As island meat producers strive to provide quality product throughout Vancouver Island, farmers like John & Lorraine Buchanan at Parry Bay Sheep Farm face ever-changing rules and insurance restrictions, all of which gradually eat away at their razor-thin margins. Despite running a successful sheep farm for over 30 years, the challenges presented to farmers like the Buchanans are ever-mounting:
This 5 course meal will feature meat from island-bred and grown animals and farmers; hormone-free, grain-fed, free-range chicken, beef, pork and lamb prepared and cooked by some of Vancouver Island’s best culinary minds.
With the hopes of raising awareness and supporting our island meat producers, there’s not better way to acknowledge quality island-raised meat than to cook and eat it in a beautiful setting.
This event is NOT about just contributing money – we all need to help raise awareness of the bureaucratic challenges that our local producers are facing.
TICKETS: visit parrybay.eventbrite.ca
WHERE: in a barn on Parry Bay Sheep Farm, Metchosin, Vancouver Island
WHEN: Thursday August 21 6:00pm
WHO’S COOKING: ICC members representing Cafe Brio, Hotel Rialto, Vista 18, Spinnakers
– John Knox, Times Colonist
Laurie Munn is a former amateur cyclist who competed successfully across Europe and North America. After retiring from cycling he pursued his lifelong ambition of becoming a chef, graduating from The Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts in 1999. Laurie began his culinary career under the mentorship of Chef Scott Jaeger at Burnaby’s renowned Pear Tree Restaurant.
He has gone on to work at some of the most acclaimed and award-winning restaurants on the West Coast, most notably at Vancouver’s bis Moreno. Laurie’s modern approach to Italian food brought bis Moreno to national attention, winning 2nd place in EnRoute magazine’s 2004 “Best New Restaurants in Canada”.
An Icon in the Victoria restaurant scene, Greg changed the dining experience in our city when he opened Herald St Cafe in 1981.
Since then he has run the Marina Restaurant and then opened Cafe Brio with Silvia Marcolini in 1997. Cafe Brio is much loved by visitors and locals alike with a serious focus on local, sustainable food and beverage.
“It’s impossible not to be inspired by the bounties of the West Coast. We live in the most awe inspiring vistas, filled with fabulous seafood, produce, poultry, beef, lamb and more. The West Coast is Canada’s greenhouse, our berries and mushrooms are shipped all over the world. Our grapes produce award winning wines, and Island farms produce amazing products all year round”.
Mel supports the local community, and has strong working relationships with many of the Islands producers and is a past president, and current member of the Island Chefs Collaborative, and the Victoria Association of Chefs and cooks.
Peter began his career at esteemed establishments in Toronto and Vancouver earning the opportunity to work in both the kitchen and the gardens of the world renowned Sooke Harbour House on Vancouver Island. There he was introduced to the amazing bounty of the Island and started to truly understand the relationship between food and the land you live on.
At Zambri’s he has been able to bring together his artistry and passion for cooking, love of Italian cuisine and commitment to the place one lives. He has been part of the Island Chef Collaborative; trained and fostered a number of younger cooks who now have gone on to successful careers of their own and actively participates in food-related programs on Vancouver Island.
Ali started as a sous chef at Spinnakers in 2003. “I was lucky enough to come in at the beginning of the more accepted local food movement. I had 10 different farms I could already utilize because the relationships were already there.”
“I like to meet my animals,” says Ryan, who grew up eating fresh produce straight from the family garden in the Ottawa Valley. “Like the chicken we have in our soup right now. I took a bunch of my cooks out to see them. That was on Sunday, they arrived Tuesday and now it’s Saturday, so they’re in the soup today. It’s that type of relationship that I think is really important.”
Past President of the ICC, Cory is very active in the local food movement. After many years as a restaurant chef he felt he could address a need in the community for high quality hand crafted cured meats using traditional techniques and ethically raised heritage breed animals. There is a growing awareness and demand for products from this segment of the food industry and we felt that Victoria was ready for a business that specializes in nose to tail inspired meat products.
The two operational partners are both chefs and we had been experimenting with different curing techniques in the restaurants we worked in for many years. Cory had developed a real passion for the craft and felt it was his calling
Mike Dunlop earned his cooking degree from Malaspina University in 1992. Since completion of his certification Mike has held various top culinary positions in notable Victoria establishments such as Topo’s and The Laurel Point Inn. Mike joined the culinary team at the Chateau Victoria in 1998 and has been an integral part of the team that has put Vista 18 and Clive’s Classic Lounge on the culinary map in Victoria.
Mike’s achievements include numerous awards at the Grand Marnier Dessert Competition as well as being an active participant in helping raise funding and awareness for the “Save Madrona Farm” initiative.
John and Lorraine Buchanan and their family have been operating Parry Bay Sheep Farm in Metchosin for 35 years.Over that time they have witnessed the dwindling of Vancouver Island's farm support infrastructure through increased regulation, centralization, changing shopping habits, supermarkets, and a myriad of other causes.
The local food movement is beginning to change the momentum. Farmers are willing to produce. Consumers are willing to buy. We all need to foster the systems that get the food from the farmer to the plate.
We welcome initiatives from groups like the ICC as they can really help make this happen.