Andy Rayner
Fisherman! Western PEI! Eels! Humanitarian and hiker.
Andy Walker
Andy Walker has been a journalist in PEI for over 30 years. After a career working for both PEI's daily newspapers, he has been a full-time freelance writer since 1997 and resides in Cornwall.
Anne Hotchkis
Ashley Paynter
Ashley Paynter is a dynamite graphic designer, entrepreneur, and lover of all things PEI, as well as a self-proclaimed wild weekender, summer night enthusiast, and impromptu opera singer. When she’s not working her magic in the design studio, she's traveling, photographing weddings with her sister, getting her fitness on, or promoting her PEI-inspired clothing company, Local Legends Apparel.
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Brad MacDonald
Brad Macdonald is a self-taught Red Seal Chef based out of Charlottetown, PEI. His career has taken him around the world from Chocolatier to Executive Chef.
Brenlee Brothers
Brenlee is an earthy Islander who loves beauty, and the smell of salt water on the wind. As a seeker, she loves to learn and explore new places; all the while, finding comfort in a slow, simple life. A lover of house plants, herbs and getting her hands dirty; whether it be in the earth, or by sculpting clay, she is constantly discovering new passions as she delves deeper into her Self. Heart based, and community minded, while drinking the sweet nectar of solitude. Brenlee has kept a journal since she was a child, and as a graduate of Holland College Journalism she is grateful to practice the art of storytelling through her writings in Salty.
Brian McInnis
Brian McInnis spent more than 40 years in the news business as a photographer, writer and editor, but his love is photography, particularly documenting the lives of everyday Islanders and the beauty of his home province.
Brittany Altass
Carol Horne
A Venn diagram of Carol Horne’s life so far in PEI would show multiple intersecting circles centering on food and land. Over her many years as an Island resident she has filled roles as tourism marketer, Department of Agriculture information director, community development manager, planning technician, farm safety coordinator, strawberry grower, landscape protection advocate, lobster marketer, and media relations expert, happily sampling and promoting Island products along the way.
Cassandra Goodwin
Chanelle Doucette
Chanelle Doucette grew up in Tignish, PEI. She graduated from the Culinary Institute of Canada in 2011. Now a Red Seal Chef, she has worked at various restaurants in PEI as cook or pastry chef, including The Dundee Arms, and Red Water Rustic Grille in Charlottetown, and the Wheelhouse in Georgetown. She recently became the Executive Chef to PEI's Lieutenant Governor, the honourable Antoinette Perry.
Christopher Dunbar
Christopher lives in western PEI along with his spouse and 4 kids, on a property that was once owned by his great grandparents. He grew up in a large farming family and has deep island roots. This rural background and exposure to outdoor living has given him a keen interest in our maritime culture and the many plant types that grow here. He furthered his interest in growing things by obtaining a master’s degree in in plant biology. Not surprisingly, all of his 25-year career has been involved in agriculture and food. He spends some of his spare time growing berries, flowers, vegetables and tree fruits of all kinds in his gardens. He and his family really enjoy the unique lifestyle that PEI has to offer.
Writing creatively about adventures in rural living is also one of his passions. Feel free to contact him if you want to share any of your interests.
Colleen Walton
David MacDonald
Eats PEI
Emilee Sorrey
Emilee Sorrey is a musician and marketer with a foods & nutrition foundation. She lives and works in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
Evan Ceretti
Evan is a vegetarian foodie and freelancer based in Charlottetown. His two greatest loves are food and travel, which just so happen to be the perfect pairing. A graduate of Holland College’s journalism program, and of UPEI’s print journalism program, Evan enjoys writing about the local food scene as well as writing about gastronomic journeys from the other side of the world. He’s had to luxury of visiting 30 countries and traveling for more than 1,000 days. In Charlottetown, you’ll either see him riding his bicycle, eating curry, taking photos, or playing ultimate frisbee. Follow him on IG @Evanontheroad, and on Facebook at Evan on the Road.
Grace Kimpinski
Grace's passion to be creative combined with her drive to get things done make her an invaluable member of the Salty team. As the sole-support parent to a teenaged... bottomless-pit... er... son, she strives to be a 'smart' food shopper. Although she's not keen on writing about herself, she is very keen on eating a great BBQ'd meal in summer and a hearty stew in winter.
Hanna Hameline
Hanna is a graduate of UPEI with a B.A. in Sociology. She has completed trainings in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Shambhala Meditation, and Maritime Yoga College 200-HR Yoga teacher training program. Hanna currently works as the communications coordinator for the PEI Certified Organic Producers Co-operative and has volunteered with PEI Food Security Network, ECO PEI, The Voluntary Resource Centre, and Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter. She warmly invites you to contact her with any food lovin’ stories or ideas you would like written about.
Harmony Wagner
Harmony Wagner began training with the North American Tang Shou Tao Association and her teacher Vince Black in 1996. She underwent a formal apprenticeship with the Four Winds Health Center and was licensed as a Registered Acupuncturist through the CTCMA of British Columbia in 2001. She practices Traditional Chinese Medicine and teaches NATSTA gongfu and qigong in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada.
Heather Martin
Ilona Berzins
Writing is a passion for Ilona. Food, especially savouring every morsel is more than a hobby. Being allowed to contribute to Salty enables her to combine two of her loves. An admitted grammar perfectionist she now has to apply all those rules to her own writing. Ilona resides in rural PEI and is currently living overseas on another Island with many trips back home to PEI, when the snow is gone of course.
Ilona Daniel
Ilona is a chef, culinary consultant, and accomplished food writer.
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Jason Alward
Jessica Brown
Jessica L. Fritz
Jessica is "from away" in the truest sense of its meaning: her roots are in Germany. She immigrated to Toronto, Canada in 2010 and moved to PEI two summers ago. As a passionate home cook Jessica likes to explore different types of cuisines including her native one. "Thinking globally, buying locally" is her foodie mantra, and being able to grow veggies in her own backyard was one of the big drivers for her move to PEI.
Putting words on paper has always been a way to express herself. Hence, writing for Salty combines her love for food and the written word while at the same time discovering PEI's thriving culinary landscape.
And recently, Jessica and her husband launched their own food business: Maritime Marzipan offers hand-made traditional European almond treats inspired by Island living. She is blogging about her adventure here on saltyisland.com or you can find them at maritimemarzipan.com.
John Pritchard
John Pritchard has been ‘chefing it up’ for the best part of three decades.
Starting his cooking career in PEI at the Dune’s, in their opening year, John fell in love with the farm to table approach employed there…before it was called Farm to Table’. Yup, he’s really that old.
It’s this approach that’s been his focus wherever he has travelled. His relationships with local farmers and producers have inspired his cuisine and formed the backbone of his philosophy in, and out of the kitchen.
Several years, countries, restaurants, hotels, awards and three Islands later, Chef John is here in PEI with his family, keeping his food fresh and local with Pure Kitchen Catering and Pure2Go Meal Pan Service. When the day is done, he enjoys fine spirits, wine, cigars and jazz.…and when he finds the time, he likes to ‘grumble’ about the food industry…and sometimes writes it down.
Katherine Bell
Katie McInnis
Katie McInnis is a retired UPEI employee who enjoys good food and better wine. There is nothing she would rather do than to lie on the beach reading a good book. You can often find her cooking up new dishes or baking goodies. She loves delivering Salty across the Island and looks forward to writing the occasional story.
Kyle Gillis
Kyle is an advisor with Sun Life Financial in Charlottetown. He is a self-proclaimed poutine connoisseur with a strongly supported argument for pairing Pepsi with most meals. When he is not dishing up advice on retirement planning and income protection, he can more than likely be found on the nearest patio with a Radler and friends.
Melissa Sobey
Melissa is a passionate home cook who geeks out about cooking, food preservation, foraging, gardening, and old fashioned skill sets. She obsesses over hobbies and is always up for a grueling DIY project. She serves up recipes and ramblings at www.homespunobsessions.com. To bring home the locally sourced bacon, Melissa operates a small business with her husband, Brian. Together, they like to camp in their vintage Airstream.
Michael Strickland
Michael Strickland is a strategic storyteller and story coach from somewhere far away. He spends the bulk of his time helping individuals and organizations share their stories with their strategic publics. He’s also a lifestyle writer and certified beer expert who dreams of spending serious time at the family cottage, exploring the various sights, sounds and, most especially, the tastes of Prince Edward Island.
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Molly Pendergast
As a self-proclaimed "broke bon vivant," Molly spends a lot of time thinking about food, talking about food, and trying new food. She is a recent graduate of Carleton University's Journalism School and loves nothing more than telling/listening to a good story. If you ever need to chat with her, the topic of baked goods is usually a great place to start.
Paige Matthie
Randy Angus
Robert Pendergast
Chef Robert Pendergast was cut from the Island clay in the 1970s, born into a family filled with storytelling, music, and with a healthy love of food. Robert spent several years studying cooking and working in kitchens in Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto, as well as several venues in Poland, France, and The Netherlands. Though he loved the experience, his love of the Island drew him back a decade ago. He has been serving up unique dining experiences ever since.
Rod Weatherbie
Rod Weatherbie is a writer working in the hospitality industry. He spent a number of years in Toronto as a member of the financial press before returning to PEI. Rod has published one piece of short fiction, one book of poetry, and has had work published in Red Shift, the Antigonish Review, Mitre, and the Toronto Quarterly. He has also recently co-produced, co-directed, and acted in a stage production of old television shows.
He also likes writing about food. Go figure.
Salty Staff
A diverse group of people, the Salty team works hard each month to bring you great stories about PEI's food and farming community.
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Sarah Forrester
Award-winning chef Sarah Forrester is known for sourcing local, whole foods in her dishes and currently has an organic vegan soup CSA. She formerly owned and operated My Plum, My Duck, a whole foods, vegan/vegetarian restaurant in downtown Charlottetown, PEI.
Shannon Courtney
Shannon is the co-founder of Salty and was its editor-in-chief for the publication's inaugural year. When she’s not writing about food, Shannon's either cooking, eating, talking, or thinking about it. Her food adventures have included milking a Jersey cow in Australia, almost overdosing on maple syrup in Prince Edward County, and studying local food systems in Vermont as part of her Master’s thesis research. Shannon is also a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and strongly believes you CAN make friends with salad.
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Shelby Downe
Shelby Kendra Downe is a social justice organizer at Cooper Institute in
Epekwitk (known as Prince Edward Island). She is interested in the ways
in which systems of oppression shape our interactions with the land, and
how cultural resistance can actively subvert those vertical relationships.
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Sparrow McGowan
Stephen Hunter
Stephen Hunter teaches the à la carte practical program at The Culinary Institute of Canada at Holland College in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. He's also the Chef Instructor for evening dining at the Lucy Maud Dining Room.
Tara Callaghan
Decisions are not Tara’s friend. For this reason her passion cannot be reduced to one subject. She has always needed to write, keeping a journal since she was in the single digits. Her career began studying ecology and creative writing. From there she went on to study Landscape Architecture, working professionally for the last 10 years. More recently she launched Little Victory Microfarms; a small farm in Charlottetown and New Glasgow, PEI. With her mother, they grow a wide variety of fresh herbs and vegetables for market and wholesale.
While continuing to feed her passions for designing landscapes and growing food, Tara also feeds her passion to write though an eclectic blog and articles for Salty.
Terry Dawes
Terry Dawes is a Montreal-based writer, having graduated with Fine Arts degrees from both Concordia University and the Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver. He grew up on Prince Edward Island.
Trishtee Boojharut
With grandparents who were chefs, it's no wonder food and the love of creating in the kitchen has been passed down to Trishtee. Growing up in Mauritius, great food was an integral part of family life.
She started her food blog in 2017, and recently came to PEI to continue her studies at UPEI in nutrition. Leaving Mauritius was not easy but she's standing strong against all the odds, juggling the many facets of study, work, and play, and keeping delicious food at the forefront of her life.
