Monthly Archives : March 2019

FEMALE-LED FARMS ON THE RISE


In honour of International Women’s Day, a look at changing gender roles and the shift from farmer’s wife or farmer’s daughter to straight-up farmer, like Nancy Sanderson of Hope River Farm Farming in Canada is evolving to have more female presence, according to the 2016 Census of Agriculture. Yet, through our history women have always played important roles in agriculture:…

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LOBSTER FISHER WINS 2019 FOOD XCEL AWARD


Rob Morrison and his company Covehead Seafoods come out on top with their premium PEI lobster dip Rob Morrison, a lobster fisher and recent food entrepreneur, walked away with a $25,000 award from Innovation PEI’s Ignition Fund after his business, Covehead Seafoods, was declared the winner of the second Food Xcel program. Offered by Food Island Partnership (FIP), the Food…

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SOON ON TAP: RED ISLAND CIDER


Launching business proves to be a test of perseverance and patience It takes a certain type of person to become an entrepreneur. You need guts, stamina, faith, strength, a vision, and sometimes you also need the patience of Job to make things work. Robert van Waarden has all those qualities in spades, and Red Island Cider is the result of…

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CHANGE OF NAME AND PLACE


Gallant’s Shellfish evolves to allow for year-round operation in Charlottetown Feeding Islanders is at the heart of why Tyler Gallant is moving his restaurant. “We wanted to be be more Island-focused with feeding and producing good quality food for Islanders.” As I sit to chat with Gallant in the new space for his restaurant and catering business, construction continues around…

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THE SALTY CHEF-COCKTAILS


Cocktails There’s some dispute about where and when the first cocktail was created, but most will put it around the late 1700s. An 1806 publication from New York has this interesting description: “Cock-tail is a stimulating liquor, composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and bitters—it is vulgarly called bittered sling, and is supposed to be an excellent electioneering…

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THE EDIBLE GARDEN


Planning an apple orchard I am lying on the ground in a sheltered area where the snow has melted and the ground has dried some. It is a south-facing berm near my home in PEI and I have sweet cherries planted nearby. I can see the cloudless blue sky above and the bright sun feels so intense on my face.…

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TRUE TO VISION BITE BY BITE


Considering everything from nutrition to environmental impact in business It can be difficult to find plant-based, gluten-free snacks and healthy dessert options in PEI. Michaela Uchtenhagen helped change that by creating Earth Bitez, a local business in Charlottetown that provides healthy bites to satisfy people’s taste buds, leaving them feeling good. A Red Seal chef with a degree in Foods…

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MAKING YOUR OWN EDIBLES WITH CANNABUTTER


Legally purchased cannabis can mean new food options to experiment with Cannabis-infused butter is a versatile and delicious alternative to smoking or vaping your legally-obtained cannabis. Known as cannabutter, it can be made with regular butter or ghee, a clarified butter commonly available in stores. Once your cannabutter is made, you can use it in a variety of ways. This…

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BEHIND THE LINE


Stories from the worst kitchens in the world Weird complaints are just, well, weird. Sometimes they stem from ignorance or a misunderstanding of how food or restaurants work and sometimes from just plain madness. Burnt enough for ya? Years ago I worked at a large chain hotel’s restaurant. It was mostly good work but we would get some very particular…

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WTF?


What’s that food? Looking like a spiky avocado, the soursop fruit is native to the tropical regions of the Americas and the Caribbean, and it can be eaten in much the same way as an avocado. Its scientific name is Annona muricata, and is considered one of the ‘custard apple’ fruits. It develops on evergreen trees and can grow to…

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