Local

Chef Jonathan Frazier and Local Food Entrepreneur Darren Howlett get a chance to sit down with Grace Obal of Bates Beach Farms, to talk about all of the wonderful things happening in the local farming scene during this incredible summer of amazing crop yields. Grace relates to us how her and her husband developed this special little farm, tucked away in an incredibly beautiful and lesser known area of the Comox Valley. What began as a rock filled swamp (seriously - take a listen!), was worked and reworked with love and determination into an incredibly verdant and bountiful farm. She also divulges the inside scoop on a few secret (and amazing) projects she and her husband are developing for her farm, the local youth and our community! Take a listen!

Chef Jon and Darren take a break to catch up the listeners to what they've been up to - and well, it's quite a bit! This episode touches on their foray into video, as well as their recent coverage in a local magazine. And, is Edible Valley (the local food podcast) evolving into a local food cooking show? Take a listen and get the details! 
  They also take a minute to look toward the near future, and discuss who may appear in future episodes, what the two have planned for the future of Edible Valley, and where both local food and their filmed episodes are headed!

This week we had the great fortune of being able to sit down with Chris Graham to talk about his newest project, which is sure to revolutionize the Comox Valley's cuisine scene! It's called Communal Beat and it's all about food, entertainment and exploring in the Valley. We were able to get an advanced peak at the first issue, and it's incredible! Chock full of gorgeous imagery and familiar locations, peppered with some great feature articles, with a calendar  smack dab in the centre - showing every festival, performance, gathering, special activity and food related event for the month. This will surely become a vital resource of the locals and tourists alike.
If you're wondering why the name of Chris Graham sounds familiar, it's because you remember him as a staple of the Farmer's Market. It's Chris, the Tamale Guy! If any of you have been wondering just where he went, or what happened to him - this is it! He's been hard at work to get this monthly magazine off the ground. We had a fantastic time sitting down with him, and found that we're kindred spirits - we're all motivated by this beautiful island we live on, the people that cultivate and nurture it, and want nothing more than to share it's abundance with everyone! Take a listen, and let us know what you think!

The kitchen is often considered the heart of the home and that is what the Taku resort is trying to do by bring in top notch chef to teach the wonders of food  to their guests. We were luck enough to have Erin Rowsell come in and talk to us a little about the exciting things happening at the cookery. Taku cookery goal is to provide meaningful and inspiring hands-on culinary experiences with renowned Chefs that focus on local ingredients on beautiful Quadra Island, BC. Guest of up to 8 people are invited to participate in hands-on classes which have included French culinary weekends, Gourmet bread coarse Chocolate Indulgence and Flavours of India. Erin was excited to let us know about some of the upcoming course like February 22-23 Chef David Robertson from the Dirty Apron. For more info check out their website cookery@takuresort.com or call reservations: 250.204.2121 toll free: 1.877.285.8258

Guest speaker Gaetane Palardy of Island Gourmet Trails discusses the extensive opportunities we have here in the valley to showcase food through food tourism. She walks us through what a tour with Island Gourmet Trails looks like, with the emphasis on visiting the valley from a foodie angle. They also take a peek at the cooking classes Gaetane offers, and what it means to meet local producers and taste local food through product, restaurants, and other activities around food in the valley.
Jon reviews the local products he showcased over the past weekend during the event “Delicious Downtown.”

Delicious treats followed Karen Pattison of Bite Sized Speciality Foods into the Edible Valley studio. A hobby turned full-time job, Karen has been offering pickled beans, asparagus and carrots, as well as a line of pepper jellies since 2006. Her product is found at various locations on Vancouver Island and as far away as Kamloops. Karen surprised us with some pickled treats, and some amazing samples of pepper jelly served with brie and rice crackers! Thank you Karen, it was great getting to know you.
Visit Bite Sized website: 

Helen Grond contacted us a few weeks ago to let us know she was appreciating the podcast, and offer some words of encouragement. She revealed that, with her husband, they own and operate Middle Mountain Mead on Hornby Island. Along with being a local farmer and producer, Helen has also been living the Paleo lifestyle for five years and belongs to a Paleo inspired group on the island. It was a great conversation with someone who is very educated about the issues of our present day food systems and wishes to help others to create food security in their own lives. Thanks Helen, it was great to meet you!

It was our great pleasure to welcome Dr. Vrain to the studio to talk to us about the issues surrounding Genetically Modified Organisms. A little back ground of Thierry from his bio on the Innisfree Farm website:
Thierry was born and raised in Paris, France. He did undergraduate and graduate degrees in biology in France and in the US. Upon arriving in Canada he taught Plant Physiology at Université du Québec in Montréal for two years. Then he had a long career as a research scientist for the federal government in Québec and BC, in Vancouver and in Summerland.
After thirty five years of research and teaching of soil biology and molecular biology – what he now calls “Chemical Agriculture”, he decided to retire young and reinvent life. A very few years later, newly remarried, co-owner of an incredibly beautiful property called Innisfree, he foresees a long future of service to the community. He has become a gardener, a teacher, and a passionate speaker about organic gardening – from soil health to GMO’s.
Thierry has numerous videos on the web, including an eye opening presentation at the Comox Valley Tedx talk. Simply Google his name and find numerous articles and videos about the problems with G.M.O.
Thierry is also looking to raise $100,000 to commence a 100 community tour speaking about the dangers of G.M.O. If you are interested in donating, please check out his gofundme site
Thanks Dr. Vrain for doing what you are to inform the public the truths behind this confusing subject.

Miles Olson came to Blayne's attention a few month back with the release of his book "Unlearn, Rewild" in 2012.

Brian McCormick joins us for another visit, along with his wife Lia, to explore their new enterprise, Clever Crow Herbs, Spices and Sea Salt.

On the eve of the B.C. Shellfish festival, Matt Wright was happy to take a break from his hectic schedule to join us in studio to talk about the coming event.

Darren Howlett and Jonathan Frazier join up again to talk food. In this episode of Edible Valley Food Facts, the boys sit down to talk chicken. Poultry being such an important part of many of our diets, we thought it would be fun to look into where it comes from and how it gets to our plate. With many questions about the terms used to describe chicken we did some investigating to find out some of the differences between organic, free range , and  free run.  Also we tried touching in on grading , inspections, breeds and classification. With an amazing amount of information out there to learn the two of us have had a chance to scratch the surface of this interesting subject.