Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Terra Madre Day 2014 | Wednesday Dec 10th, The Victoria Public Market at the Hudson




5:30-9:30pm Dec 10th 2014
The Victoria Public Market in the Hudson

5:30 tour the Market with Terra Madre delegates
6:30 stories and flavours of our food community
Small bites included!
Terra Madre Day is a celebration of our food community. Please join us at to savour and share the stories of Terra Madre with past and future Terra Madre delegates:
  • Dr. John Volpe, School of Environmental Studies
  • Julia and Susan Grace, Moonstruck Cheese, Saltspring Island
  • David Mincey, Preservation Foods Chocolate Project
  • Cory Pelan, Whole Beast Salumeria
  • Brooke Fader & Oliver Kienast, Wild Mountain
  • Michael Pierce, Saturna Island Olive Consortium
  • Ravenstone Farm and Butcher Shop
  • Cowichan Bay Seafood Store
  • Silk Road Tea
  • Mark Wachtin, Unsworth Vineyard
  • Schacht Family, SOL Farms, Ampersand Distillery


Tickets available via Eventbrite

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Convivium Leader Report from Terra Madre in Italy, October 2014


Our convivium leader, Brooke Fader, recently returned from an overwhelming, amazing, exhilarating experience connecting with Slow Food members & Terra Madre delegates from all over the world.

The week's events included:
  • Tasting Ark of Taste ingredients from all over the world
  • Discussions of the impact of the Chef’s Alliance
  • Canada's representation at Citta Slow, the Canada Booth, Canada Taste Workshop & the Canada Meeting
  • The inspirational Gardens in Schools & Gardens in Africa projects
  • A passionate Slow Fish discussion, a crucial campaign for us here in Canada!
  • Thrilling energy & representation from the Slow Food Youth movement
  • ... and connecting with people from all over the world as passionate about good, clean & fair food as she is!


She had these resonating thoughts to share with our Slow Food supporters here on the West Coast of Canada
What we do locally reverberates around the world. 
It is important what we do, connecting people to their food. Getting them to pay attention to the way they source, cook and consume their food and how this affects their life and their community, and what a special relationship that can be when nurtured 
We are not our governments. Food communities cross boarders effortlessly. Salmon Safe Wines in BC and Washington. Salish Sea fisheries and First Nations. Slovenian and Italian cheese and winemakers. Lebanese and Syrian cooks. Palestinian and Israeli fishermen. Iraqi and Iranian farmers. We all do better, when we all do better. 
The world looks to Canada to create an example of a good, clean and fair food community. Our reputation is better than our reality. Our culinary identity is young, but already associated with pristine products and a vibrant cooking culture. 
Leadership: avoid it! Facilitate others and empower them to make the change. It can’t just rest on one person. I hope to increase collaboration with other symbiotic organisations and encourage members and board members to pick a specific project to take on.

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Producer Highlight: Moonstruck Cheese


Moonstruck Organic Cheese from Saltspring Island has been producing exceptional organic cow’s milk cheeses since 1998. Slow Cheese participants and Terra Madre delegates, Julia and Susan Grace adhere to good, clean and fair practices on their Saltspring Island Farm over and above the requirements of their certified organic status.

GOOD
a fresh and flavorsome seasonal diet that satisfies the senses and is part of the local culture.


Moonstruck cheeses are transformed from raw milk from their small herd of jersey cows into small batches of cheeses using traditional recipes that aim to preserve as much as the flavour as possible. 

CLEAN
food production and consumption that does not harm the environment, animal welfare or human health.


All of the Moonstruck cheeses are made from organic milk, and when it comes to ethical treatment of their animals they know "the healthier and happier they are, the better is their milk." Our cows are the foundation of our company. The healthier and happier they are, the better is their milk.

FAIR
accessible prices for consumers and fair conditions and pay for producers.


By having a small team and selling through direct connection with their customers the Moonstruck cheesemakers are able to sustain themselves while providing accessible, artisinal cheese


The Sooke Harbour House has been proudly serving Moonstruck Organic Cheese from the beginning. In fact, SHH was one of Moonstruck’s first restaurant customers! We asked SHH Chef Oliver Kienast and his crew of fantastic cooks to tell us what they love about and how they like to use Moonstruck cheeses.


White Moon 

Ingredients: Moonstruck organic Jersey milk, salt, rennet, bacterial culture, p. candidum.

A sweet and creamy camembert-style cheese with notes of grapefruit. Best served raw with fruit or mushrooms.

Ash-ripened Camembert

Ingredients: Moonstruck organic Jersey milk, salt, rennet, bacterial culture, p. candidum, ash.

A creamy cheese but with a sharper finish. Let pieces gently melt onto braised greens or grilled meat.

Beddis Blue

Ingredients: Moonstruck organic Jersey milk, salt, rennet, bacterial culture, p. roqueforti.

A firm blue cheese with a nice sweetness that is great for melting. Crumble onto warm vegetable dishes.

Blossom’s Blue

Ingredients: Moonstruck organic Jersey milk, salt, rennet, bacterial culture, p. roqueforti.

A bright and creamy blue cheese. Serve it fresh with Whole Beast charcuterie.

Baby Blue

Ingredients: Moonstruck organic Jersey milk, salt, rennet, bacterial culture, p. roqueforti.

A younger ash-ripened blue cheese with fresh grassy notes. A perfect introductory blue for people who think they don’t like blue cheese.

White Grace

Ingredients: Moonstruck organic Jersey milk, salt, rennet, bacterial culture.

An aged, sharp and firm cheese that is ideal for grating over pastas or melting in grilled cheese sandwiches





Find out more at www.moonstruckcheese.com

We hope you will join the Moonstruck Cheese Club and help support our local cheesemakers and their beautiful cows. Stay in touch with the Cheese Club news via updates from our newsletter

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Slow Vines Event | July 27th


Thanks to everyone who came out to join us as this event!


View more photos from the lovely afternoon here!


June 27th 2014 Slow Food Vancouver Island & Gulf Islands is teaming up with Unsworth Vineyards in the Cowichan Valley to bring you a taste event to explore our Terrior.

Tickets available online via Eventbrite
$40 — Non-members
$30 — Slow Food Members
$15 — Optional wine pairing with lunch

1:00pm Sample award-winning wines in the tasting room (tasting rates apply) 
1:30pm 3-course lunch 
Tickets include: 
  • Delicious 3-course luncheon with optional wine pairings
  • Tours of the winery and heritage farmhouse restaurant
  • Meet your Chef Steve Elskens 
  • Silent auction items
Our special menu has been created with a Slow Food sensibility. Expect bold flavors from ingredients sourced from their garden and neighboring farms.  An added wine pairing ($15) will create the perfect balance of flavours between food and wine.
The restaurant with its impressive kitchen, is in a restored farmhouse built in 1895. From both the outdoor patio and the elegant dining room you can enjoy views overlooking 12 acres of sustainably managed vineyard, the heritage apple and walnut orchard, and an organic herb and vegetable garden. 
Our hosts are Tim and Colleen Turyk, Unsworth’s founders.  Winemaker Danel Cosman is in charge of the wine making process. Chef Steven Elskens and restaurant manager Christle Pope settled in the Cowichan Valley after years of weaving culinary magic in Belgium, France and Canada. They started operating Farm’s Gate Foods and Catering in 2010, bringing their popular food truck to local markets, festivals, weddings and events throughout Vancouver Island. 
In the vineyard, see rows of well-established Maréchal Foch ripening along with other organic varieties especially selected for the terroir and Cowichan climate.

SLOW VINES MENU JULY 27 2014
STARTERS:  Beef Carpaccio, Jalapeno Aioli & Mustard Greens OR Market Salad with Butter Lettuce, Snap Peas, Kohlrabi & Buttermilk Chive Dressing.
MAINS: Butter Poached Halibut, Shellfish Essence, Chickpea & Rice Ragu & Garlic Scape Pesto OR Potato Gnocchi with Roast Tomato Butter, Zucchini, Arugula & Pecorino.
DESSERT: Hazelnut Linzer torte with strawberry rhubarb compote and lemon verbena sauce.

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Producer Highlight: The Local Food Box


The Local Food Box is one of our Farmer Members!
Find out more about how food producers can support Slow Food by trading for a reduced membership

In Metchosin, farmers have teamed up to sell their products directly to consumers through a Community Supported Agriculture model. The box features vegetables from Wind Whipped Farm, meat from Parry Bay Sheep Farm & Stillmeadow Farm and eggs from Winter Creek Farm and SRS Farm. Membership is purchased ahead of time for the season, and consumers can pick up their produce weekly at one of three locations around the city.

GOOD
a fresh and flavorsome seasonal diet that satisfies the senses and is part of the local culture.


The Local Food Box is only available seasonally from June to September so vegetables are delivered from fields to your kitchen when they are fresh and in season. Check out the 2014 product list!

CLEAN
food production and consumption that does not harm the environment, animal welfare or human health.


All of the farmers contribution to the Local Food Box have a commitment to sustainable farming practices, including organic farming practices and crop rotation.

FAIR
accessible prices for consumers and fair conditions and pay for producers.


The cost for signing up for all of the box options is under $60 a week for a total of less than $1000 over 16 weeks! This money goes directly to the farmers who are producing your food.

Registration for the 2014 summer season is now open! Slow Food members can sign up here for the Local Food Box. 


Find out more at www.thelocalfoodbox.com


Sunday, January 5, 2014

Learn to Ferment

Please join us for an all-grain IPA home brewing extravaganza!

Learn to take the Slow approach to brewing craft beer's most popular style with Slow Food Vancouver Island's Board Member Kyle Hunker. During an approximately 4 hour workshop you will learn the art of homebrew & taste, smell and sample ingredients.


Sooke Resevoir Water
+
Northwest Hops
+
Local Malt
+

Yeast
=
Tasty hoppy home brew!


12pm January 12th, 2014
Location in Oak Bay (sent after ticket purchase)

Tickets — Please note: Space is limited 12 participants
  • Members 35.00
  • Friends of Slow Food 50.00
  • Purchase online via EventBrite

please consider car pooling with a designated driver, taxi or other responsible travel solution