2015-07

In the studio today, Ben-zion Eni joined us to discuss his newest endeavour, the Hub Café in downtown Courtenay. Ben has stepped out of a 20 year career working with fresh produce and jumped into the service side of the food industry! We talked to him about the jump - the motivations, hesitations, and everything in between. But as we got to talking, the thing that struck us the most is his sense of community. It's obvious that it plays a significant role in his café. This great little spot has great food, a great atmosphere, a great location, and you just know it's going to succeed!   

The beautiful Ms. Toni Dunne sits down with Chef Jon and Darren today to talk gardening. A self-taught garden hobbyist, Toni has developed as a semi-professional gardener over the years as she soaked in and absorbed every bit of information she could. With an eye on acidity and soil alchemy, Toni and friends have created lush, abundant gardens out of little backyard dirt patches. And like a modern day Johnny Appleseed, she plants a little every where she goes. But taking it further than that, she discusses how to provide a modest secondary income from her garden, while still providing plenty for her and her family. It’s truly the new direction backyard farming is going, so just sit back and listen to this vanguard of modern hobby farming tell you her journey from amateur to thriving gardener.

Doug Smith of Natural Pastures was gracious enough to join us tonight to discuss cheese! As one of the Comox Valley’s cornerstone food producers that help put our humble, beautiful Valley on the map, Doug is one of those key talents that took a small business idea, and turned it into a national brand! He walks us through the process of getting started, growing to fit your market, and establishing yourself amongst your peers. We had a great time with Doug – who is just a wealth of information of Valley history, business planning and above all: Cheese!

Allen McWilliam of Tannadice Farms sat down with Chef Jon and Darren in the studio today. Allen treated us to the background story of how the farm has grown from its' humble beginnings to the cornerstone-of-the-valley it has become. Humble and gracious, he shared a loving history of the Valley, and was able to relate his unique view on the farming scene here and how it has evolved and grown over the years. And he brought sausages!

On this episode, the ever eloquent Connie Earl joins Chef Jonathan Frazier and Darren Howlett to talk local wine. Connie is easily one of the foremost resources for the Valley on all things wine; her knowledge extending throughout Vancouver Island, BC in general, and worldwide. She brought her expertise and a few bottles of semi-local reds to discuss the first steps in evaluating a bottles' merits, triumphs and shortcomings. What a treat!