Happy New Year

So another Christmas is behind us and the New Year is right around the corner. Between nursing a sugar and cheese hangover, trying to stay relatively sober before New Years Eve and saying farewell to another Christmas while the tinsel and tree are packed away, there are a lot of emotions to sort through.

With each year that passes, at this point in the month, I find myself taking stock. This year has been difficult – the events on the world stage from devastating earthquakes, mass shootings, refugees and a clinically insane billionaire businessman as President of the U.S. are depressing enough. And then on a personal level, watching friends experience devastating loss, heartache and disappointment. But flip the coin and watch countries open their doors to the refugees (yay Canada!), earthquake survivors rebuild their lives, survivors of shootings standing bravely, expressing love and understanding toward their aggressors. Then I look next door and see friends welcoming new babies, celebrating sobriety, finding happiness, getting married. And each year, I am overwhelmed with how life is a series of paradoxes – conflicting experiences that creates this beautiful, roiling, emotional existence.

Ultimately though, at this time of year I am overwhelmed with gratitude. Gratitude for the life I lead, my friends and family, my health and, of course, this gorgeous city we live in.

So for New Years I’m going to eat well, drink moderately, be merry and dispense with resolutions except one: be grateful - always be grateful. 

Love Dining Out? Want to Meet Likeminded Foodies? This Club’s for You!

Not a member of the Victoria Dinner Club yet? What the heck are you waiting for??  

In many places in the world, people gather to talk, share, and linger over their meals which may stretch out for hours. All too often, here in North America, it seems we are too busy to sit, sip, savour and socialize. Grabbing something on the fly, eating in our cars, fast food eaten alone (or in the company of our phones) may technically nourish the body but does little to nourish the soul or build stronger bonds with family and friends. 

We are missing out by not sharing long, slow, leisurely meals together while enjoying the company of others and practicing the fine art of conversation. 

The Victoria Dinner Club is our answer to this unfortunate direction the culture of food and dining has taken. 

HOW DOES THE VICTORIA DINNER CLUB WORK?

Every couple of months a group of us - (some will already be friends, some will become new friends…) will get together in a different restaurant in Victoria. Expect chef’s tasting menus, sneak peeks at new menu items, interesting wine pairings, and a chance to experience food and drink you might not necessarily try otherwise. 

Depending on the restaurant, there may be live music, or dancing, or jugs of margaritas. There may be board games or special desserts prepared just for us. Though we’ll usually be going out in the evening, I love brunch, so every now and then we’ll mix it up and go on a dining adventure during daylight hours. 

WHAT DOES IT COST?

There’s no cost to join - just join the Victoria Dinner Club Group on Facebook. It’s just that simple. Join the conversation and we’ll keep you in the loop. 

Of course, eating out is more fun with friends, so if you know someone you think would enjoy eating out with the rest of us, invite them to join the Facebook group as well. 

It’s going to be fun! Let’s go out for dinner, shall we?   

Welcome to Bits & Bytes Victoria #tasteVictoria’s best fun foodie friend (bfff)

Dining with friends is way more fun than dining alone, right? Here at TASTE MAG we’re all about building a community inspired by the sharing of food. Welcome! I’m so glad you found us!

What better place to head up an initiative like this than in Victoria? We’re lucky enough to have our Kiss Media Group head office right downtown so no matter what I’m craving, there are so many dining options within a stone’s throw of my desk it isn’t funny. Expand my dining range to the Greater Victoria area and man, it boggles my mind just how much great food is out there waiting for me to explore!

More Than Just Print

While we’ve been a leader in print forever (well, decades) publishing TASTE MAG for readers wanting to know more about the local dining scene, in 2021 we launched our comprehensive menu blog with full menus right here at your fingertips. You know where to come (yes, right here) to find updated menus from bazillions of restaurants in the Greater Victoria area (k, maybe not bazillions, but lots!) 

Even more exciting is the way we’re integrating our print offerings with social media and in-person events (are you a member of the Victoria Dinner Club yet? following us on Facebook? Instagram? You should be!). From short Instagram and Facebook posts to in-depth articles both here and in TASTE MAG, we are telling the story of food and foodies on southern Vancouver Island. 

In Search of Menu Hunters

Love eating out? It’s easy to become a Menu Hunter - just tag your posts with #tastevictoria or tag us @tastemag IG and we’ll do the rest. We’ll keep track of our most active, passionate foodie friends who will be eligible to receive some great swag and special rewards (watch for an article all about the program right here on the blog, but meanwhile, follow us and start tagging!) Comment on our posts - ask questions - make recommendations - join the conversation!

TASTE Ambassadors Welcome the World

For many visitors to Victoria, the friendly, smiling faces of the hospitality industry make the traveller’s experience extra special. Our TASTE Ambassador Program rewards those who make the biggest impact with our visitors. 

Go Ahead, Play Favourites

Sure, we have our opinions about the finest chocolate shop in town and the best place for prawns, but even more important is to hear what you think. We’re listening so we can pass that message along to the chefs and servers, bartenders and baristas, pancake-flippers and mâitre d’s who all help make our food and drink experiences so memorable. Our Pinnacle TASTE Awards 2022 Ceremony rely on your votes. Don’t be shy. Let us know your favourites in various categories and the winners will be honoured at the Pinnacle Awards Event in 2022.

There’s always room at the table for one more, so have a seat and let’s get to know each other!

A+ is for Asparagus

Packed with vitamins and a great source of fiber, fresh, local asparagus is yet another reason to rejoice when spring rolls around each year!

Asparagus for breakfast, lunch, or dinner - I’m happy no matter how it turns up on my plate!

I love asparagus. Fresh asparagus tips eaten raw are scrumptious (chopped up, they add a little crunch and flavour to spring salads) but my tastebuds really get happy when I sauté fresh spears in butter, watching them carefully and turning frequently to make sure they don’t overcook. A dash of salt (my current favourite being the salt I brought back from the Camargue in France), pepper and a squirt of fresh lemon juice and oh, I’m doing my spring happy dance. 

Locally Grown Asparagus from Star Hill Farm

The thing with asparagus is the harvest season is short (but oh so sweet!). In Victoria, locally grown asparagus is available in May and June and is definitely worth hunting down. Star Hill Farm overlooks Elk Lake and specializes in growing top-quality asparagus from seed-raised plants. Their stock originates from French, Dutch, Italian, and Canadian seeds.

Take advantage of warm spring and early summer days to fire up the barbecue!

Though Teresa Turgeon at Star Hill Farm has stopped gate sales, for now, asparagus lovers can find delectable spears for sale at Dan’s Farm and Country Market on Oldfield Road and at The Local General Store on Haultain.  

Another favourite way to prepare asparagus spears is to roast them in a 425-degree oven for about 12-ish minutes. Before you pop them in, drizzle the spears with olive oil and sprinkle with parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. The spears are also delicious as a pizza topping or added to quiche. 

Though the season for fresh is short, pickled asparagus spears are a perfect dead of winter addition to a charcuterie platter. 

FOODIE FACT

Asparagus is high in nutrients, low in calories and is an excellent source of fiber. 

Thinking of Growing Your Own?

If you’re thinking you’d like to try your hand at cultivating a crop of your own, you need to be patient. Starting asparagus from seed is an exercise in optimism as it will take at least three years before you can start to harvest the delicate spears. The plants don’t like to be moved, so plan ahead and select your site carefully - and plan on staying where you are for a while so you don’t do all the hard work of establishing your asparagus patch only to move before you are ready to harvest. 

Fortunately, asparagus farmers like Teresa at Star Hill Farm are happy to help satisfy our cravings for this yummy, if somewhat delicate crop!

What’s your favourite way to prepare asparagus? Let us know in the comments!

Back to Basics with Bread, Salt, and Netflix

As a way to counteract the weirdness of life in lockdown, I’ve been nurturing a deep appreciation for the simple things in life... like bread and salt.

Last year I was lucky enough to be able to take a fabulous canal-boat trip along the Canal du Midi in France (man, that all feels like a lifetime ago…). We were in the Camargue where, among other things, they produce salt from vast swaths of pinkish salt marsh. I found a small jar of salt in a shop specializing in regional treats and brought it home. 

The salt was an instant hit! Debating whether or not it could possibly have a noticeably different flavour to regular table salt, we did some blind taste tests and, yes, all of us were able to identify the fancy French salt (perhaps this is one of the secrets to why stuff tastes so good in France?)

Even though I try to stay away from too much gluten these days, I still love to bake bread and the loaves I’ve made since my return do taste ever so slightly different (better!) than loaves baked before that Camargian salt came home with me. 

Wild Flour Bakery in Banff provides fresh, local bread for the Bow Valley.

Essential Bread Ingredients

I suppose that makes sense. There isn’t much involved in a plain loaf of bread. The basic ingredients are flour, water, salt, and yeast. Yes, there are all kinds of variations from there, but the basic loaf of bread is pretty straightforward.

It’s fascinating to me that such a simple concoction can bring so much pleasure and satisfaction. A thick slab of bread, buttered and slathered with strawberry jam is heavenly. A crusty roll torn open and filled with cheese, slices of tomato, and perhaps some olive bits must be just about the perfect picnic lunch to eat while perched at the side of a meandering river.

Bread is, indeed, a staple in our world, so it’s a darned good thing that bakers and bakeries have been deemed essential services. There is something reassuring about seeing images of fresh loaves lined up waiting to make their way into our kitchens. 

JK Bakery continues to offer bread and baked goods for local takeout and delivery.

Three local bakers continue to provide our daily bread and might I just say, “Thank you!” If you don’t already, follow Wild Flour Artisan Bakery, JK Bakery and Uprising Bakery online. They are all active on social media and currently providing safe local pick-up and delivery (check their respective Facebook and Instagram feeds for the latest details - things keep changing so I don’t want to get too specific about the particular offers here). Suffice it to say that supporting these small businesses during the crisis by ordering their baked goods is one way of making sure they are still around after the dust settles and the world returns to normal. 

Wild Flour Artisan Bakery 
Located in the popular Bison Courtyard in downtown Banff, Wild Flour Artisan Bakery makes organic, local, and healthy artisan bread and pastries.

The bakery location is currently open for take-out only but now Banff residents can order online and pick-up from the bakery, or get your favourites delivered right to your door! Their delivery menu includes handcrafted loaves of bread, lunches and treats, plus breakfast staples like ground coffee and granola. 

Brighten your day with a little Wild Flour goodness, all baked right here in Banff. 

JK Bakery - Banff
Like all restaurants and bakeries offering their wares during the COVID pandemic, it’s a good idea to check ahead to see what products are in stock on any given day. With a takeout and delivery menu featuring local favorites, the bakery is able to handle same-day orders for pickup and delivery orders when they are placed 24 hours in advance.

Uprising Bakery
If a loaf of bread is good, a bag of bread is even better! Each week Pat the Baker curates a selection of bread which is delivered to you in a cotton drawstring bread bag. Quantities are limited so be sure to get your order in early!  Sourdough is an Uprising specialty, so expect to see lots of sourdough varieties in the bread selection each week (Czech, Egyptian, Light Rye, Herb-infused are just a few examples).

Pat the Baker at Uprising Bakery is always experimenting with new bread varieties.

Some things will, no doubt, have changed when COVID passes, but our need for decent bread is about as certain as anything can be certain. 

Exploring the Essentials on Netflix

If you love food as much as I do, you might enjoy these two Netflix series that look at the essence of what makes good food great. 

Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat


This fun foodies series is inspired by the book of the same name by Samine Nosrat. Explore what makes food taste great no matter where you are in the world!

Then, move on to COOKED, featuring Michael Pollan.

Pollan has been writing about farming and food for years and in this series, he explores the evolution of food through the lenses of the four natural elements; fire, water, air, and earth.

What are your top picks when it comes to food-inspired shows available online? Let us know in the comments!

Egg Season - It's Spring and the Flock is Laying!

Washing eggs is a daily ritual for local farmers with a flock of layers.

I have eggs on my mind. Maybe that's because the Easter Bunny was hanging around town on the weekend and it was hard to ignore all those images of chocolate eggs which appeared everywhere I looked in my social feeds. Or, maybe it's because ever since my days of tending a small poultry flock I've been keenly aware that eggs are a seasonal product and spring on the farm was when egg production was at its peak. 

Not that you'd know that eggs are seasonal from any scarcity in the grocery stores. But if you have a favourite local farm stand somewhere and like to support a local farmer by picking up a dozen fresh, organic eggs each week, then you know it can be hard to get your supply of fresh eggs when the days are short, wet and chilly in November, December and January. 

Hens Need a Break, Too

Even the best layers take a rest in the winter, which makes a lot of sense if you consider eggs are not laid for our omelet-making pleasure. Eggs are meant to become chicks and chicks don't do well when they hatch in the coldest months.

Hens start laying after the worst of winter is over but early enough in the spring that they have time to lay enough eggs (more or less one a day) for a clutch and then sit on that clutch until the eggs develop into chicks. Hatching those babies when plants have started to grow and there are more insects and grubs around makes perfect sense. 

This muscovy duck babysits several clutches of ducklings on a warm, spring afternoon.

Year-Round Demand Met By Large Commercial Producers

There are a couple of reasons that we don't generally suffer an egg drought in January. Large-scale egg producers control light and temperature in large indoor facilities and make sure hens keep laying year-round. The supply chain takes full advantage of the fact that eggs keep remarkably well. In many places in Europe, cartons of eggs never see the inside of a refrigerator. 

Chickens Aren’t the Only Egg Game in Town

Though we generally default to eating chicken eggs, the same pattern of taking a winter laying break holds true for ducks, geese, and turkeys, all of which have delicious eggs to offer our brunch plates. 

The Saanich Fair is a great place to check out eggs of all kinds - turkey, chicken, duck, and bantam eggs are on display each fall. The fair is also a great place to connect with local farmers and secure your supply of fresh, local eggs!

One of my favourite ways to use up extra duck eggs was in a custardy torte made with goat milk. Rich, creamy and delicious, the recipe was based on a Melktert recipe from South Africa [similar to this one, if you’d like to give one a try].

We raised muscovy ducks and the eggs were large and hearty. Though it took some effort to whip them up, they were tasty as heck and we used them in all our favourite eggy recipes.

Because the muscovy eggs were 1.5-2 times larger than chicken eggs, we had to fiddle a bit with quantities, but otherwise, they worked fabulously well whether we used them in baked goods or omelets. [Take note - it’s worth asking around to see if you can get your hands on some duck eggs!]

What’s your favourite way to serve eggs? Frittatas or fried? Homemade mayo or scrambled? Do tell! Even though we don’t have the farm any more, we do love our eggs and we’re always on the lookout for fabulous new ways to prepare them! 

When Life Gives You Lemons...

The obstacle is the way… When local distilleries found themselves unable to showcase their products to visitors, they found other ways to put their skills, expertise and equipment to good use.

My son-in-law is a huge fan of Empress 1908 Gin. Victoria Distillers’ contribution to the world of gin is the only option good enough to use in his fancy G&Ts.

Various local distilleries, unable to offer tours and tastings during the COVID-19 lockdown have put their skills and equipment to good use to support local frontline healthcare workers. 

Bring on the Hand Sanitizer

Victoria Distillers, for example, partnered with Nezza Naturals, a Vancouver Island-based company that makes organic, eco-friendly, all-natural skincare products to produce and distribute hand sanitizer for those working in essential services in Greater Victoria. The businesses are providing sanitizer free of charge for frontline workers - if you know someone who could make use of this offer, ask them to email sanitizer@empressgin.com. Shelter Point Distillery in Oyster River is also making large batches of hand sanitizer for first responders and has shipped thousands of litres of the product to clinics, fire departments and the VGH.

Why Stop at Hand Sanitizer?

Phillips Brewing has also been making hand sanitizer, but they’ve also started making face shields using their laser cutter and 3-D printer.  As the company’s website says, their path along the beer flavour arc “…is guided by unbridled creativity and unwavering attention to quality.” If creativity is what allows us to see any given situation in a new light, thank goodness this company had the creative capacity to see how they could use their resources and ingenuity to make a difference during the current COVID-19 pandemic. 

When all is said and done, let’s do our bit and remember the businesses that stepped up and chipped in to find innovative ways to support our frontline workers.

We are all in this together!

Local Distilleries Keeping it Clean!

Banff Park Distillery producing hand sanitizer to help keep the Bow Valley healthy.

Like so many others, Wild Life Distillery posted a message to their patrons sharing their decision to temporarily close their tasting room and cocktail service:

Well, we’ve thought a lot about this... And it is especially hard to say on St. Patrick’s Day; however, as of tomorrow, we will be closing our tasting room and cocktail service (March 18th, 2020).
We are socially responsible as small business owners to look out for the health and safety of our staff, our customers and our community. We hope that the collective measures of Canadians will help flatten the curve, and we respect the decision-making process and the difficulty that this will cause many of our colleagues and friends.

Our production team is still strong and healthy, and we will continue distilling whisky until we are legally mandated to stop. If anyone is in the area and in need of a bottle, feel free to stop by to see if someone is here. We will investigate a Bow Valley delivery service for bottles, based on local demand. Stay healthy friends.

The message was similar to that put out by many local restaurants, bars, and businesses - we’ve become all too familiar with this troubling story. While some restaurants and other businesses have been able to maintain some take-out and delivery services, others have been forced to close their doors completely and hunker down to wait out the pandemic.

Wild Life Distillery and Banff Park Distillery rolled up their sleeves and got work, shifting their focus from distilled spirits destined for fancy cocktails to potent hand-sanitizers for those in need. 

In an effort to help alleviate stretched resources, Banff Park Distillery has been providing supplies to Banff’s Emergency Coordination Centre to help assist those in our community who are in need and to support and serve frontline workers in the best way they can. 

WILD Hand Sanitizer is also available for those in need. If you are aware of a group or organization on the front line, they are asked to contact Info@wildlifedistillery.ca for more information. For community members who are self-isolating, Wild Life Distillery is offering free sanitizer along with a minimum online purchase of $50 via their new online store). 

While the distilleries are able to make sanitizer, there’s a temporary shortage of small containers suitable for the distribution of this new product in small quantities. Given the determination and resourcefulness of these businesses, I’m hopeful a solution will be found before long. 

I’m not a spirits drinker myself, but this gesture immediately put several bottles of spirits from these two local businesses on my Christmas gift list for others in my circle who do. 

Thank You - and, Hang in There!

For all those who are now offering takeout, contactless delivery, volunteering to help seniors or those in isolation and under quarantine, thank you. We are, indeed, all in this together and these stories of locals helping locals are restoring my faith in humanity. 

Have a good story about someone making a contribution to our mountain community? We’d love to hear it. Post on social media and tag us on Facebook or Instagram (@tastebanff). We’ll happily give a shout-out to anyone who is helping our community navigate our way through this unprecedented situation.