance Works on Granville Island in support of the Vancouver Farmers Markets’ first annual RIPE event. Drawing a diverse crowd of locavores, foodies and farmers alike, they were all warmly greeted by the always affable MC Jamie Maw, food writer and restaurant critic, and the Farmers Market Society Board Chair, Amy Robertson. The well-appointed room showcased BC wines, local craft beer, fresh bites and an impressive gourmet-focused silent auction.

“Tonight we are creating a future for local food in Vancouver,” said event organizer, Jackie Connelly. With the continued and growing support of the community, a local and sustainable food future is possible and the proposed New City Market at Main and Terminal could be opening its doors within the next four years.Funds raised at the RIPE event will also help finance the Farmers Nest Egg Fund, which supports local vendor farmers in times of financial need and will also help nurture and expand the network of local farmers.Chef Robert Clark of C Restaurant, alongside students from the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts, whipped up regional canapé creations, an impressive menu that featured only ingredients that could be found at Vancouver Farmers Markets: compressed watermelon with sweet chili gel, tomato cucumber salsa with side-striped shrimp, pickled golden beets with melted Alpindon cheese, sirloin beef with radish and daikon dressing, sablefish with basil emulsion and salmon pepper, and sweet cornbread and crème fraiche with pickled relish, to name a few.Over 10,000 lbs. of food is currently distributed to over 10,000 customers each week at various Vancouver Farmers Market locations, which indicates a clear need for a convenient one-stop-shop building that could supply consumers with locally grown food right in the heart of the city.The Vancouver Farmers Markets are open throughout the month of October on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

For more information on locations, visit: www.eatlocal.org.

~ Katherine van der Gracht

From the Department of Hillbilly Affairs archives comes an important ‘How To Video’ from “The Huntress” (circa The Outdoor Channel Show 1999): How to hunt squirrel and make sandwiches.

Let the gun-totting Earth-mother, Heidi Wilson, show you how to safely bag one of these tasty little varmints to help keep your larder full during lean times. “I promised him a squirrel sandwich and that is what he’s gonna get after school.”

Just in time for football season. Happy hunting, kids! ~ PK

I have 2 tickets ($200 value) to this evening’s RIPE: the 1st Annual Evening of Local Food and Libations up for grabs!

The first person to fulfill the following criteria will get them:

1) follow Urban Diner on Twitter: click here

2) become a fan of Urban Diner on our Facebook page: click here

3) name 3 of the other purposes the New City Market will be for, beyond a year round farmers market

4) who is the MC of the RIPE event?

The first 2 people to complete the following reader challenge correctly will win a free ticket ($85 value) to Feast of Fields at UBC Farm, this Sunday, September 13th at UBC Farm.

• How big is UBC Farm?

• Who is the Executive Director of Farm Folk City Folk?

• What year and where did the first Lower Mainland Feast of Fields take place?

• Name the authors of the following five books…

1) “Food Matters”

2) “In Defense of Food”

3) “Squeezed: What You Don’t Know About Orange Juice”

4) “Why Your World Is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller”

5) “Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth”

• Name the restaurant below…

Good luck everybody! ~ PK

]]> http://urbandiner.ca/2009/09/08/feast-of-fields-contest-giveaway/feed/ 10 http://urbandiner.ca/2009/08/27/a-visit-to-the-comox-valley-pt-1-smith-lake-farm/ http://urbandiner.ca/2009/08/27/a-visit-to-the-comox-valley-pt-1-smith-lake-farm/#comments Fri, 28 Aug 2009 01:09:01 +0000 paulkamon http://urbandiner.ca/?p=7871

For anyone driving to Vancouver Island during the summer months, navigating the inevitable BC Ferries gauntlet of vacationing tourista RV’s, transport trucks and wave after wave of passenger cars, can be a litmus test of planning and patience, especially with kids in tow. If I had a dollar for every time that I have pulled up to the ticket booth and was told I had a 1-2 sailing wait and instantly wished I had been savvy enough to make a reservation (a mere $15 additional cost), I would have enough money to buy this. Really, how busy can it be on a Monday morning? Well, how busy is Les Faux Bourgeois on a Friday night?

Pretty damn busy. But all things considered, we are spoiled rotten here in the land of milk and honey. Consider this: BC Ferries is the largest passenger ferry service in North America and the 2nd largest ferry service in the entire world and with the extensive terminal upgrades at Horseshoe Bay and the addition of 3 brand new Winter Olympic branded Super Class C vessels (the largest double-ended ferries in the world), the experience has never been better. One just has to go south and ride one of Washington State’s aging ferries to realize this. So until the fixed link idea ever becomes a financially and environmentally viable option, I consider riding the ferry a integral blue-chip BC experience that is the envy of most of the world.This trip, set up by the Comox Valley Economic Development group, had us staying at Smith Lake Farm, a beautiful family estate on a 90+ acre parcel of land in Merville at the northern end of the Comox Valley, 20 minutes north of downtown Courtenay. The farm, recently purchased by a young couple happily displaced from the constant hustle of the big city were working hard to get the land back into shape for planting. While we were there, we watched them laying down a new drainage system for the main field and had interesting discussions about the viability of growing beer hops, once a thriving industy in BC.

The 2 bedroom guest lodging, complete with full kitchen, sits above a large woodworking shop that overlooks a small and picturesque lake stocked with trout and populated by many frogs.^ Here is Roxy the dog having a staring contest with one of the many amphibians hanging out amongst the lilly pads. ^ Smith Lake Farm is home to an array of animals, including a half dozen Highland cattle which are grown and raised for meat.Without a doubt, the best reason for staying on a farm is the food. And not just the eating and preparing of it, but the learning and reconnecting back with the many skills and hard work that goes into its production. An education that, after reading Michael Pollan’s book, In Defense of Food, has in my mind become more important than ever.^ Fresh eggs, still warm from the nest were had each morning along with a selection of ripe fruits, vegetables, and herbs pulled directly from the garden.After a long day of travel, we settled in for a nice home cooked meal and were content to allow ourselves to slowly align with the very comfortable rural rhythm that had me imagining what it would be like to actually live and work on a farm. I smiled at the thought and the sky rewarded us with one of most brilliant sunsets I have seen in a very long time.

Next up: A Visit to the Comox Valley Pt 2 ~ Local Eating and Drinking

(click image to enlarge)

What? Pink Salmon Festival
When? Sunday, August 30th, 11am – 5pm
Where? Hadden/ Vanier Park,  Vancouver BC
Who? Chef Robert Clark, chefs from Nu, C, and Raincity Grill, BBQ master Rockin’ Ronnie Shewchuck, live music by Highrise Lonesome, fish painting by Stream of Dreams Society and more!

From the press release:

Each summer in BC, millions of salmon return to their home rivers to spawn and rejuvenate our west coast ecosystem. On August 30th, the Pacific Salmon Foundation is hosting a celebration of the return of one of the greatest, yet under-appreciated, resources in the province – Pink Salmon. While sockeye populations on the Fraser River have not returned in the expected numbers, all indications point to a run of up to 15 million pink salmon coming home to the Fraser over the coming weeks.

The PSF Pink Salmon Festival is a celebration of all that Pink Salmon represent and offer. Pink Salmon are the base for BC’s coastal ecological systems, they are sustainably harvested, and their delicious and delicate texture and are prized by culinary experts the world over.

Foodies take note: this free event features Robert Clark, the visionary and celebrated executive chef of C restaurant as well as the chefs from Raincity Grill and Nu preparing specialty pink salmon creations for the public to enjoy. In addition, barbecue evangelist Rockin’ Ronnie Shewchuk will be preparing a West-Coast classic: cedar-planked pink salmon with his signature whisky-maple glaze. This all-star culinary team will be preparing close to 3,000 pounds of beautiful, succulent pink salmon in free, sample-sized portions for what is sure to be an appreciative crowd.

Pink Salmon will also be celebrated with live music by Highrise Lonesome, fish painting by the Stream of Dreams Society, magicians, entertainers and a 60 foot salmon story telling tent! Attendees can try their hand at fly fishing and fly tying as well as enjoying a salmon art show and a fundraising silent auction and raffle. Displays from community partners such as the Vancouver Aquarium’s OceanWise program in addition to the PSF education areas featuring ocean creature touch tanks will inform people of the important role Pink Salmon play in BC every year.

Pink Salmon are a wonderful example of the health and plenty of British Columbia. Please join us in celebrating their return home this year.

For more information, visit: www.psf.ca

I have a signed copy of Michael Pollan’s important and timely book, In Defense of Food, for the first person who shares five favourite food products they should stop eating and five whole foods they intend to start eating.

^ Michael Pollan speaking on North America’s dysfunctional relationship with food (Jackie Connelly photo).

Berkeley author, Michael Pollan, was in Vancouver recently to promote the paperback release of his critically-acclaimed book, In Defense of Food. Barbara-Jo McIntosh invited him to speak at UBC Farm as part of a fundraiser to protect the 24 hectare farm from development, the last working farm within Vancouver’s city limits. Over 700 people were on hand to hear Pollan speak, sample vegetarian appetizers prepared by members of The Chef’s Table Society of BC, and get signed copies of the book. While the organizers were prepared for rain, it evolved into a glorious day.While Pollan admitted he was not very familiar with the Canadian food context, much of what he said was still relevant north of the 49th parallel. Naturally, with such a dominant neighbour, we’re influenced by the American outlook on food, an outlook Pollan believes is fatally unhealthy. The dietary paradox, he related, is not with the French, it is in America — a society obsessed with health and fitness but suffering from high levels of food-related chronic disease. We know this, says Pollan, because wherever in the world this Western diet has been introduced, an increase in chronic disease has quickly followed. Traditional diets, on the other hand, pose no such problems, even those that are deemed highly unhealthy from a nutritional point of view, such as the blubber-rich Inuit diet.

Pollan’s prescription? In a nutshell: “Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” While that sounds simple, it takes Pollan 244 pages to explain it in his book. His conclusion? Food is

no mere thing but a web of relationships among a great many living beings, some of them human, some not, but each of them dependent on the other, and all of them ultimately rooted in soil and nourished by sunlight. I’m thinking of the relationship between the plants and the soil, between the grower and the plants and animals he or she tends, between the cook and the growers who supply the ingredients, and between the cook and the people who will soon come to the table to enjoy the meal. It is a large community to nourish and be nourished by. The cook in the kitchen preparing a meal from plants and animals at the end of this shortest of food chains has a great many things to worry about, but “health” is simply not one of them, because it is given.

^ Mark Bomford, UBC Farm’s Program Coordinator for the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems, welcomed everyone to UBC Farm and gave an eloquent introduction to Michael Pollan.

^ Barbara-jo McIntosh & Michael Pollan listen to Mark Bomford’s introduction.

^ 700 people gathered to hear Michael Pollan speak in defense of food. What was expected to be no more than a 20-minute speech, turned into a 45-minute address that roused the crowd to a standing ovation in the end.

Afterwards, people were able to sample vegetarian hors d’oeuvres prepared by some of the city’s leading chefs and student chefs…

^ Chef Gord Martin loves Mother Nature.

^Bin 941 stuffed tomatoes.

^ Chef Julian Bond and PICA students preparing their offering.

^ Edible British Columbia Hazelnut Rhubarb Cobbler by Chef Cari Lynn Reid.

^Angelina of the Northwest Culinary Academy of Vancouver prepares vegetable cups.

^ Brunoise Apple, Carrot, and Beet with Mango Cilantro Vinaigrette on an Asian-Marinated Cucumber by Chef Robert Erickson of Wild Rice Restaurant.

^ Some aural ambiance added to the festive atmosphere.

^ Eating can be a political statement. The Green Party’s Adriane Carr appreciating the offering from La Terrazza chefs Gennaro Iorio and Tim O’Brien.

Thanks to all of those who made this event possible, Barbara-Jo McIntosh was able to give UBC Farm a cheque for $12,000.00. If you care about where your food comes from and want to protect our food self-reliance, please sign the petition to save UBC Farm. Don’t forget, the 15th annual Lower Mainland Feast of Fields at UBC Farm is on Sunday, September 13, 2009.

~ RG

Feast of Fields - a gourmet wandering harvest festival – is FarmFolk/CityFolk’s annual fundraising event. With a wine glass and linen napkin in hand, you can taste the very best of BC from chefs, vintners, brewers, farmers, and food artisans from across the province. Connections are made between producers and chefs, food producers and consumers, and farm folks and city folks. These connections provide an increased awareness of and appreciation for local food and agriculture. Feast of Fields is a gastronomic journey towards a sustainable, local food system.

LOWER MAINLAND
Sunday, September 13, 2009 1-5 pm
UBC Farm, Vancouver

Tickets on sale NOW!

click here to purchase