Somewhat surprisingly though, the “food culture” of the UK has come a long way in recent years, and people in the region now seem more focused on producing great food. Now – particularly in London – there are a number of impressive local eateries and food producing regions. In fact, a lot of people in and around London much prefer to consume only local ingredients (even when going out to a restaurant or buying a Marks and Spencer Christmas hamper, and will go to great lengths to stay healthy and support the local food economies.

Eating locally, particularly in an area that has something of a rejuvenated interest in food and ingredient production, can offer a number of benefits, not the least of which is taste. The fact is, imported ingredients are by their nature often less fresh than local ingredients, simply because more time elapses from when they are produced to when they reach your plate. So, if you are a person who cares deeply about the quality of your meals and their ingredients, you may have a lot to gain by eating locally, particularly if you have never really tried it.

Whatever the case, and whatever your specific preferences may be, you certainly could benefit from realizing that the food scene in the UK, and particularly in and around London, has come a long way. For a region that does not necessarily get a lot of respect from the outside world regarding its food producing, there are actually a number of  “hidden gems,” so to speak, in this country’s  food production industry. At the very least, if you are curious about the UK food scene, do yourself a favour and experience it for yourself, rather than ignoring it because of the world’s unfair assumptions about it.

Michael and Daniel in the garden

My friend Karen (Eatwell Foods at Duenk Farms) asked me over on Wednesday night to come and check out something new that is happening at her farm. At the back of Karen and Peter’s farm – a fairly large chunk of land is now sprouting vegetables. This is the work of  two aspiring and very hard working gardeners, Michael and Daniel.

Cabbage

Michael and Daniel have been home gardening for years. They are also canning and preserving enthusiasts. As we carefully strolled through the rows upon rows of vegetables, I was left with the impression that this garden may have started out as a personal kitchen garden, but it looks as though it has expanded into much more than that. In fact (and here is the part that you may be interested in), they have planted so much food that they now have plans to bring some of it to market.

A few different kinds of garlic

They are thinking about selling in the future to the Coldstream Farmer’s Market which happens on Saturdays from 9 am – 12 noon at the Coldstream Conservation Area Parking Lot (behind the Marsh Store) in Coldstream, but they have not confirmed this just yet. The second idea is to offer some of this good grub for purchase at Karen and Peter’s farmgate. The best thing to do is to call Karen for details about picking it up at the farm. Karen plans to update her blog regularly with what is ready to go each week, so you can check here: eatwellfoodsatduenkfarm.blogspot.com

Broccoli

I should note in case you missed any of the previous posts about Karen and Peter’s farm – that if there are now vegetables being offered for sale there, it almost becomes a one stop shop! Karen and Peter raise Angus cattle as well as Muscovy duck and pasture fed chickens and that is all available for purchase while you are there.

This will be a yellow cucumber when finished

This secret garden is chock full of good things (Martha would approve). I spied sunflowers, lettuce, shallots, Chiogga beets, peas (shell, snow & snap), cabbage, tomatoes – small & sweet (sungold), tomatoes roma, and many other heritage varieties as well. Also, broccoli, kale, tomatillos, red beans, green beans, hot peppers, regular peppers, yellow watermelons, potatoes of all kinds, sage, basil, melons, yellow cucumbers, leeks, onions (red white and Italian rosa), and two varieties of huge garlic. They are not spraying the vegetables at all and most of the plants are quite rare or hard to come by, as they are heritage or heirloom.

It is time to take a drive out to the country, this good grub won’t last long!

Karen and Peter are open every Saturday from 10 am – 2pm for farm-gate sales.
Call Karen for more details of when each vegetable is ready to go.

519 232-4105

The Great Canadian Bacon Festival

This is going to cause a stir. It’s bacon, it’s Canadian and it is happening on Canada Day! Oink, snort and grunt your way to this festival which is being held on Friday, July 1st at The Arva Flour Mill.

Organizer Sarah Reynolds wants you to know:

“Canada’s first ever bacon festival is a showcase of bacon delights to help raise funds towards the Arva Flour Mill Restoration Project. Each bacon enthusiast pays $5 for a wristband at the door (kids enter free) and then has the chance to sample treats directly from local pork producers/butchers. Even though we have the word festival in our title, we’re nothing like other food festivals. Our only focus is to invite bacon lovers to share a great meal with us and celebrate what Canada Day stands for, community culture and great food. Doors open at 11 am .

The festival provides free parking, free educational arts & crafts for children, a silent auction table, some fantastic music and a shuttle bus from the Masonville Farmers Market every half hour. We’re also providing a full vegetarian menu with gluten free items for those who want to check things out but may not wish to consume meat products.”

Thanks Sarah!

I have told you all about The Arva Flour Mill before. It is one of my all time favourite, locavore destinations. If you still have never been – this is the perfect opportunity to go and check it out while the festival is on. If you are an ole’ regular of the mill – it is a great time to go and see some changes that have happened there. For instance, there is a new sign and a super fancy truck (see below), which I was able to snap a photo of one day as I was walking past the Mufflerman in London. The proceeds of this festival are actually going to a Restoration Project for the mill, so I am sure there are big plans to bring this ol’ beauty back to her original glory. I love the mill, I love the mill! You should love the mill too. It is a real gem to have a historic mill that is producing organic, local flour right here in our city, let’s show them we love them (and bacon!).

Arva Flour Mill Truck

Baconfest, Canada Day. Will you be there? I will. See that poster up at the top? It’s printed on meatpacking paper, how cool is that? I am going to eat bacon, get a t-shirt and love my mill. Will you join me?

Rundles Restaurant

You are going to want to go here. Maybe you have a first date coming up with a cool boy… maybe you are married to a cool boy (or girl) and your anniversary is coming up. Maybe your best girlfriend is getting married and she needs a heart to heart before the big day over a really nice meal (and a big glass of wine!). Maybe its your dad’s birthday and you want to stroll down the river Avon, look at some swans and then have a really nice meal. Whatever the reason, you are going to want to make that next date with your most favourite person at Rundles Sophisto-Bistro in Stratford.

Table and Masks – Garden Room

The first thing you are going to notice is the details. This place is so cool, it’s Danish meets Tribal, meets nineteen-sixty meets nineteen-eighty, meets now. I loved all the little trinkets, the modern masks on the wall, the ethereal mobiles hanging from the ceiling and the outdoor garden. It’s such an amazing place, even the wooden bread box squeals with character – make sure you take a look at it!

Freshly Baked Baguette

Homemade Butter

We sat down and our host for the evening – Andrew came over to spoil us. I let him know I was interested in where all of the food came from and he was happy to guide me through the menu and all of its hidden treasures.

First off, he brought us over a freshly baked baguette that is made in-house along with the homemade butter which they turn on site, in the kitchen from locally produced cream. If you look closely in this photo you can see that there are little pieces of course salt set atop of this glorious little cylinder of butter. It tastes very French, but it is very Ontario.

Local Organic Baby Arugula and Spinach Salad with Oyster Mushrooms

Although I would have been quite happy to sit for the entire evening with just the butter and baguette, there was much more to come. The menu at Sophisto-Bistro is a fixed menu. You pay a set price and you can choose from about four different items in each category for an appetizer, a main and a dessert. The kitchen is run by Neil Baxter who is also head of the acclaimed Stratford Chef School. I caught a glimpse of him coming out of the kitchen at one moment, but I resisted my urged to run up to him and beg him for a cooking class.

For my appetizer I chose the local organic baby arugula and spinach salad with oyster mushrooms. The salad is served with finely sliced red cabbage, and grilled oyster mushrooms and garnished with chopped egg and fried sourdough breadcrumbs. The greens, cabbage and the eggs are from Anthony John’s farm at Soiled Reputation out of Sebringville Ontario. The mushrooms were unlike any I have ever tasted, they were like slivers of tender, juicy and nutty flavoured steak! The sourdough bread crumbs are of course homemade. You can see in this photo the colour and the presentation are sublime. The taste combination here is so delicious, it was perfection in a salad.

PAN-FRIED PORK TENDERLOIN PICCATA

HOT-SMOKED, KOLAPORE SPRINGS TROUT SALAD grilled chiles poblanos, carrot and red onion escabeche (Mexican pickle)

For our mains, Sean chose the Pan Fried Pork Tenderloin Picatta that sat atop a mixture of local vegetables including brussel sprouts, celeriac and devilled sauce – christened with capers, it was delicious (yes, he did let me taste test!). The pork is the elusive Berkshire variety – Rundles is bringing in locally from Perth Pork Products.

For my main I chose the smoked trout that they smoke in-house, back in the kitchen. The trout comes from Kolapore Springs Trout Farm which is located near Collingwood. I have heard of Kolapore Springs and I remember it was a very interesting place where they do things differently than most fish farms. Sustainability is key in their business and they feed the trout a special fresh water shrimp that actually enhances the flavour, the nutrional value as well as the pink colour of the trout. It was a sweet tasting trout with a delicate smokiness to it that is quite unlike any I have ever had. Farm raised trout is one of the most sustainable fish for us to choose in Canada and it is very safe to raise trout in a farmed environment (unlike salmon). To make the dish even more adventurous it is served with grilled chiles poblanos, carrot and red onion escabeche (mexican pickle). Sounds exotic, but Chef Neil Baxter is replicating and at the same time reinventing a traditional dish here with local ingredients. The colour in this dish is terrific – various hues of pink, green and orange shine back at you as you take in all the flavours and the wonderful smokey and sweet scent.

Table Charm

This is one of the many little charms that reside in Sophisto-Bistro. A charming little moveable statue to keep you amused while you await your next course and next surprise.

CANADIAN, UNPASTEURIZED MILK CHEESES

For my dessert, I chose the cheese plate. It is a wonderful selection of (mostly) local cheese. All but one of these lovelies is from Ontario and believe me, you will not mind the one traveller in the group. The Sophisto-Bistro cheese plate is a selection of four unpasteurized milk cheeses. The blue cheese was called Tiger Blue and is from British Columbia, so even though it travelled a little further , it is still a welcome fellow Canadian. It was so creamy and delicious that I could have been finished there – but no, there were three more to sample. The next cheese was called Solaire from MonForte (Stratford), the next was Orati (near Ottawa) and the last was another MonForte Cheese called Paradiso which was a sheep’s milk cheese. The cheese plate is accompanied with a side of homemade walnut raisin bread and an in-house flax seed cracker that is a treat in itself. It was almost like a cookie and was so good it had me ohhing and awing. All of this comes with one more sidekick, a homemade apple and raisin chutney with a killer cinnamon bang with every bite – delicious!

Rundles Rosehall Run Wine

Wine, wine and more wine. Rundles and Sophisto-Bistro has a huge selection of wine to accompany any meal that you choose. I let Andrew our host pick my wine for the evening. He chose the house wine which is made for Rundles at Rosehall Run Winery which is a boutique winery that resides in Prince Edward County, Ontario. They make the private label for Rundles and it was a delicious choice that carried me right through from appetizer to dessert.

This meal was surely one for the memory books. Sean and I felt like a King and Queen as we dined in such a unique environment with such amazing service and food that is truly exceptional. We will not forget it, in fact I am already planning my next day trip to Stratford so that I can stop in and try some of the other items on this menu. Anyone want to join me?

Rundles Spohisto-Bistro
9 Cobourg Street
Stratford, ON N5A 3E4
(519) 271-6442
www.rundlesrestaurant.com
Twitter @Rundles
Blog: rundlesrestaurant.wordpress.com

Chickens | Photo Credit: Karen Eatwell

On Saturday, June 25 Karen Eatwell and Peter Duenk will be having their Annual Fresh Chicken Sale. Eatwell Foods at Duenk Farms is a small scale farm operation with a big heart! They raise pasture fed chicken, ducks and black angus beef. They are also an amazing farm to visit because there are always a few big friendly black labs and border collies there to greet you with a tail wag and friendly nose nudge. There is also a horse, and a goat called Moonshine. Duenk Farms is one of my favourite places to be and Karen and Peter are some of my favourite people!

Karen and Peter raise their chickens with no growth hormone, they let the chickens out in the pasture during the day to forage and frolic and do what chickens do, naturally. The great thing about going to the farm on chicken day is that you can see for yourself where your food was raised and you can ask Karen and Peter anything.

Chickens Foraging | Photo Credit: Karen Eatwell

Chicken Day
Eatwell Foods at Duenk Farms
Saturday, June 25, 2011
10 am – 3pm
Call ahead: 519-232-4105

Paul and Sara hope to create a wonderful evening of introducing people to a new style of eating… the Latin way. What they are doing is really neat – they will let you take a peak at their charming farm, so you can see the journey from farm to plate and at the same time, they want to offer up an inside look at the Latin way of life. Music, salsa dancing, socializing and just plain having fun are all on the Spence menu.

After the farm tour concluded, we headed over to The Botany Community Centre, which is an adorable and old one room school house dating back to 1883. This little school house has been converted into a cozy community centre with a working kitchen. It is steeped in history and some of that history runs deep in Paul’s own family tree – his great, great grandfather helped bring the bricks to build it and his own grandfather attended the old school.

Sara had been there before us working her magic, and it was set up wonderfully with a gorgeous tableware, folded napkins and even ribbons adorning each chair. It definitively set the mood and made all of the guests feel honored to be there.

We all had a chance to talk to Sara about her hometown which is in Equador and her previous way of life before she moved to the cooler Canadian climate. Sara loves to have people ask her about South America and she wants more Canadians to know about it and experience some of the culture.

One of Paul’s Chatham farm area neighbors Don Giffin was there with a whole display of the most gorgeous bottles of maple syrup I have ever seen. He was there to let people know how syrup is tapped and produced. He gave us loads of information on the syrup grades and consistency. He was an amazing guy whose maple syrup has won some pretty prestigious awards in the past. One of the large bottles had a gorgeous trillium displayed and on another favourite of mine – some maple leaves adorning it, they were truly exceptional.

While we were inside talking to Sara and Don, Paul was outside grilling the meat on the BBQ – I believe that in Spanish the BBQ would be called a parrilla or open-fired grill and this is a very traditional way to cook the meat.

Speaking of meat, there was alot of it. This is where the Latin experience comes in and really shines. We were introduced to the names of many different styles or cuts of meat and offal (hoove, tendons, brains, tongue – nothing is off the table at a true Latin BBQ). I am happy to announce that they did go easy on us at this particular parrilla.

There were regular farmer style sausage, pork and beef cutlets and the two most adventurous items on the menu were heart and kidney. I managed to try them both and I will say that I liked the heart but I think that would be my last time with the kidney. Some others that were present loved the kidney and passed on the heart – so, to each his/her own! Every kind of meat was accompanied with a homemade green sauce called chimichurri = delicious.

There were also three gorgeous salads to accompany the meal, which Sara told me was more of a Canadian touch, as at a traditional Latin BBQ there would just be the meat. To finish, there was a delicious dessert which was Sara’s mother’s recipe – I cannot recall the exact name, but I believe it was a dulche de leche-type flan with another Canadian touch – whipped cream.

As part of the Latin experience, Sara includes a salsa lesson to anyone interested, which we ran out of time on this particular evening.

I have taken loads of other photos of the farm and some of the really creative projects that they have going on there currently, or are in the works. It really needs to be in another post, so if you are intrigued check back in a few days!

Amar la vida!

Usually I post about going to a farm and finding some local vegetables, fruits or meat. This post is about finding some locally produced organic poultry right at the grocery store.

Yorkshire Valley Farms is a couple of farm families farming together from Keene and Peterbrough, Ontario. The chicken is organic and free range and also bears the Foodland Ontario stamp of approval.

Nick and Kate Ahrens of Betolianni Organic Farms

2 Farm Families = lots of organic chicken
The Ambler Farm consists of Tony and Virginia Ambler who have raised chicken for over 8 years on their 350 acre farm near Keene, Ontario.  Last year son Wray joined the family operation.

The Ahrens Farm consists of Thomas and Belle Ahrens who have farmed organically in the Peterborough, Ontario, area since 1990. Son Nick and his wife Kate are now partners in Betolianni Organic Chicken.

How to describe this chicken taste – Yes, it tastes like chicken but its better. Its thicker, firmer and juicier. I guess that you could say that it is more substantial than your run of the mill, pumped full of salt chilled chicken. Which brings me to one other point about this chicken – and that is its processing. Yorkshire Valley chicken is air chilled rather than water chilled. Water chilling adds a lot of water and chlorine to the process, so they are avoiding this. An air chilled chicken keeps its chicken flavour and you should notice even in the packaging that the chicken is not sitting in a pool of water and blood. Sorry if you are squeamish!

I did not have very many ingredients in the house so I opted for a very simple and old fashioned style dish to try out this chicken. Stoved Chicken is a classic way to cook chicken, it is almost like a stew of chicken and potatoes and it turned out delicious.

Stoved Chicken

butter for greasing
2 1/4 pounds of Ontario potatoes – peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
2 large Ontario onions
2 tbsp Herbes de Provence
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
4 bacon slices – cut into little pieces
4 organic chicken thighs, 4 organic chicken legs
2 cups chicken stock
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350º
Grease a large baking dish with some butter. Arrange a layer of potatoes in the bottom, then a layer of onion, sprinkle some herbs and salt and pepper.

Heat the oil and some butter in a large pan. Toss in the bacon, cook for a minutes, then add the chicken pieces in. Cook the chicken until it is even brown on all sides.

Arrange chicken on layer of potato and onion. Repeat layers, ending with potato. Pour stock into dish and season again.

Cover dish and cook in oven for 2 hours or until potatoes are tender.

Yorkshire Valley Farms Chicken is available at Loblaws, Superstore and Zehrs. They sell chicken breasts, drums, wings, thighs and whole chickens. You will find them in the meat department refrigerator section.

There is a new kid in town.

Need to know who is selling asparagus around London in April? How about wanting to know when those sweet strawberries that are destined to hit our markets in late May are really going to arrive? Well, I am happy to let you know that there is now an app for that!

Chris Wise from Murmur Informatics in Ottawa has developed an app that will run on your computer that will help growers and producers let customers know what they have, when they have it and where they have it. It”s a brilliant tool and we need you to help get the word out on making this happen on a large scale. Locavores are not the only ones that see this tool as rock”n – it actually won an award for Apps for Ottawa.

How does it work?
Basically the producers sign up for a free account with an email. They enter in what meats, produce, fruits or other products they have available right now or next week and the app sends out emails and tweets to the people who have signed up to know about it. Farmers who don”t have time to “Tweet” are now magically tweeting. It does not stop there. Chris has designed the app so that it will remind the producers that “Hey, its right about tomato season now – do you have tomatoes?”, this is great because it will keep the data coming and it will keep the data fresh – just like our local food!

Are you a farmer or a producer that wants to be involved? It”s free and very easy to sign up. Are you someone who knows a producer? If so, please tell them about this. Or, are you like me? A consumer of all the local bounty, but always looking for the freshest and closest fruit stands and farmer”s markets? Sign up now. You can sign up on the website and you can also follow the account on Twitter for immediate updates.

Right now, Chris is running this app with great success in the Ottawa region. I recognize the need here in London for such a tool and I think with all of your help we can make this a great success in London as well. Tell every foodie you know, tell them and have them tell their friends. Let”s make this cool app cool for London!

GoLocavore London london.golocavore.ca
Follow on Twitter @go_locavore_ldn

Chris Wise cwise@murmurinformatics.com

There is an amazing event coming up next week. The Southwest Local Food Taste it Food show. During the day the event is open to farmers, chefs and food buyers and in the evening these same people are treating us to a “Taste It” evening.

Here is what Bryan Lavery says

“Many of our local chefs who support Culinary tourism and meet the ”local food criteria” will be participating. Among the confirmed chefs are: Kristain Crossen from Braise Food and Wine, Tim D’ Sousa from the Idelwyld Inn, Sonita Bird from the Blackshire Pub, Danijel Markovich from Kantina Cafe, Chris Chitty from the Delta Armouries and Kim Saunders from the Windjammer Inn in Port Stanley to name a few.

Uber-chef, Steve James from the London Training Centre will be preparing a “BLT” for the tasting event. Slow braised Asian style pork belly, tomato sambal salsa and wild arugula on organic bread. Steve will source the pork from a local butcher the tomatoes will be Leamington hothouse, the arugula from Antony John’s Soiled Reputation and bread made by local artisanal bread-maker Penelope Holt.”

Sounds great doesnt it? Get your ticket today at the website:

http://www.southwestontariolocalfoodconnection.ca/tickets.html

or at any one of the following locations:

Libro Financial Branches
• 167 Central Ave, London
• 1867 Dundas St. E., London
• 1703 Richmond St., London
• 841 Wellington Rd. S., London
• 1073 Talbot St., St. Thomas

Jill”s Table
• 115 King St., London

Fire Roasted Coffee
• Western Fair Farmers” & Artisans” Market
Confederation Building
900 King Street, London