edible VANCOUVERÂ® - Edible Communities

a member of edible communities 

edible Vancouver ® 

the story on local food 

issue five • spring 2009 

bock-bock in your backyard? 

outstanding in their field 

one fish, two fish

Not just a wine store. A BC wine store. 

KENSINGTON SQUARE WINES 6626-B Hastings Street. Burnaby. 604-294-9573. kensingtonsquarewines.com 

SIP WINES Ironwood Plaza, Unit 1030-11660 Steveston Hwy. Richmond. 604-271-9463. sipwines.ca 

VILLAGE WINES (DUNBAR) 3536 West 41st Ave. & Dunbar. Vancouver. 604-269-9433. villagevqawines.com 

VILLAGE WINES (KITSILANO) 1811 W 1st Ave. Vancouver. 604-732-8827. villagevqawines.com 

VILLAGE WINES (EDGEMONT VILLAGE) 3050 Edgemont Blvd. North Vancouver. 604-985-9463. villagevqawines.com 

THE WINE EMPORIUM #500 - 22259 48th Ave. Langley. 604-532-5388. wine-emporium.com 

BELLEVUE WINE COMPANY 1471 Bellevue Ave. West Vancouver. 604-913-0802. bellevuewine.com 

TAYLORWOOD WINES (YALETOWN) 1185 Mainland Street, Vancouver. 604-408-9463. taylorwoodwines.com

contents 

edible NOTES 3 

edible SPRING 4 

What’s in season? 

Waste Not 7 

edible HEROES 8 

edible GARDENS 9 

Outstanding in their Field 10 

Our food system needs more farm-to-table connectors 

by André LaRivière 

Bock-bock in Your Backyard? 13 

Urban chickens for Vancouver in 2009 

By Trish Kelly 

the path of the rose 16 

Not all delights are created equal 

By Debbra Mikaelsen 

One Fish, Two Fish 19 

Seafood choices for healthier oceans 

by Meghan Dean 

field NOTES 23 

Keep farmland for farming 

By Michael Marrapese 

edible Experiment 25 

Colouring outside the carton 

by Bambi Edlund 

what the girls are drinking 28 

what the boys are drinking 29 

Source guide: Where to find 30 

edible events 30 

Photo this page: Hazelmere Farm, by Philip Solman 

Cover photo: UBC Chickens, by Bambi Edlund

Letter from the Editor 

It’s been almost a year since we launched edible Vancouver, and even with more than 

170,000 words in the English language, there are none to convey what the response from 

our readers has meant to us. Thank you for your enthusiasm, your compliments, your brilliant 

suggestions and gentle corrections, your questions and your subscriptions. Thank you 

for telling us that you read it from cover to cover, and that something we printed inspired 

you or made you giggle. For saying that our recipes work, and that because of them your 

children now eat Brussels sprouts and kale. 

Since other media probably dish out about as much bad news as you can stomach, I am 

delighted to serve up something cheering: you’re going to get an extra summer this year. Yes! 

Some years it seems we don’t even get one summer here on the coast, but edible Vancouver is 

giving you two. With 2009 we go to five issues, which required us to invent an extra season 

called High Summer to cover August and September. 

Besides this extra summer, we have another reason to be optimistic. The news is full of stories 

about the current recession, but I’m relieved to report that after checking in with several of 

the small businesses in our network, most are doing just fine. Many of the specialty food 

stores, wine shops, bakeries and cafés tell us they’ve been busy—even that sales are better 

than they were a year ago—and it gives me hope. Hope that a softer economy inevitably 

brings about a return to common sense: to buying food that is still recognizable as food, to 

growing a few vegetables, to cooking them yourself, to valuing local farmland and familyowned 

businesses, to eating in season and preserving the harvest. To knowing that food is 

fundamental. To understanding that we can buy secondhand clothes, and we don’t actually 

have to have that new flat-screen television, but good, clean food is a basic need. 

Before closing I want to send my very deepest thanks to our advertisers. As a free magazine, 

we depend on their support, just as they depend on yours. Thank you for choosing our 

pages to tell readers that you care about growing a local and sustainable food community. 

And that you believe in a second helping of summer. 

Debbra Mikaelsen 

edible Vancouver 

Publisher 

Philip Solman 

Editor 

Debbra Mikaelsen 

Art Director 

Bambi Edlund 

Contributors 

Meghan Dean, Bambi Edlund, 

Trish Kelly, André LaRivière, Ron Lee, 

Michael Marrapese, Debbra Mikaelsen, 

Leeanne Munn, Eric Pateman, 

Philip Solman and Carole Topalian 

Special thanks to Kim Peterson 

Mailing 

1038 East 11th Avenue 

Vancouver BC V5T 2G2 

info@ediblevancouver.com 

www.ediblevancouver.com 

Advertising 

Philip Solman 

Inga Liimatta 

ads@ediblevancouver.com 

Phone: 604-215-1758 

Letters 

editor@ediblevancouver.com 

edible Vancouver is published seasonally by 

Two Spoons Media Inc. Subscription rate is 

$28 for four issues ($29.40 including GST) 

for delivery within Canada, or $35.00 in 

Canadian funds for delivery to the U.S. 

No part of this publication maybe be 

used without written permission from the 

publisher. ©2009. Every effort is made to 

avoid errors, misspellings and omissions. If, 

however, an error comes to your attention, 

please accept our sincere apologies 

and notify us. Thank you. 

edible Vancouver is printed locally on 40% 

post-consumer recycled paper (cover is 30% 

post-consumer). Together, the result is: 

28 trees left in the forest 

2420 lbs net greenhouse gases prevented 

10,044 gallons of wastewater flow saved 

1290 lbs of solid waste not generated 

19,000,000 BTUs of energy not consumed 

Photo: Ron Lee www.ronleeimages.com 

2 | edible vancouver spring 2009

edible NOTES 

100 Mile TV 

Get out the popcorn on April 5 and tune into Food Network 

Canada at 5pm for The 100-Mile Challenge, a series that 

follows six families from Mission as they pledge to eat only 

food produced within a 100-mile radius for 100 days. Based 

on The 100-Mile Diet by James MacKinnon and Alisa Smith, 

the documentary shares the ups, the downs and the creativity 

of ordinary citizens as they prepare full meals using only local 

ingredients. The series will also draw attention to what average 

Canadians eat and the distances that food travels to reach our 

plates. www.100milechallenge.ca 

St. Cyr family making salt, Paperny Films 

City Farmer 

If you visit City Farmer, you will discover some surprising things. 

For example: it is not difficult to grow your own shiitake mushrooms. 

And it is possible—even simple—to turn dog poop into 

compost (not for food gardens, but fine for the flowers so loved by 

bees). They can also show you how to grow lots of vegetables in 

containers, prepare your soil, create a waterwise garden, and control 

pests naturally. The demonstration garden is at 2150 Maple Street 

(near West 6th) in Vancouver, but even the website can teach most 

of us a lot about growing food. www.cityfarmer.org 

In Praise of Slow 

If you like eating and enjoy thoughtful discussion, consider reading Inquires into the Nature of 

Slow Money: Investing as if Food, Farms, and Fertility Mattered (Chelsea Green Publishing). 

Author Woody Tasch shares his ideas for a new investment model that values soil, sustainable 

farming and organic agriculture. Chairman of the socially responsible Investors’ Circle, Tasch 

describes an economic system that invests in local economies and has the patience to wait 

for slow and steady returns. He questions our unreasonable and unrealistic demand for rapid 

growth and record profits, he envisions a stock market based on Main Street instead of Wall 

Street, and he discusses the war on terroir. Those interested in real food, local farmland and a 

return to sanity will find his words inspiring, comforting, and surprisingly poetic. At Barbara 

Jo’s Books to Cooks. www.bookstocooks.com 

edible vancouver spring 2009 | 3

edible SPRING 

What’s in Season? 

Asparagus, celery, chard, chervil, chives, 

clams, Dungeness crab, green garlic, 

halibut, kale, mussels, nettles, oysters, 

pea shoots, radishes, rhubarb, salad 

greens, salad turnips, shiitakes, side 

stripe shrimps, sorrel, 

spinach, spot prawns, 

watercress and more… 

Salad Turnips 

These small, white root vegetables are a good way to overcome 

your fear of turnips, if you suffer from that particular phobia. 

They have a teensy bit of heat, like a radish, and are quite tasty 

sliced raw and sprinkled with a little salt. 

Spot Prawns 

These plump, tasty 

crustaceans don’t need 

much attention at all. Kari 

Dobrilla of Superior Fish 

Market in Ladner usually 

just shells them and sautés 

them in butter and garlic 

for 30-60 seconds, but to 

increase the wow factor 

she sometimes dredges 

them in flour, dips them in 

egg, rolls them in coconut 

and pan-fries them. 

Mmmmm…. 

Pea shoot photo: © Elenathewise | Dreamstime.com 


Rhubarb is one of those things 

you either love or hate—there doesn’t ever seem 

to be any middle ground on the subject. Although 

technically a vegetable, the stems are used as a 

fruit in most recipes. 

For early pioneers, the robust and hardy plant supplied 

essential vitamins and minerals in spring, 

before any berries ripened. Rhubarb was known as 

“pie plant” because it was most often presented 

as a pie filling and in other desserts. This recipe 

offers a nice balance between the tart rhubarb 

and the sweet meringue crust. And remember, 

don’t eat the plant’s leaves—they’re poisonous. 

—Eric Pateman 

Photo: © Eric Pateman 

Rhubarb Pie with a Meringue Crust 

From Eric Pateman, President and Founder of Edible BC, from his 

most recent cookbook, The British Columbia Seasonal Cookbook 

(2007). Re-printed with permission of Lonepine Publishing. 

1 cup (250 mL) sugar 

3 Tbsp (45 mL) flour 

1 tsp (5 mL) cinnamon 

2 lbs (1 kg) rhubarb, frozen or fresh 

1 x 9-inch (23 cm) pie crust, pre-baked 

Meringue 

1 

⁄3 cup (75 mL) sugar 

1 Tbsp (15 mL) cornstarch 

5 egg whites 

1 

⁄2 tsp (2 mL) cream of tartar 

Mix together sugar, flour and cinnamon in a large bowl. Slice 

rhubarb into 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces, add to the flour-sugar mixture 

and mix until well coated. 

In a saucepan over medium heat, cook rhubarb until it is soft and 

thickened, about 10 minutes. Let cool for at least 30 minutes. 

For the meringue, mix sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. 

In another bowl, with an electric mixer, beat egg whites until 

foamy. Add cream of tartar and beat in sugar-cornstarch mixture, 

1 Tbsp (15 mL) at a time, until egg whites are stiff and glossy. 

Pour the cooled rhubarb filling into prepared pie crust and spoon 

meringue gently on top. 

Bake the meringue-topped pie at 350˚ F (175˚ C) for 10 to 12 

minutes, until the meringue is slightly golden. 


edible SPRING 

Gorgeous Green Garlic 

Green garlic, baby garlic, and spring garlic are names for the immature garlic plant. 

Somewhere between a scallion and a svelte leek in appearance, green garlic is rarely 

seen at supermarkets, but if you’re very lucky you might find a farmer selling it come 

late spring. If you do, you should immediately hug him or her and kiss both cheeks, 

for you’re quite likely to become addicted, and you’ll want to stay on the good side 

of your supplier. The stuff, not surprisingly, has a garlicky flavour, but is mellower, 

sweeter and less breath-stinky than the mature bulb. You can substitute green garlic 

for regular garlic in many recipes. It’s dreamy added to soups or stews, and pounded 

into a paste it will make the prettiest, most glorious aioli. There’s a recipe for a 

wonderful green garlic and spinach pasta sauce at www.ediblevancouver.com 

Asparagus Tart 

This tart is exquisite, elegant—and easy if you use frozen 

puff pastry. 

About 200g (7 to 8oz) puff pastry 

(ideally made with butter) 

125g (4oz) soft goat cheese 

8 spears asparagus 

2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh Italian parsley 

1 Tbsp capers 

1 Tbsp grated Parmesan 

1 tsp dried dill 

zest of one lemon, grated 

pinch salt 

1 Tbsp melted butter 

A package of frozen puff pastry usually contains two 

blocks. Thaw one block for two to three hours, or according 

to package directions. It should be cold to the touch, 

but workable. On a floured board, roll it out to a rectangle 

about 8” x 10”. Lay this on a lightly buttered baking sheet 

and chill in the fridge for an hour. 

Snap off the bases of the asparagus (store them in the 

freezer for making stock another time). Cook the asparagus 

spears in boiling water for about two minutes, just 

until tender. Refresh in cool water, drain, and cut into 

pieces about 2” in length. 

Soften the cheese somewhat in a microwave, or briefly 

in a low oven. Spread the goat cheese over the pastry to 

about ½” from each edge. 

In a bowl, toss the asparagus pieces with parsley, capers, 

Parmesan, dill, salt and lemon zest. Scatter asparagus 

mixture evenly over the cheese. 

Brush the bare pastry border with melted butter and bake 

at 375º F for about 20 minutes, or until puffed and light 

golden brown. 

Photos: Asparagus, Carole Topalian; garlic, © Spe | Dreamstime.com 


Halibut with Mustard Nut Crust 

Excerpted from Halibut: The Cookbook edited by Karen 

Barnaby (Whitecap books). 

Ingredients 

4 Tbsp (60 mL) butter, softened, divided 

¼ cup (60 mL) whole grain mustard 

½ cup (125 mL) hazelnuts, skinned and roughly ground 

4 6-oz (175-g) halibut fillets, 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick 

kosher salt to taste 

cayenne pepper to taste 

3 Tbsp (45 mL) chopped fresh thyme 

1½ cups (375 mL) white wine 

½ cup (125 mL) black olives, preferably niçoise 

4–5 sprigs thyme 

Method 

Preheat the oven to 500°F (260°C). Prepare the crust mixture 

by combining 3 Tbsp (45 mL) of the softened butter with 

the mustard and hazelnuts. Season the halibut with salt and 

cayenne pepper. Spread the crust mixture evenly over the top 

of each piece of halibut. 

Heat an ovenproof pan (large enough to hold the fish without 

crowding) and add the remaining 1 Tbsp (15 mL) butter. Place 

the fish in the pan. Sprinkle with the chopped thyme and pour 

enough wine around the fish to come half way up the fillets 

and not touch the crust. Spread the olives and the thyme 

sprigs around the fish. 

Bring the pan to a boil on top of the stove, then place it in the 

oven for about 10 to 15 minutes. Change the oven setting to 

broil and cook for another 2 minutes or until the crust is bubbly. 

Serve immediately. 

Editor’s Note: OceanWise considers Pacific halibut from BC and 

Alaska a good choice because the fishery is so well-managed. 

Nettles 

They’re known as stinging 

nettles, but if you steam them 

well, they won’t hurt a bit. 

Cooking them is a must; don’t 

even think about nibbling on a 

raw nettle. We’ve seen them at 

farmers’ markets in the spring, 

but don’t forget that they are 

abundant in the wild throughout 

the lower mainland: delicious, a powerful source of nutrients, 

and free for the picking (use heavy protective gloves). Perfect for 

soups and omelettes. (recipe at www.ediblevancouver.com). 

Waste Not 

• Save shrimp, prawn and crab shells in the freezer to use for 

making fish stock. 

• Oyster and clam shells can be scattered around your garden, 

face up, to collect rainwater for bees. 

• If you can’t use up all of your fresh herbs, chop them fine, 

place in ice cube trays, cover with a bit of water and freeze 

them. Add to soups, stews and sauces. 

• Snap asparagus ends off with your fingers, because they tend 

to break naturally at the point where the stalk becomes tough. 

Freeze the bases and save them to make a rich, flavourful 

asparagus stock to enjoy long after the season is over. 

• Discover what’s already lurking in your fridge/freezer and 

pantry. Challenge yourself to use an ingredient for dinner 

and save it from the waste bin. 

Kale 

It’s been a long winter, and we did wonder if you might be sick of 

kale. But kale is in season for 12 months of the year in Vancouver, 

and it’s so easy to grow that we decided it isn’t actually possible to 

have too many recipes for kale. This one makes a slightly sweet 

and spicy side-dish. 

kale with onions 

One bunch kale 

One yellow onion 

2 Tbsp olive oil 

½ tsp brown sugar 

½ tsp red chile flakes 

1 tsp sea salt 

2-4 cloves garlic, minced 

Cut the kale leaves into small pieces, discarding the tough 

center ribs. Clean well in a large bowl of cold water, drain, and 

drop into a pot of boiling water for three-four minutes, until 

very dark green and limp. Drain again. 

Peel and slice the onion. Heat the oil in a skillet, add the onion 

and cook over medium-low heat until soft. Add the drained kale 

leaves, sugar, chile and salt. Stir well and cook, covered, for 

ten minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another ten minutes. 

Serve hot. 


edible HEROES 

Local heroes winners: 

Ethical Bean 

FarmFolk/CityFolk 

Sebastian & Co. fine organic meats 

Rocky Mountain Flatbread Company 

UBC Farm 

Jessica and Sebastian of Sebastian & Co. Fine Organic Meats 

Instead of our normally autocratic decisions about Edible Heroes, 

this issue is all about your heroes, the organizations and businesses 

that our readers voted for. Local Heroes were honoured and their 

stories shared in Santa Fe this past January at the annual meeting 

of edible publishers. 

We weren’t surprised when you chose Ethical Bean as heroic Beverage 

Artisan. They produce certified organic, fair trade coffee and 

tea in a carbon-neutral facility, and every year they raise funds for 

sending kids to school in Guatemala. The beans are widely available 

at stores throughout the lower mainland. www.ethicalbean.com 

The Non-profit FarmFolk/CityFolk Society are superheroes of 

our local scene. The organization connects farm and city to build 

a local, sustainable food system, and hosts inspiring events like the 

annual Feast of Fields (expanding to the Okanagan in 2009). Their 

website is a rich resource of information about seasonal eating, 

Community Supported Agriculture, protecting farmland and 

more. www.farmfolkcityfolk.ca 

Sebastian & Co. Fine Organic Meats cleaned up in the Food Artisan 

category. This is the conscious carnivore’s source for certified organic, 

naturally raised meats from farms and ranches in BC and Alberta. 

Professionally trained chef and butcher Sebastian Cortez is reviving 

the art of dry-aging beef, and his artisan sausages have acquired an 

enthusiastic following. His shop at 2425 Marine Drive in West Van 

has a modern European aesthetic with exceptional, knowledgeable, 

old-fashioned service. www.sebastianandco.ca 

Carbon-neutral, kid-friendly Rocky Mountain Flatbread 

Company is our readers’ choice in the Chef/Restaurant category. 

Their belly-pleasing creations feature organic ingredients from 

local farmers, and Ocean Wise certified seafood. These Green 

Table members use reclaimed wood throughout the restaurant 

and support numerous community events. Dine in at 1876 West 

First Avenue or find their frozen pizzas at tasteful grocery stores. 

www.rockymountainflatbread.ca 

UBC Farm is the only remaining working farm within the Vancouver 

city limits, and we were delighted when you chose it for the 

Farm category. An educational resource for children, UBC students, 

and members of the public, the farm is also a seasonal market, a 

peaceful haven, and a home 

to bees, chickens and wildlife. 

This important parcel of land 

has been under the threat of 

development, and while its 

future is not yet secure, numerous 

supporters from UBC 

and the general community 

have sent a loud and clear 

message to UBC’s administrators: 

Save the farm. Please. 

www.landfood.ubc.ca/ubcfarm 

Lloyd of Ethical Bean 


edible GARDENS 

Photo: Carole Topalian 

Less Lawn, More Lasagna 

We’re not declaring war on lawns. Not really. They’re preferable 

to, say, concrete. But we would like to see more food and less lawn 

grown in lower mainland gardens, and we’re about to tell you a 

quick, lazy, and effective way for making a vegetable garden where 

that thirsty, chemically-dependent grass used to be. 

It’s ideal for the lazy gardener, because you don’t have to dig up 

your lawn. Did you hear that? No digging. It’s quick and efficient, 

because the layers produce quite a lot of heat, and growing plants 

tend to thrive in warm soil. It’s sometimes called sheet composting, 

but we know you’ll understand why edible Vancouver prefers to call 

it lasagna gardening. 

As with making the pasta dish, creativity abounds. There are many 

ways to make a productive lasagna garden, and very few rules. The 

idea is that you start with cardboard, newspaper, or burlap coffee 

sacks, and pile on thick layers of various organic materials. 

Be sure to choose a location that is sunny at mid-day, and for at 

least six hours a day. 

First you mow your lawn. Then decide on a shape to suit your space 

and define it with string, yarn, sticks or something. Keep the width to 

about four feet, so you can reach the middle from either side. Cover 

the well-shorn lawn with a six-sheet thickness of newspaper, a burlap 

bag*, or a single sheet of packing cardboard. Wet this layer well. 

Peat, leaf mulch or coir (coconut fibre) should go on top of this 

base, spread evenly with a rake. (TIP: make your leaves break down 

faster by putting them into a garbage can and weed-whacking them 

to a pulp. Or just run the lawnmower over them.) Next add a layer 

of good garden soil or compost, then a layer of grass clippings, 

flower petals, etc. Add more leaf mulch, coir or peat. Rake this level 

again, and top your lasagna garden with a mix of soil and well-aged 

compost, at least six inches deep. 

The accumulated layers should be at least 30cm or one foot deep. 

Don’t put any kind of frame around the lasagna garden because 

the garden and the creatures who break down the organic material 

need to breathe. 

Water well and you’re ready to sow seeds, or install vegetable starts 

or transplants. Start salivating as you dream of an abundant harvest. 

Our mentors at Hot Beds have promised to put some step-by-step 

photos and a detailed list of what to use for your layers on their site: 

www.growsomefood.ca 

*If you’d like free burlap coffee bags for your lasagna garden, go to 

the Ethical Bean café at 1315 Kootenay Street, Vancouver, during 

business hours (www.ethicalbean.com). Just ask them nicely and 

say edible Vancouver sent you. 

“bringing the best organic & natural foods to the drive” 

1045 Commercial Drive 

604.678.9665 • driveorganics@shawbiz.ca 


Outstanding 

in their Field 

by André LaRivière 

Our food system needs more 

farm-to-table connectors 

Most every spring morning, my daughter and I make our rounds 

to the tomato seedlings crowding the window sills and sunny spots 

around the house. We whisper gentle words of encouragement to 

the budding green leaves, dousing them with the CO 2 they need 

and for which they generously swap O 2 . 

While we review the topics for our next healthy exchange with the 

soon-to-be backyard garden, I often think about the kitchen-table discussions 

occurring in the Okanagan or Fraser Valley that will have far 

greater repercussions on our family’s menu this year. And when local 

growers are considering what to plant or replant, who do they talk to? 

Whose gentle, thoughtful encouragement are they hearing? Evidence 

would suggest there’s room for more folks in those conversations. 

Despite current global economics, the gold rush for local, sustainable 

food in this region continues. A flush of new restaurants is 

driving up demand; growers and packers are seeking alternatives 

to wobbly export markets; and regional governments are looking 

with interest at the many economic, environmental and political 

benefits of local food. In the face of this, there’s a very active 

and urgent search among local food advocates to identify the ideal 

mechanism to gear up the system. Most ideas involve some type 

of web-enabled platform that connects chefs, retailers, wholesalers 

and other buyers directly with local growers, artisans and processors 

in a user-friendly, sustainable (in every sense) marketplace. 

Why the scramble for a fresh solution? Because most everyone 

agrees that the majority of field-to-table connections attempted in 

recent years rarely work to anyone’s satisfaction, or for very long. 

Bridging the complexities of the rural/urban gap, be they philosophical 

or physical, while juggling the vagaries of the domestic/ 

export food market is no mean feat. 

Take, for example, the most basic relationship issue—trust. At the 

suggestion of a major local buyer, a grower adds a half-acre of butternut 

squash to his field. However, at harvest, the price-conscious 

buyer takes only half the crop at market price, suggesting that the 

grower invest more time/money than it’s worth hauling it off to 

a secondary market. Similarly, a chef may ask a grower to plant 

an heirloom variety of carrots for a planned special menu, only to 

discover too late that the crop was unsuccessful due to the grower’s 

inexperience. It doesn’t take many events such as these to burst the 

bubble of new-style direct relationships. 

Perhaps the most successful model at bridging the urban/rural divide 

has been the farmers market, where regular face-time fosters both 

shared understanding and trust between growers and eaters, while a 

community of support reduces the risks accompanying any change. 

Indeed, many believe that the idea of a farmers market ‘writ large’ 

Photo: Philip Solman 


offers much to the development of the geared-up local food system. 

I’ve had the privilege of sitting at many a farmhouse kitchen table, 

and have often heard that a key cog in the modern machine ought 

to be the old-fashioned, flesh-and-blood connector still known as 

the ‘fieldman’. 

Once a significant part of government agricultural outreach and 

service, they’re part horticultural consultant, part crop wrangler, 

responsible for channeling information back and forth from 

growers to processors and packers, and for keeping experienced eyes 

and hands on the ground to help ensure a win for everyone. They’ve 

earned respect as the friendly expert, trusted face and critical link in 

a smart, responsive and responsible food system. 

These days you’ll find fieldmen working for grower co-ops and 

processing companies, which is how I found Charlotte Leaming, 

whose profile on the networking site LinkedIn proudly lists her 

profession as ‘fieldman’. She covers the Similkameen area on behalf 

of the Okanagan Tree Fruit Cooperative, which markets its products 

via the BC Tree Fruits ‘green leaf’ label, a brand recognized 

across Canada and beyond since the 1930s. 

Leaming has more than twenty years’ experience in Okanagan 

orchards since graduating in food production technology from 

BCIT. She describes her fellow fieldmen as having diverse educations 

(a PhD, some with Masters degrees), but two essential skill 

sets: horticulture and communications. 

And though she’s humble about her own role, Leaming readily 

acknowledges that, should the ranks of the field service swell for any 

reason, the local food system would clearly benefit. “I think fieldmen 

truly are a valuable resource to growers, and do offer important 

information and feedback from both the packinghouse and 

from the market in general,” she says, adding that BC Tree Fruits 

currently deploys one fieldman for every 100 of its 900 small-scale 

growers. “Because we go farm-to-farm, we help keep them in the 

loop...bring them fresh ideas and perspective.” 

This time of year, Leaming and her colleagues are offering advice 

on pruning and spraying, and generally “putting out fires, like any 

consultant,” she says. 

“Topping the list of our responsibilities is to explain ‘what is quality?’ 

in terms of sizes and colours. And then to the question ‘what should I 

plant?’ we offer a broader view of the market, trends and potential.” 

For example, the international apple market is hot for a Minnesotabred 

(and patented) variety called the Honeycrisp. “An Okanagan 

grower might read about it in a magazine or on the Internet and 

decide to give it a try, but I’d tell them they might be better off with 

our newest homegrown success story, the Ambrosia,” says Leaming. 

While she says that her company’s view is ‘the more local the 

market, the better’ due to reduced impacts on the system, including 

transportation costs, Leaming admits that the bottom line still 

rules; “It’s all about price, and for our co-op, return to the grower 

is everything.” To illustrate, she mentions that her company would 

have gladly sent more Ambrosia apples to local retailers last year, 

but even with the extra cost of shipping, there was a better price to 

be had on the California market. 

Can Leaming and the fellow fieldmen imagine a day where ‘local’ 

could trump ‘price?’ “It’s possible, but we all need to work at building 

commitment and trust in the local market,” she says. “That’s 

not going to be easy and will take time.” 

In her fieldman’s book, the same concerns apply to the certified 

organic market. “Demand has leveled off, so we’re a little worried 

right now about encouraging more growers to switch,” says Leaming. 

“Given how much more labour-intensive it is, organic growers just 

have to get a premium price for their products.” She’s also no great 

fan of all the paperwork and process that growers must pursue to be 

certified. “We often chuckle when we remember how the idea for this 

whole organic bureaucracy was invented by a bunch of hippies!” 

Though I didn’t spend much time with Leaming, I was quickly struck 

by her open, frank personality and straight-shooting, no-nonsense 

style. She’s exactly the type of person I’d want to have in my corner, 

no matter which side of the grower/buyer equation I was on. 

So, are we poised for the return of the fieldman? I certainly think so, 

and will do my own advocating on that score. Clearly, the value that 

Leaming and her colleagues bring to the food system is readily apparent 

and more vital to our future than yet another database or online 

marketplace (though I admit we may need one of those, too). 

And if I were qualified, I’d jump at it. “It’s a fabulous job, chock full 

of variety, independence and fresh things to learn,” says Leaming, 

whose summary of the fieldman’s life deserves the last word. 

“We’re helping growers, most on small family-run farms, improve 

their quality of life and the quality of food they produce. And we earn 

respect for being a jack-of-all-trades... just like every farmer I know.” 

Food writer/broadcaster André LaRivière expects to run out of last year’s 

batch of preserved homegrown tomatoes when this year’s crop ripens. 


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Bock-bock in 

Your Backyard? 

By Trish Kelly 

Photos: Bambi Edlund 

Urban chickens for 

Vancouver in 2009 

Four generations ago, in a garbage dump outside 

Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, my family became 

poultry farmers. Crouched like sprinters at 

the start line, my great-grannie and her young 

granddaughters waited for the trucks to make 

their drop-off and disappear behind the pile of 

broken cars. From the age of six, my mother 

and her sisters helped their Chicken Grannie 

salvage half-hatched eggs from the city dump. 

It was my mom’s job to help the chicks break 

out of the shell, then place them in a box in the 

trunk, where the heat of a lightbulb kept them 

warm during the trip back home. 

As a child, I repeatedly heard the story of my 

family’s farm and how close we used to be to our 

food. I recall it now, while researching for the 

Vancouver Food Policy Council the possibility of 

urban chicken keeping. 


As urban sprawl continues 

to threaten agricultural land, 

backyard chickeners also take 

some of the food production 

burden off rural areas, which 

just feels right. 

On a chilly spring afternoon, I am standing in a chicken pen outside 

my Aunt Maureen’s trailer in Surrey. She’s a couple of years older than 

my mom and she remembers how attached her sister would get to the 

chickens. “Your mother made pets out of them,” she says with a slow 

shake of her head. The four hens she keeps, two black and two auburn, 

approach us, singing a pleased note as they get closer. To my urban 

eye, the henhouse looks like a walk-in closet; a shelf holds three strawladen 

nesting boxes, and there is a dowel across the width of the shed, 

perfect for hanging dresses on—or perching at night if you are a hen. 

Some of the things she explains are pure memory. When I ask her 

how she knew that feeding broccoli to the hens makes their shells 

strong, she just shrugs, “That’s what we always did.” Other features 

of the coop are common sense additions; when it became apparent 

that hawks were interested in the hens, my aunt rigged chicken wire 

across the top of the pen. 

I have lived in the city all my life. My current apartment building is 

a three-storey walk-up that was probably built in the 1950s, when 

the sisters were learning to rescue castoffs from commercial hatcheries. 

I have no yard or even a balcony; there’s no way I could keep 

chickens, even if it was legal in Vancouver. And although Seattle, 

Portland, Victoria and even New Westminster allow citizens to 

keep hens, Vancouver does not. There are many people who think 

this needs to change, and some of them have written letters to the 

mayor’s office, which is how it became my task to research possibly 

changing the local bylaws to allow urban chicken keeping. 

I have to admit, I’m enamoured with the idea. Aside from any heritable 

motivators, through reading about other cities’ regulations, 

talking to Chicken Outlaws who are keeping backyard chickens 

right now, and making a trip to a commercial chicken farm in 

Langley, I am convinced that backyard chickens should be part of 

our urban food landscape. 

There would be significant benefits to keeping chickens in our 

backyards. Though a hen won’t produce an egg everyday, she can 

be impressively productive, laying about two eggs every three days. 

That means three hens in the backyard would give your family 

about fifteen eggs per week. While hens do need chicken feed as the 

basis of their diet, they’ll also enjoy doing away with your garden 

pests like slugs and bugs. Table scraps are also part of the menu, as 

are select weeds. As urban sprawl continues to threaten agricultural 

land, backyard chickeners also take some of the food production 

burden off rural areas, which just feels right. 

Making Vancouver ready to welcome backyard chickens is not as 

simple as rewording the animal control bylaw. From extremely permissive 

cities like New York (where anyone can have as many chickens 

as their neighbours will tolerate), to nearby Seattle (which allows 

chickens and miniature goats with a minimum lot size), strong public 

education is a theme of comprehensive, well-supported bylaws. Seattle 


Tilth runs City Chicken 101 courses, and New York has great online 

web resources. While not all cities go to this extent, it seems useful for 

people like me, who have no firsthand experience with birds. 

A Vancouver version of these resources could address concerns raised 

by animal advocacy groups like Vancouver Humane Society and 

BCSPCA. Geoff Urton, Animal Welfare Coordinator for BCSPCA, 

has expressed concern that chicken owners may be more interested 

in the novelty of chicken ownership than providing an appropriate 

environment for their birds. He also points out that urban vets 

may not be well-versed in chicken health care. Vancouver’s future 

urban flocks would benefit from having these concerns answered, 

and from a robust and complete urban chickening program that is 

both good for our food system and good for chickens. 

This past winter, with a new mayor and city council in place, the 

Vancouver Food Policy Council created a list of recommendations 

and a motion to amend the city animal control bylaw. In that list 

of recommendations, the VFPC suggested that hens, but not their 

noisy male counterparts, be permitted in Vancouver, in numbers 

of three to four hens per household. The recommendations also 

state that the hens must be kept in conditions that do not encourage 

vermin, raise a stink for neighbours, or cause a noise nuisance. 

To make sure housekeeping and animal welfare standards are practiced, 

the recommendations suggest that a local vet with knowledge 

of fowl be identified, and that public workshops like Seattle’s be 

offered as part of the roll out of a bylaw change. 

Home from my visit to Aunt Maureen’s coop, I put the half dozen eggs 

she gave me in my fridge, and I phone my mother. I call her because I 

know that she will want to make sure that my aunt’s details are accurate 

(such is sixty-year-old sibling rivalry), and I call because I can tell that 

she loves to tell the stories, to recall the smell of straw in the coop, the 

peeping of the chicks in the car trunk, and the pride she felt for the 

work Chicken Grannie assigned her. I’m sure many Vancouverites hold 

such wisdom from their not too distant rural experience. 

For me, in my balcony-less East Van apartment, all objections to urban 

hen husbandry feel easily surmountable. For many of my neighbours, 

who come from other parts of the world, the memory of how to keep 

chickens, even in a dense urban centre, is not just a family legend, but 

practical experience they had to check at the municipal border. 

City Hall is not legendary for speedy responses, but here’s hoping 

that a novella of research and some well-reasoned letters from 

chicken advocates will make 2009 the year the hens can come 

home to roost. When it happens, breakfast is on me. 

Trish Kelly lives and eats in East Vancouver. She is a fan of ethical 

omelettes, urban agriculture and things that make her mother happy. 

Editor’s Note: On March 5, as our Spring issue was going to press, 

Vancouver City Council voted unanimously in favour of changing the 

bylaws. Their decision brings residents one step closer to being allowed 

to keep chickens in their backyards. 

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the path 

of the rose 

By Debbra Mikaelsen 

Photos by Leeanne Munn 

Not all delights are created equal 

When faced with a challenge, a number of different solutions often 

present themselves. Let’s say, for example, that your friends don’t quite 

get Turkish Delight. You might decide you need to get yourself some 

new friends. Or you might realize that this presents an opportunity 

for you to appear generous by safely offering to share your box. 

A third option would be to try to convert them, because after all, it’s 

more fun to share your vices. If this is the road you plan to take, tell 

them that Winston Churchill was a fan, and that Picasso indulged in 

the treat daily to improve his concentration (but be prepared for your 

quicker friends to suggest that Picasso’s works don’t offer much evidence 

of a well-organized mind). Finally, if conversion is on your agenda, I 

strongly suggest that you show your friends the path of the rose. 

I speak from experience, because it took a while for this delicacy 

to win me over. I don’t generally see the point of sweets that don’t 

list cocoa as a major ingredient, and the first Turkish Delight I 

ever tried was a lot like the disappointing innards of a Big Turk 


ar: ambiguous in flavour and rubbery in texture. Perhaps you or 

your skeptical friends have been similarly scarred by something 

resembling sweet Silly Putty. If that’s the case I’m here to evangelize, 

and to remind you that not all delights are created equal. 

I must have been a deer—or a faerie—in another life, because I 

have a deep love of roses. Of eating them, but without the thorns. 

My own love affair began with a rose and cardamom rice pudding: 

heaven on a spoon. Then while on holiday once in Greece, I tried 

some hand-made rose Greek Delight from a village confectioner. 

If you’ve never tried the real thing, close your eyes and imagine 

you’re in a summer rose garden, surrounded by richly scented 

flowers in full bloom. Now imagine that heady, dazzling fragrance 

transformed into flavour and concentrated in a soft, bite-sized 

cube, well-coated with powdered sugar. The taste and texture of 

that freshly made, floral-permeated, soft candy put me under an 

enchantment, and I’ve since been utterly obsessed with eating rose 

Delight wherever I find it. (Those of you who’ve seen The Chronicles 

of Narnia will understand the candy’s power to enchant.) 


When I taste the sample he offers 

me I’m transported; it is intensely 

rose and exquisite in texture. 

recipe handed down through generations. And, most importantly, 

that the rose flavour is very much on the menu. 

The man who greets me at Bayco Confectionery is extremely tall 

and wears a faint dusting of icing sugar. “I am very sweet,” he says 

with a smile and the comment that he breathes powdered sugar for 

most of each day. Born in Istanbul, Jordan Bayazit has always loved 

lokoum, but when he moved to Canada in 1981 he couldn’t find 

anything he considered up to scratch. “I tried one that was made 

in Winnipeg,” he says, “and it was horrible. So I decided to make 

it myself.” He agrees that making it at home is challenging, especially 

cutting it, and he shows me his machines that are specifically 

designed for the purpose. 

Occasionally, when the necessary planets all align, I become a doit-yourself 

kind of person. That’s when I find the courage to try 

things, although the sad truth is that I don’t always master them. 

So when I found a bottle of rose water at an ethnic grocery store I 

knew I had to track down a recipe and tackle Delight. 

Concocting Turkish Delight (as I believe it is known everywhere 

outside of Greece) is not for the faint of heart—or the emotionally 

fragile. You might fare better than I did, but I am not the tidiest of 

cooks, and I turned my small kitchen into a sugary, sticky disaster 

zone. Mixing it, pouring it into the pan and getting it to set are all 

easy steps. The challenging part is releasing it from the pan and 

trying to turn it into pretty powdered cubes. Be warned: cutting 

Turkish Delight with a knife is a lot like trying to lace your shoes 

with bubble gum, the sort of task that some days could reduce me 

to tears. I’m not going to share the recipe here because I prefer not 

to enable your masochistic tendencies. Let me just assure you that 

making rose Turkish Delight was not an experience I felt eager to 

repeat. However, eating rose Turkish Delight definitely was. 

And so I’m sure you can imagine my own absolute Canadian delight 

when I discovered that a company in Surrey makes authentic 

lokoum the traditional way, using natural ingredients and a family 

When I mention my fondness for the rose flavour he says, “Have 

you tried ours? It’s supposed to be the best there is.” And when I 

taste the sample he offers me I’m transported; it is intensely rose 

and exquisite in texture. Jordan says that Bayco is the only North 

American manufacturer of Turkish Delight made in the traditional 

style. They ship their product all over Canada and the USA, and 

have produced a Narnia-themed box at the request of Disney. The 

company, which Jordan runs with one full-time employee and parttime 

staff for busy periods, has had inquiries from further afield, 

but Jordan doesn’t want to get too big. “This is manageable,” he 

says. “I can control things.” 

Jordan’s rose candy is absolutely delightful in every way, but the 

path of the rose is not for everyone. (I am frequently perplexed 

by those who wrinkle their noses at the idea of eating flowers, but 

happily order a plate of liver or kidneys.) Popular flavours include 

raspberry, strawberry, orange, lemon, peach or blueberry. Jordan 

himself prefers pistachio. So does my husband, and although I don’t 

quite get people who don’t get rose essence, I’ve decided to go with 

option four: live and let live. Thanks to the edible diversity of this 

planet, I am free to love rose, and others are free to love liver. But 

I think it’s a safe bet that nobody is going to make liver flavoured 

delight anytime soon. 

You can order Bayco’s Turkish Delight from their website, 

www.turkish-delight.com. 

Debbra Mikaelsen is a Vancouver-based freelance writer whose obsessions 

are numerous. Be sure to keep an eye on your roses if you invite 

her to a garden party. 

Photos: Leeanne Munn www.leeannemunn.com 


One Fish, Two Fish 

by Meghan Dean 

Seafood choices 

for healthier oceans 

Who hasn’t paused in the fish market or stared at 

a menu and wondered ‘Where is this stuff coming 

from?’ Atlantic Haddock glistening on beds of ice, 

mounds of Dungeness Crab: how did it get here and 

should we feel guilty for eating it? 

Chefs, servers and grocers can provide answers—sometimes. 

But for those who want their seafood choices 

backed up with science, initiatives like the Vancouver 

Aquarium’s Ocean Wise program and SeaChoice, a 

national guide with local ties, can clear things up. 

“People really want to do their part to ensure our 

oceans are healthy,” says Jennifer Lash, executive 

director for the BC-based Living Oceans Society. 

“People want to know ‘What can I do?’ When issues 

with farmed salmon came up a few years ago, people 

wanted to know what they should eat instead.” 

Photos: Philip Solman 


There’s one product both 

SeaChoice and Ocean Wise 

agree on enthusiastically: 

the locally-caught Spot Prawn. 

Guide on their website and, most conveniently, in portable Sea- 

Choice consumer cards that have the information organized into 

easy-to-understand charts. 

Should that Dungeness Crab be tonight’s dinner? Sure: if trapcaught 

along the Pacific Coast, go for it (there are concerns if it 

comes out of Alaska). But if it was trawled, that Haddock should 

stay at the market. The goal at SeaChoice, however, is not simply 

to provide a “yes” or “no,” but to show how all the criteria make an 

item a different degree of good or bad. And Lash points out that 

SeaChoice doesn’t do it alone. “We’re in touch with the people at 

Ocean Wise. It’s key to work together and share information so we 

don’t confuse people.” 

Steve Johansen of Organic Ocean Seafood 

Now in its third year, SeaChoice was formed to provide some 

answers. The guide is a collaboration of five Canadian environmental 

groups: the Living Oceans Society, the Ecology Action Centre, 

the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, the Sierra Club of 

Canada, and the David Suzuki Foundation. 

Determining sustainability is tricky: it deals with a variety of complicated 

factors. But SeaChoice’s combined research boils down to 

five key criteria: 

• The status of wild stocks (how many fish are left) 

• The nature and extent of by-catch (do other stocks accidentally 

get scooped up, and, if so, how much?) 

• The effects of the fishing practices on habitats and ecosystems 

(Some methods, such as types of trawling—which essentially 

rake the ocean floor—destroy everything in their path.) 

• The effectiveness of the management regime (how well boats and 

their catches are monitored) 

• A stock’s inherent vulnerability to fishing pressure (the longer a fish 

takes to mature, the greater the risk of becoming over-fished) 

Depending on how a stock does in these five areas, it gets rated 

with one of three SeaChoice colour-coded fish symbols: green is the 

Best Choice, yellow warns of Some Concerns, and red means best 

to Avoid. This information is available in the form of a Business 

While SeaChoice deals mainly with retailers and suppliers, and Ocean 

Wise works mostly with restaurants, the goal is the same: healthy, abundant 

oceans. Mike McDermid, program director for the Vancouver 

Aquarium, helped start Ocean Wise just over five years ago. “Sustainable 

seafood is a much larger puzzle than simply a restaurant program 

or a seafood choices guide,” he explains. “SeaChoice and Ocean Wise 

each bring a unique and complimentary aspect to the table.” 

The aquarium chose to work with restaurants because of their influence 

on what and how much is caught. “Sixty-eight percent of the 

value of all seafood sold in North America is through the restaurant 

and food service industry. This is where consumers, restaurateurs 

and chefs can have a huge impact,” McDermid says. 

With Ocean Wise, making a smart seafood choice at a restaurant is 

simple: just look for the Ocean Wise logo on the menu. It appears 

beside items that have been approved by the program. Ocean Wiseapproved 

products are also available in some local stores, including 

Capers Community Markets. A full list is available online. 

Like SeaChoice, Ocean Wise determines healthy stocks by looking 

at things like environmental impact, by-catch, fishing methods, and 

vulnerability. They then make a master list, which they distribute 

to participating restaurants. “Essentially we do the homework and 

help our partners make sound choices based on the best available 

information,” McDermid says. 

Ocean Wise has grown from 16 to 2000-plus locations, and is 

going national later this year. And, as McDermid explains, shoppers 

and diners are the key to ensuring that interest in responsible 


fishing practices keeps growing. “The fishing industry is very much 

consumer driven—fishermen will catch what consumers demand. 

By choosing our seafood wisely, we create a market for seafood that 

is harvested in a sustainable manner,” he says. 

There are heaps of healthy, safe seafood choices currently in markets 

and restaurants all over Canada. If they’re from the Pacific Ocean, 

sardines, herring, farmed oysters (like local Fanny Bays), farmed 

scallops (from Qualicum Bay perhaps?), sablefish, and albacore 

tuna all get nods for their fishing practices. 

Good Atlantic choices include trap-caught lobster, bottom longline 

haddock, and swordfish. There are always grey areas, though, and 

how and where all these species are caught can affect their degree 

of sustainability. 

There’s one product both SeaChoice and Ocean Wise agree on 

enthusiastically: the locally-caught Spot Prawn. The industry has 

strict limitations at every turn: only 252 licenses are allowed in 

BC at one time; only a certain amount of females can be caught 

to ensure future spawning; and boats can only haul their traps on 

board once a day, which reduces over-catching. 

Spot Prawn season traditionally begins on May 1st, and runs about 

six to eight weeks. During the season, boats are frequently boarded 

by monitoring companies which count trapped females. Once an 

area hits the pre-determined threshold, it’s closed down. This process 

continues around the coast until the season is declared closed. 

The annual Spot Prawn Festival at Fisherman’s Wharf near Granville 

Island (likely to be on May 9 this year) celebrates the opening 

of the season. At past festivals there have been cooking demonstrations 

by chefs like Robert Clark of Ocean Wise’s founding partner 

C Restaurant, information booths from SeaChoice and Ocean 

Wise, and activities for foodies of all ages. Several local restaurants 

also feature Spot Prawn dishes throughout the season. 

Maintaining a healthy ocean environment can seem like a daunting 

concept to everyday consumers. But for the organizations, chefs and 

fishmongers dedicated to sustainable fishing practices, one message 

is clear: our choices can make a difference. “We must encourage 

consumers to play their part,” says Lash of Living Oceans. “Some 

people might think there’s nothing they can do to help protect our 

oceans, but they can have an influence and help them thrive by 

making better choices every day.” 

See www.vanaqua.org/oceanwise and www.seachoice.org 

Meghan Dean is a Toronto-via-Vancouver-based freelance writer who 

has also worked as a server for longer than she cares to mention. Were 

it not for the hospitality industry, however, she might not know her 

Tilapia from her Trout. Meghan would never eat a Tiger Prawn. 


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22 | edible vancouver spring 2009 

34926 Great idea 08.indd 1 8/11/08 5:20:53 PM

field NOTES 

Keep Farmland 

For Farming 

By Michael Marrapese 

Photos: Michael Marrapese 

Last summer a few hundred people sat down for a 100-mile dinner at 

the Semiahmoo Fish and Game Club to celebrate the 35th birthday 

of the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR). While there was singing and 

a cake, the party had a poignant and somber note as well. Harold 

Steves, often referred to as the grandfather of the ALR, related the 

story of the Steves’ family farm. “Our farm was in the dairy business 

from 1877 to 1962. In 1958 the City of Richmond quietly rezoned 

about 1200 acres of farmland in Richmond from agricultural to residential. 

There were new milk industry requirements brought in that 

year and our barn didn’t qualify—the ceilings where too low, the aisles 

not wide enough, and we needed to switch to bulk storage tanks. 

When my father went to apply for a permit to build a new barn, he 

was denied on the basis that the land was zoned residential.” 

His father switched to raising beef cattle, but in 1968 the BC Assessment 

Authority deemed that this was not an adequate agricultural 

pursuit, and they slapped the higher residential taxes on the land. At 

this point his father understandably sold off most of the land. Many 

other farms in Richmond closed down in roughly the same manner. 

This story is not unique to Richmond. All the major agricultural 

areas in BC have experienced similar conflicts between farmland 

and municipal development. Steves got together with several friends 

to begin a series of kitchen table meetings in Cloverdale, Langley, 

Delta and Whalley, in an attempt to find some creative ways of 

dealing with these issues. “We were looking at ways to protect 

farming, and reflected on some examples in Saskatchewan, where 

cities had bought up land around the urban area in order to contain 

urban sprawl,” he recalls. Steves and his group drafted a resolution 

to bring in a land bank in BC, a resolution they later brought to the 

NDP convention. In 1973 Dave Barrett and the NDP government 

enacted the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) Act. 

The ALR Act is regarded by many as one of the most forward 

thinking pieces of legislation created by any government in Canada. 

Solicitor General and Former Minister of Agriculture John van 

Dongen, states that, “The fact that the [ALR] Act has survived 35 

years through many governments is a testament to the appropriateness 

and necessity of that public policy.” 

Harold Steves, grandfather of the ALR 


However, even with the ALR in place, the pressure to develop 

farmland remains unabated. Hamish Crawford, a farmer in North 

Saanich, has seen most of the large family farms disappear along 

with much of the farming infrastructure over the last 18 years. He is 

alarmed at the disregard that municipal politicians have for the ALR. 

“In North Saanich, the municipal government doesn’t even apply to 

the land commission to change the land from farm use. We’ve got 

schools on ALR land, Rec centres on ALR land. This allows them to 

say they haven’t taken any land out of the land reserve.” 

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There is a provision in the ALR Act that allows land to be removed, 

or excluded, from the ALR. The original intention was to give the 

Commission means to correct boundaries or remove land that was 

unsuited for agriculture. It has, however, led to a never-ending stream 

of exclusion applications for everything from truck parking facilities 

to baseball fields and, recently, to settle aboriginal land claims. 

Exclusion applications are usually backed up with statements about 

municipal or community need. The constant spectre of “not enough 

land for growth” is often seen as a convenient excuse for poor planning, 

according to many of the more forward-looking urban planners. 

“With creative planning and creative zoning there is more than 

enough land to accommodate all the growth that Metro Vancouver 

is expecting,” says Ione Smith of Smart Growth BC. “The flip side,” 

she continues, “is also true—if we pave over all the farmland and 

there is a crisis, where will we get our food?” Barry Smith (no relation 

to Ione), a former policy planner for the Commission, believes 

that a fundamental shift in our view of farmland is necessary. “Most 

people,” he says, “do not see farmland as a resource at all, but rather 

a commodity. Like clean air, clean water and shelter, farmland should 

be considered a cornerstone resource fundamental to civilization.” 

Herb Barbolet, a long time friend of Steves and founder of Farm- 

Folk/CityFolk, notes that the Commission has more pressing work 

to do than simply process applications. “When the Act came in it had 

two parts,” he says. “One was the protection of the land reserve. The 

other equally important part was protecting the farmers and farming. 

It is absolutely essential that we work much harder and have much 

more consciousness about working with farmers, and to ensure that 

there are farms and future farmers.” The ALR is a remarkable and 

precious community asset. It continues to exist not simply because of 

any one person, party or government. As Barbolet observes, “we have 

the agricultural land reserve because visionaries created it, but also, 

we have it because ordinary citizens and non-governmental organizations 

have been fighting tooth and nail over the years to keep it.” 

It is vital that all levels of government and the general public work 

together to keep our farmland for farming. 

Michael Marrapese, based in the Fraser Valley, works with FarmFolk/ 

CityFolk to cultivate a local, sustainable food system. 

www.farmfolkcityfolk.ca 


edible Experiment 

colouring 

outside the carton 

by Bambi edlund 

Photos: Bambi Edlund 

Dyeing eggs, naturally 

Early April, mid-1970s, small-town BC. The Sunday began as it 

did for most: an Easter egg hunt. But not a cushy behind-the-sofapillows-in-the-warm-living-room 

style egg hunt, like my friends 

who lived in town took part in. No sir. We lived in the country and 

our eggs were hidden outside. From the crooks of trees, to gopher 

holes, to deep in the crannies of rusted out old farm equipment, 

any place was fair game, and part of the challenge was getting to 

the eggs before the dogs did (inevitably a few piles of coloured shell 

fragments and canine egg breath explained the empty spots in the 

cartons after gathering). 

We dyed eggs the Saturday before Easter. I remember the kitchen 

table lined with mason jars of vinegary coloured water, some made 

from wee bottled food dyes or those coloured tablets, but some 

were always made from food. I guess the fact that the scent of onion 

skins, vinegar and boiled eggs conjures up the feeling of Easter far 

more than chocolate bunnies or marshmallow peeps says something 

about how much I loved dyeing eggs as a kid, and I hate to see the 

tradition fade away. 


C 

M 

Y 

CM 

MY 

CY 

CMY 

K 

So, for this season’s Edible Experiment, I figured it would be a 

good test to see just how many colours I could make using only 

edible dyes. When I did some research on dyeing eggs using natural 

colours, I was shocked at how many suggestions there were to boil 

the eggs in a pot of water with the dyestuffs—which creates a deep 

hue, but spoils the eggs, as unwanted flavour seeps in during the 

MOMAD_SFBB_EAT2.pdf 3/9/09 7:04:21 PM 

boiling process. Unable to understand why anyone would bother 

using natural dyes to render an egg inedible, I was determined to 

make naturally-coloured eggs that could still be used for the traditional 

and delicious post-Easter egg salad sandwiches. 

I made a mental list of all the hues I could make using a wide variety of 

fruits and vegetables, berries and spices, and began gathering potential 

potions. When it came time to experiment, a friend joined me for 

the undeniably odourous chemistry experiment in my kitchen. 

We set off with the greatest intentions and the highest of expectations, 

visions of gorgeous pastel eggs that would make Martha 

green with envy. We started by boiling pots of vinegary onion skins 

and spinach leaves, and poured leftover beet-cooking water, undesirable 

elderberry wine and super-strong hibiscus tea into jars. This 

was going to be such fun. 

I got out a roll of wire and twisted a few dippers like my dad used 

to make, and we lowered eggs into the various jars, feeling oh-so on 

top of our game, perhaps even a bit cocky. How easy it is to bypass 

those jars of red dye #6! Who needs those silly little tablets? 

Twenty tense minutes later we stood around the table, heads hung 

low, shoulders slouched in defeat, looking forlornly at half a dozen 

eggs that were an almost perfectly-matched set of muddy purplish 

brown. Some were actually dyed muddy brown, the others were 

simply coated in sludge that rubbed off as soon as you touched them. 

Not to be (completely) discouraged, we revisited our approach— 

we cooked some dyes a little longer, moved eggs from one jar to 

another—and soon had several more mud-coloured orbs to add to 

our matching set. By that point we were recklessly plunging the eggs 

back and forth into various lumpy concoctions made by pouring the 

jars into each other, having given up entirely. As I stood pondering 

an alternative topic for this column, we noticed a pot with a few red 

cabbage leaves still simmering on the back of the stove. 


I had been adding a lot of vinegar to the jars, thinking it might 

intensify the colours, but we began to suspect it may have an 

adverse effect, so I added just a tablespoon or so to the cabbage 

water, which looked just as one would expect, a reddish-purple. 

We dropped in an egg distractedly and continued our (now totally 

unrelated) conversation. A few minutes later, one of us remembered 

to pull the egg out of the cabbage water, and—praise the pigment 

gods—it was a beautiful aqua colour: clear and bright and altogether 

Eastery. The kitchen was a mess, the table piled with stinky 

residue, but we were back in business. 

Re-energized, we put on a pot of water to boil with turmeric and 

a dash of vinegar, another with a handful of frozen blueberries, and 

opened a jar of pickled beets. Lo and behold, we were rewarded with 

beautiful brilliant yellow, periwinkle and pink eggs. We finally felt 

like giddy kindergartners on fingerpainting day, after having spent the 

previous hour feeling a bit more like kids that get picked last in gym. 

We employed several of the old tried-and-true tricks, wrapping 

some in rubber bands, double-dipping others, and applying hot 

wax with a q-tip to make relief patterns. In the end, we had a dozen 

Easter eggs that radiated enough beautiful colour to outshine the 

hideous mud-brown contingent—and enough dye recipes to help 

you avoid your own murky batch. 

Bambi Edlund has always loved Easter, equally for the bunnies and 

the excuse to eat hard-boiled eggs with abandon. She’s pretty sure she 

held the title of Kingover more than once. Never heard of Kingover? 

www.ediblevancouver.com/blog 

To make your own dyes, start with these: 

• Boil 3 cups water, 2 tablespoons turmeric and 1 tablespoon vinegar 

together, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Cool before adding your hardboiled 

eggs. Leave the eggs in the dye for at least 10 minutes to get a 

stronger (but still pastel) pigmentation. 

• Add 12-15 frozen blueberries to 3 cups of boiling water, simmer for 10 

minutes. Crush the blueberries to make a slurry, add a tablespoon of 

vinegar and boil for another 5 minutes. Cool. 

• Chop 4 large red cabbage leaves, add to 3 cups of boiling water and 1 

tablespoon vinegar, simmer for 15 minutes. Strain and cool. 

And the simplest of the bunch: 

• Strain the liquid from pickled beets into a jar, add eggs! 


What the Girls Are Drinking 

The ‘girls’ (who, just for the record, are 

usually about 50% guys) are not professional 

critics. They don’t spit unless a wine 

is really nasty, and have promised not to be 

nasty themselves: they only write about the 

wines they like. They’ve stopped sniffing 

corks ever since one girl got a whole cork 

stuck in his nose. 

The girls have taken quite a shine to Les Faux 

Bourgeois, an out-of-the-way, adorably French 

bistro in East Vancouver. This was the first place they tried 

Sandhill’s Gamay Noir. Ooh la la— light-bodied, fresh 

and fruity, with a hint of pepper, very drinkable on its own. 

One drinker especially liked the finish: “It hangs around 

a while and parties on your tongue.” Then the steaks and 

frites arrived, and this amazing little wine worked sheer 

magic with the meal. Within a few weeks they were back 

for another round of the same. 

The Gamay Noir success prompted the girls to try Sandhill’s Merlot. 

Wow, what a voluptuous bouquet! A wave of aroma rose up and made 

their noses so happy that they almost swooned on the fainting couch. 

Lots of cherry and berry, with just a ghost of spice, and plump tannins 

rolling around in the mouth. For drinkability they preferred this one 

with food—especially with spicy pizza. www.sandhillwines.ca 

Sandhill wines are available at some BC Liquor Stores, but BC 

VQA Wine Stores sell at the same price, and if your timing is 

good, you’ll be able to taste some other wines while you’re there. 

The BC VQA wine stores sell only BC wines, and if you’re thinking 

they are tiny little shops featuring the products of maybe a 

dozen wineries, think again. They have several hundred different 

wines, hold weekly tastings, and employ brainy-but-not-snobby 

staff. To find one near you, go to www.winebc.com. And if you’re 

wondering what the heck VQA means, anyway, it stands for Vintners 

Quality Alliance, a sign that rigorous quality standards are 

adhered to. It also means that a BC VQA wine is made exclusively 

with BC-grown grapes. 

Subscribe 

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edible vancouver 

1038 E 11th Ave 

Vancouver BC V5T 2G2 

Thanks 

to Edible Vancouver 

readers for voting 


as the recipient 

of the Edible 

Communities 2009 

Local Hero Award 

(Category: Nonprofit 

Organizations) 

You too can become 

a local hero and help 

create a sustainable 

food system for 

British Columbia. 

Join as a member of 


today. 

www.farmfolkcityfolk.ca 

604-730-0450 


What the boys Are Drinking 

The ‘boys’ are not real boys at all; they are a few grown men and women, 

of legal drinking age, who put down their air guitars for long enough to 

participate in descriptive discourse about locally-brewed ales. 

The Whip’s Cask Ale Sunday (www.thewhiprestaurant.com) is an 

excellent venue for such drinkers. The space is rich in character, 

with lots of brick and wood, high ceilings and cool tunes. But the 

truly excellent thing about The Whip is their obvious dedication to 

the brewing craft; every Sunday at 4pm they feature a few casks of 

locally made beers. Our drinking was done on March 1, which happened 

to be The Whip’s Third Anniversary party, and the boys had 

a cozy time kicking back and watching the beermakers themselves 

deliver the casks. Here are a few that stood out: 

Red Racer from Central City is a pale ale, a light golden 

colour with a delicious aroma. It nicely balances the bitter 

and sweet, with a fine crisp finish that went down awfully well 

on that wet, suddenly grey day. It tasted like a summer beer, 

and the boys can’t wait to have another on a sunny patio soon. 

www.centralcitybrewing.com 

Driftwood Ale from Driftwood Brewery is 

a hoppy-happy, big, filling brew. Its smooth 

flavour is fabulously floral, without any bitter 

at all. “Bodacious.” The boys liked. They liked 

a lot. www.driftwoodbeer.com 

Storm Brewing is legendary for creativity in handcrafted 

beer. However, in honour of The Whip’s 

third birthday, they made a cider from heirloom 

apples instead. This was quite cloudy and pale 

yellow, with a tart, crisp and refreshing flavour 

that might just convert those who think they 

don’t like cider. Its unique, not-sweet style 

was unlike any these boys had ever tasted 

and they’d happily drink it again—but 

they’re not likely to get the chance. Brewmaster 

James Walton says making it was so 

much work that he’s unlikely to repeat the 

process. Maybe if we ask him very nicely? 

www.stormbrewing.org 


Because time is precious 

and life is delicious 

Source guide: Where to find... 

Businesses with * distribute Edible Vancouver. For a full list of distributors visit www.ediblevancouver.com 

FAST•FRESH•TO GO 

Healthy meals for busy people 

We can help! 

778.565.4678 odelish.ca 

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way to SPCA Certified cage-free eggs, 

specialty meats and artisan cheeses 

want regular, 

juicy tidbits? 

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become a fan on 

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30 | edible vancouver spring 2009 

Baked Goods 

*THE SPELT BAKERY 

“Vancouver’s Original Spelt Bakery” has moved and 

grown. Started in 1998, we produce some of the finest 

Spelt baked goods in the world using organic Canadian 

grown and milled Spelt flour. 2141 East Hastings, 

Vancouver. 604-258-2726. www.thespeltbakery.ca 

Beer 

LIGHTHOUSE BREWING COMPANY 

Brewer of premium quality, craft brewed ales and 

lagers, with styles to suit any palette or cuisine. 

Look for us at your favorite pubs, eateries and 

liquor stores. Unit 2-836 Devonshire Rd., Victoria. 

1-866-862-7500. www.lighthousebrewing.com 

Cafés, Coffee & Tea 

ETHICAL BEAN COFFEE 

Ethical Bean Coffee roasts only the finest, fair trade 

certified organic coffee. We’re passionate about 

making both a positive social and environmental 

impact, while maintaining the highest quality standards. 

Carbon neutral.Vancouver, BC. 

604-431-3830. www.ethicalbean.com 

*CASA DOLCE 

Visit us in Port Moody for our fabulous range of 

locally made Daniel chocolates, Italy’s finest Illy 

coffee, decadent deserts, perfect panini and authentic 

artisan gelato. Just reopened in Coal Harbour. 

252 Newport Drive, Port Moody. 604-461-7888. 

40-510 Nicola Street, Vancouver. 604-669-3376 

Caterers 

MANDALA CATERING PRODUCTIONS 

Gourmet macrobiotic cuisine infused with French 

Mediterranean elegance. Chef Nancy Cameron, 

graduate of Le Cordon Bleu Paris will create a bountiful 

feast guaranteed to arouse passion. Private 

cooking, classes and consultations. 778-280-3858. 

www.mandalacatering.com 

*THE NEW MANHATTAN CATERING & DELI 

Party food should seduce the eye before it caresses 

the palate. Our stunning presentation is surpassed 

only by a delicate balance of the freshest flavours... 

Winner of Burnaby Now’s 2008 Reader’s Choice 

Award for Best Caterer. 7960 Winston St., Burnaby. 

604-421-2711. www.thenewmanhattan.com 

Edible Events 

EDIBLE VANCOUVER AT RICHMOND COUNTRY FARMS 

edible Vancouver will be at the reopening of 

Richmond Country Farms Market. Stop by to win 

subscriptions to edible Vancouver, sample great local 

goodies and pick up copies of Edible magazines from 

other regions. Saturday April 18, 9am-noon. 12900 

Steveston Hwy (just east of Hwy 99), Richmond. 

BIKE THE BLOSSOMS 

Slow Food Vancouver, partnering with the Vancouver 

Cherry Blossom Festival, Vancouver Area Cycling 

Coalition and the Drive BIA present the 2nd Annual 

Bike the Blossoms. Saturday April 18. Register at 

www.slowfoodvancouver.com 

EP!C—THE VANCOUVER SUN SUSTAINABLE LIVING EXPO 

Western Canada’s only green consumer tradeshow 

and eco-marketplace. Join this celebration of smart 

living and surround yourself with inspiring ideas, 

insightful people and innovative businesses. Vancouver 

Convention & Exhibition Centre West. 

May 8-10. www.epicvancouver.com 

More Spring events at www.ediblevancouver.com 

Farm Markets 

*RICHMOND COUNTRY FARMS MARKET 

Reopening Saturday April 18. Fine fresh and organic 

produce. Old-fashioned prices and friendly service. 

Bouquets and Gift Plants. Annuals, perennials, 

shrubs and trees in our nursery. Open 7 days a week, 

9am-7:30pm. 12900 Steveston Hwy (just east of 

Hwy 99), Richmond. 604-274-0522 

Farmers’ Markets 

*WINTER FARMERS MARKET 

Eat local–even during the winter months. Saturday 

April 11 and April 25 from 10am–2pm. WISE Hall, 

1882 Adanac Street at Victoria Drive. 

604-879-FARM. www.eatlocal.org 

*EAST VANCOUVER FARMERS MARKET 

More than a market, a community institution. Every 

Saturday May 16–Oct. 10 from 9am–2pm. 15th Ave 

& Victoria Dr. 604-879-FARM. www.eatlocal.org 

Full listing at www.ediblevancouver.com 

Financial Services 

VANCITY 

Canada’s largest credit union helps people and communities 

thrive and prosper. We do this by providing 

the very best in financial products and services from 59 

branches serving over 390,000 members. Commercial 

Drive Community Branch–1675 Commercial Drive, 

Vancouver. 604-877-7123. www.vancity.com 

Foodie Destinations 

NIMBUS RESTAURANT 

Nimbus offers creative upscale dining with chef’s 

tasting menus, a lively late-night menu and seasonal 

cocktails in a striking top-of-the-tower downtown 

setting. 119 N. Commercial St., 15th Floor, Bellingham. 

360-676-1307. www.nimbusrestaurant.com 

Food Retailers 

*EAST END FOOD CO-OP 

Vancouver’s longest serving co-operative grocer is 

the local food store for the larger community. We 

emphasize buying local, healthy organic and fairtrade 

products. A member driven, unionized shop 

where all shoppers are welcome! 1034 Commercial 

Drive, Vancouver. 604-254-5044. 

www.east-end-food.coop 

*THE PUBLIC MARKET ON GRANVILLE ISLAND 

Whether it’s produce or flowers, meat or fish, tea 

or coffee, pies or pastries, or even breads or bagels, 

shop the Public Market for the finest products from 

the people who know them best. Open until 7pm, 7 

days a week. www.granvilleisland.com 

*DRIVE ORGANICS 

Bringing the best organic and natural food to the 

Drive. We carry an abundance of local, seasonal 

produce, plus groceries from other local companies. 

Open Seven Days per Week 9am-9pm. 1045 Commercial 

Drive, Vancouver. 604-678-9665 

Food Services 

*O’DELISH–FAST · FRESH · TO GO 

Delicious, nutritious, home-cooked meals to go. High 

quality ingredients, no preservatives or additives. A 

healthy alternative to fast food. Lunch-on-the-run and 

baked goods too. 10% discount for mentioning edible 

Vancouver. 14620 64th Ave. Surrey. 778-565-4678. 

www.odelish.ca

GENIUS COFFEE N’ ESPRESSO EQUIPMENT 

Call Eugene for all major home and commercial 

brands repairs and accessories. De’Longhi authorized 

dealer. 3702 Hastings St, Burnaby. 

604-298-9600. www.geniusequipment.com 

Gardening Supplies & Services 

WEST COAST SEEDS 

Start growing some really local food. Over 500 varieties 

of open pollinated, organic, hybrid, untreated, 

non GMO seeds. Specifically geared to cooler 

climates and a shorter growing season. Order now. 

3925 64th St, RR#1, Delta. 1-888-804-8820. 

www.westcoastseeds.com 

Juice 

BREMNER’S 

A Fraser Valley farming family that bring you pure 

blueberries, cranberries and premium fruit juices. 

2.5lbs of berries in every bottle… and that’s all. 

Look out for our New Organic Blackberry juice. 

www.bremnerfoods.com 

Meat 

*SEBASTIAN & CO. FINE ORGANIC MEATS 

Local family business offering certified organic 

and naturally raised meats, 40-day dry-aged beef, 

exotic game (bison, venison, wild boar, fowl) and 

all natural handmade sausages. Custom cuts and 

special orders welcome. 2425 Marine Drive, West 

Vancouver. 604-925-1636. Closed Sundays. 

www.sebastianandco.ca 

HILLS FOODS 

We are a local, family business that supplies 

organic meats, game meats and specialty poultry to 

chefs, restaurants, retailers and wholesalers. Find 

us at your local store, or at: 1-130 Glacier Street, 

Coquitlam. 604-472-1500. sales@hillsfoods.com 

www.hillsfoods.com 

Organics Home Deliveries 

*LADYBUG ORGANICS HOME DELIVERY & STORE 

Experience our satisfying selection of organic & natural 

foods. Order online for deliveries from Hope to Vancouver 

or visit our store. Your connection to local produce. 

#1B 9525 189th Street, Surrey. 604-513-8971 or toll 

free 1-888-284-8728. www.ladybugorganics.com 

Organizations 

SPCA CERTIFIED 

Want to eat ethically? Look for the ‘red barn’ logo 

on SPCA Certified foods. In 2002 the BC SPCA 

developed this important program. It remains one of 

the only farm animal welfare certification programs 

in Canada. 1245 East 7 Ave,. Vancouver. 

604-681-7271. www.spca.bc.ca/farm 

FARM FOLK/CITY FOLK SOCIETY 

A non-profit society focusing on issues affecting 

food producers and consumers. Our three programs 

are protecting farmland, supporting farmers and 

producers, and connecting farm and city through 

education, celebration and inspiration. 

604-730-0450. www.farmfolkcityfolk.ca 

Restaurants 

THE GRILLE 

Great food, great prices and casually elegant surroundings. 

Seasonal favourites with local produce 

sourced from Richmond Country Farms Market and 

many fabulous BC wines on offer. Country Meadows 

Golf Course, 8400 No. 6 Road, Richmond. 

604-241-4652 

Seafood 

*SUPERIOR FISH MARKET 

A fifth-generation fishing family bringing you the freshest 

fish possible. Also, a wide selection of wild game, 

organic meats, Rogers Chocolate and many more 

locally produced products. We support BC whenever 

possible. Trenant Park Square, 5229 Ladner Trunk 

Road, Ladner. 604-946-2097. www.superiorfish.ca 

WHEELHOUSE SEAFOODS & SPECIALTY MEATS 

Family owned. Fresh fish & seafood daily. Organic/ 

free range meats. Specialty sausages & bacons. 

Local & sustainable choices. 2605 E Hastings, 

Vancouver. 604-215-5562 

Services 

MEN IN KILTS 

Cleaning windows and gutters just got tasty. 

Residential, strata and commercial. Mention edible 

Vancouver and receive a $10 discount. BBB Accredited, 

100% Clean Guarantee and yes, we do wear kilts. No 

peeking! 1.877.777.KILT (5458). www.meninkilts.net 

Specialty Retailers 

TEN THOUSAND VILLAGES 

Fairly traded food products, gift items, home décor 

and much more. Gifts that give twice. 

1204 Commercial Dr. Vancouver. 604-323-9233 

929 Denman Street, Vancouver. 604-683-0929 

2909 West Broadway, Vancouver. 604-730-6831 

1387 Marine Dr. West Vancouver. 604-913-0844 

2101-2253 Leigh Sq. Port Coquitlam. 604.464.8770 

20525 Fraser Highway. Langley. 604.534.3868 

www.tenthousandvillages.ca 

Wines & Wineries 

*WELLBROOK WINERY 

Enter The Old Grainery Store at the Wellbrook Winery in 

Delta and experience the turn-of-the-century atmosphere 

combined with distinctive quality wines. Why not 

drop by for an afternoon adventure? 4626 88th Street, 

Delta. 604-946-1868. www.wellbrookwinery.com 

Wine Stores 

*BELLEVUE WINE COMPANY 

West Vancouver’s specialty retailer of BC wines at 

LDB/winery prices. 1471 Bellevue Ave. West Vancouver. 

604-913-0802. www.bellevuewine.com 

*THE WINE EMPORIUM 

Best BC wines at par with Government Liquor Store 

prices. #500–22259 48th Ave. Langley. 

604-532-5388. www.wine-emporium.com 

*VILLAGE WINES 

Vancouver’s original BC wine stores, Village Wines 

carry over 500 B.C VQA wines including a large 

selection of icewines and dessert wines. Complimentary 

tastings are held Saturdays, please see our 

website for details. 3050 Edgemont Blvd. North 

Vancouver. 604-985-9463. 3536 W 41st Ave. Vancouver. 

604-269-9433. 1811 W 1st Ave. Vancouver. 

604-732-8827. www.villagevqawines.com 

*SIP WINES 

All you could ever want to know about BC wines. 

Ironwood Plaza, Unit 1030–11660 Steveston 

Hwy. Richmond. 604-271-9463. www.sipwines.ca 

*KENSINGTON SQUARE WINES 

We offer the best BC wines all in one place. 6626-B 

Hastings Street, Burnaby. 604-294-9573. 

www.kensingtonsquarewines.com 

*TAYLORWOOD WINES 

Your trendy BC wine shop in the heart of Yaletown. 

1185 Mainland St. Vancouver. 604-408-9463. 

www.taylorwoodwines.com 

Call Trevor & Catherine 

for sustainable seafood choices 

& locally sourced specialty meats 

2605 E Hastings, Vancouver 604.215.5562 

Delonghi authorized dealer 

For all major Home and Commercial brands 

Repairs and Accessories 

3702 Hastings St, Burnaby. 604.298.9600 

www.geniusequipment.com 

Advertise with 

edible VANCOUVER 

and watch your business 

GROW 

to find a package to suit you 

call 604.215.1758 or email 

ads@ediblevancouver.com 


2009 Local Heroes 

Every year the readers of Edible Communities magazines vote for the “Local Heroes” in each of their regions. 

e winners represent those individuals and businesses that make 

significant contributions to their local food communities. 

edible ASPEN 

FARM / FARMER: Borden Farms 

CHEF / RESTAURANT: SIX89 

FOOD ARTISAN: Ryan Hardy 

BEVERAGE ARTISAN: 

Kevin Doyle • Woody Creek Cellars 

NON-PROFIT: Slow Food Roaring Fork 

edible AUSTIN 

FARM / FARMER: Boggy Creek Farm 

CHEF / RESTAURANT: Eastside Cafe 

& Wink (tie) 

FOOD ARTISAN: Full Quiver Farms 

Farmstead Cheese 

BEVERAGE ARTISAN: Tipsy Texan 

& Zhi Tea (tie) 

NON-PROFIT: Urban Roots, 

a Program of YouthLaunch 

edible BROOKLYN 

CHEF / RESTAURANT: Fette Sau 

FOOD ARTISAN: 

Mast Brothers Chocolate 


Six Point Craft Ales 

edible BOSTON 

FARM / FARMER: Verrill Farm 

CHEF / RESTAURANT: 

Garden at the Cellar 

FOOD ARTISAN: Liz & Peter 

Mulholland, Valley View Farm 

BEVERAGE ARTISAN: Alfalfa Winery 

NON-PROFIT: Federation of MA 

Farmers’ Markets 

edible BUFFALO 

FARM / FARMER: Promised Land CSA / 

Oles Family Farm 


Hutch’s Restaurant 

FOOD ARTISAN: White Cow Dairy 


Flying Bison Brewery 

NON-PROFIT: Foodbank of WNY 

edible CAPE COD 

FARM / FARMER: Tim Friary / 

Cape Cod Organic Farm 


Michael Crowel / Embargo 

FOOD ARTISAN: Peter O’Donovan / 

Nantucket Wild Gourmet 

BEVERAGE ARTISAN: Cape Cod Beer 

NON-PROFIT: Cape Abilities Farm 

edible CHICAGO 

FARM / FARMER: City Farm / 

Tim Wilson 


North Pond Restaurant 

FOOD ARTISAN: Prairie Fruits Farm 

and Creamery 


Goose Island Brewery 

NON-PROFIT: The Land Connection 

edible EAST BAY 

FARM / FARMER: Moraga Gardens 

CHEF / RESTAURANT: Manzanita 

Restaurant 

FOOD ARTISAN: June Taylor / 

June Taylor Company 


St. George Spirits 

NON-PROFIT: Oakland Food Connection! 

edible EAST END 

FARM / FARMER: The Farm 


Jennifer Meadows / Fishbar 

FOOD ARTISAN: Jennifer Halsey Dupree / 

The Milk Pail 

BEVERAGE ARTISAN: Wölffer Estate 

edible FINGER LAKES 

FARM / FARMER: Peacework Farm 

CHEF / RESTAURANT: Willow 

FOOD ARTISAN: Finger Lakes 

Farmstead Cheese 

BEVERAGE ARTISAN: Red Jacket 

Orchards 

NON-PROFIT: Finger Lakes 

Culinary Bouty 

edible FRONT RANGE 

FARM / FARMER: Community Roots & 

Abbondanza Organic Seeds & Produce 

CHEF / RESTAURANT: Sugarbeet Restaurant 

& Potager Restaurant (tie) 

FOOD ARTISAN: MouCo Cheese Co. 

BEVERAGE ARTISAN: New Belgium 

Brewing Company 

NON-PROFIT: Slow Food 

edible GRANDE TRAVERSE 

FARM / FARMER: Pond Hill Farm 


The Cook’s House 

FOOD ARTISAN: Crooked Tree 

Breadworks & Pleasanton Brick 

Oven Bakery (tie) 

BEVERAGE ARTISAN: Short’s Brewing 

NON-PROFIT: Farming for Our 

Future 

edible HAWAIIAN ISLANDS 

FARM / FARMER: Ma’o Organic Farms 

FARM TO TABLE RESTAURANT: Chef Alan 

Wong, Farm Series Dinners 

CHEF / RESTAURANT: Chef Jim Moffat / 

BarAcuda Restaurant 

FOOD ARTISAN: Ono Gelato Co. 

BEVERAGE ARTISAN: Indulge Hawai’i 

Plantation Iced Tea 

NON-PROFIT: The Kohala Center 

edible IOWA RIVER VALLEY 

FARM / FARMER: Shelley Squier / 

Squier Squash & Donnelly Farms 


Steve Logsdon / Lucca 

FOOD ARTISAN: Herb & Kathy Eckhouse 

/ La Quercia Prosciutto 

BEVERAGE ARTISAN: Jean Groben / 

Jasper Winery 

NON-PROFIT: Reclaiming Roots 

edible JERSEY 

FARM / FARMER: Gravity Hill Farm 

CHEF / RESTAURANT: Chef Will Mooney, 

The Brothers Moon 

FOOD ARTISAN: Valley Shepherd 

Creamery 

BEVERAGE ARTISAN: Flying Fish Brewing 

Company 

NON-PROFIT: Arthur & Friends 

edible MANHATTAN 

FARM / FARMER: Michael Yezzi & Jennifer 

Small / Flying Pigs Farm 

CHEF / RESTAURANT: Mas 

BEVERAGE ARTISAN: Jim Meehan / PDT 

NON-PROFIT: Just Food 

edible MEMPHIS 

FARM / FARMER: Whitton Flowers 

and Produce 

CHEF / RESTAURANT: Interim Restaurant 

FOOD ARTISAN: Groovy Foods 

BEVERAGE ARTISAN: Old Millington 

Winery 

NON-PROFIT: Memphis Farmers Market 

edible MISSOULA 

FARM / FARMER: John Slotnick 

CHEF / RESTAURANT: Biga Pizza 

FOOD ARTISAN: Margaret Ambrose- 

Barton 

BEVERAGE ARTISAN: Lake Missoula Cellars 

NON-PROFIT: Garden City Harvest 

edible NUTMEG 

FARM / FARMER: Four Mile River Farm & 

Hindinger Farm (tie) 

CHEF / RESTAURANT: Caseus 

FOOD ARTISAN: Paul Trubey / 

Beltane Farm 

BEVERAGE ARTISAN: Rob Leonard / 

New England Brewing Company 

NON-PROFIT: CitySeed 

edible OJAI 

FARM / FARMER: Churchill-Brenneis 

Orchard 

CHEF / RESTAURANT: Treasure Beach Café 

FOOD ARTISAN: Jeri Oshima 

BEVERAGE ARTISAN: Adam Tolmach / 

Ojai Vineyard 

NON-PROFIT: Food for Thought Ojai 

edible PHOENIX 

FARM / FARMER: Maya’s Farm 

CHEF / RESTAURANT: Tapino Kitchen 

and Wine Bar 

FOOD ARTISAN: Fossil Creek Creamery 

BEVERAGE ARTISAN: Four Peaks Brewery 

NON-PROFIT: Downtown Phoenix 

Public Market 

edible PORTLAND 

FARM / FARMER: Viridian Farms 

CHEF / RESTAURANT: Nostrana 

FOOD ARTISAN: Freddy Guys Hazelnuts 

BEVERAGE ARTISAN: Portland Roasting 

NON-PROFIT: Ecotrust 

edible PIEDMONT 

FARM / FARMER: Coon Rock Farm 

CHEF / RESTAURANT: Lantern 

FOOD ARTISAN: La Farm Bakery 

BEVERAGE ARTISAN: Full Steam Brewery 

NON-PROFIT: The American Breeds Livestock 

Conservancy (ABLC) 

edible RHODY 

FARM / FARMER: Simmons Farm 

CHEF / RESTAURANT: Gracie’s 

FOOD ARTISAN: Garrison Confections 

BEVERAGE ARTISAN: Sakonnet Vineyards 

NON-PROFIT: Rhode Island Center for 

Agricultural Promotion and Education 

edible SHASTA-BUTTE 

FARM / FARMER: Pyramid Organic Farm 

& Epperson Family Farm (tie) 

CHEF / RESTAURANT: The Red Tavern 

& Moonstone Bistro (tie) 

BEVERAGE ARTISAN: Chico Chai 

& New Clairvaux Vineyard (tie) 

NON-PROFIT: GRUB 

edible SACRAMENTO 

FARM / FARMER: Soil Born Farms 

CHEF / RESTAURANT: The Grange 

Restaurant 

FOOD ARTISAN: Ginger Elizabeth 

Chocolates 

BEVERAGE ARTISAN: Bogle Winery 

NON-PROFIT: Soil Born Farms 

edible SAN DIEGO 

FARM / FARMER: La Milpa Organica 

CHEF / RESTAURANT: JSix Restaurant 

FOOD ARTISAN: Jordan Stone / 

Delaney’s Culinary Fresh 

BEVERAGE ARTISAN: Greg Koch / 

Stone Brewery 

NON-PROFIT: Slow Food San Diego 

edible SEATTLE 

FARM / FARMER: Skagit River Ranch 

CHEF / RESTAURANT: Maria Hines 

FOOD ARTISAN: Estrella Family Creamery 

BEVERAGE ARTISAN: Rockridge Orchards 

NON-PROFIT: Cascade Harvest Coalition 

edible SANTA FE 

FARM / FARMER: Shepherd’s Lamb 

CHEF / RESTAURANT: Torino’s At Home 

FOOD ARTISAN: Sweetwoods Dairy 

BEVERAGE ARTISAN: Brad Kraus / 

Brewmaster 

NON-PROFIT: Santa Fe Independent 

Business Alliance 

edible SOUTH SHORE 

FARM / FARMER: Summer Dreams Farm 

CHEF / RESTAURANT: Martha’s Stone Soup 

FOOD ARTISAN: Artisan Kitchen 

BEVERAGE ARTISAN: Rockin K Cafe 

NON-PROFIT: Marshfield Agricultural and 

Horticultural Society 

edible TWIN CITIES 

FARM / FARMER: Ploughshare Farm 

CHEF / RESTAURANT: Restaurant Alma 

& Brasa Premium Rotisserie 

FOOD ARTISAN: Legacy Chocolates 

BEVERAGE ARTISAN: Alexis Bailly Vineyard 

NON-PROFIT: Second Harvest Heartland 

edible VANCOUVER 

FARM / FARMER: UBC Farm 

CHEF / RESTAURANT: Rocky Mountain 

Flatbread Company 

FOOD ARTISAN: Sebastian & Co. 

Fine Organic Meats 

BEVERAGE ARTISAN: Ethical Bean 

NON-PROFIT: FarmFolk / 

CityFolk Society 

edible WOW 

FARM / FARMER: Earthworks Urban Farm 

CHEF / RESTAURANT: Vinology 

FOOD ARTISAN: Avalon 

International Bakery 

BEVERAGE ARTISAN: Arbor Brewing Co. 

NON-PROFIT: Forgotten Harvest

edible Marketplace

* 

family owned and operated for over 30 years 

* 

REOPENING SATURDAY 18TH APRIL 

FINE FRESH & ORGANIC PRODUCE 

Old-Fashioned Prices & Friendly Service 

BOUQUETS & GIFT PLANTS 

annuals, perennials, shrubs 

and trees in our NURSERY 

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK 9AM - 7:30PM 

12900 Steveston Highway, Richmond 

Just East of Highway 99 • 

604-274-0522 

99 

Steveston Highway 

Hwy 

X

edible VANCOUVERÂ® - Edible Communities

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