Producer

  Ivan Loubier of IvansTruffles.com stopped by the studio to share his wares with  Jonathan and Darren of the Edible Valley. This was one of those rare treats where the interview was based on rare treats! The hosts discussed with Ivan the difficulties of starting a micro business - then completely uprooting and relocating! He further goes into having to cater to an entirely new clientele after essentially starting over.
  Ivan touches on his current successes, his favourite triumphs and a glimpse into his newest confection that he swears is going to revolutionize chocolate! Get caught up in the obvious and evident passion of the newest Edible Valley podcast!

Do you ever wonder where your food comes from? What makes it so special? This week with our first studio audience we got a chance to talk to Gillian Watt from the BC association of abattoirs about BC Meats for BC Markets. We learned first of all BC does have a beef industry and a new BC beef net will allow local chefs the ability to buy BC beef. The program allows chefs to buy whole or half carcasses and have them process to there liking as well as giving a price per portion. With the North Vancouver Island Chef Association as our guests in studio we learned about the future of where our beef industry is going and how we will soon see local BC beef in many of our restaurants in our amazing province.

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.

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

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.

Much to the dismay of our former producer Drex, we finally had the coffee lady in! Dyan Spink of Royston Roasting Company was able to join us in the studio to talk about there new cafe, the business of coffee, fair trade and other interesting bits of the coffee trade. With her husband Gary they have built a hugely successful business supporting local charity and fundraisers, as well as giving locals their morning buzz! Thanks Dyan!
Thanks for listening to the Edible Valley podcast. We gratefully accept donations to help with our hosting, as well as contributions of food ingredients to the Edible Valley test kitchen. Please feel free to contact us by email ediblevalley@gmail.com, follow our twitter feed (@ediblevalley) and like our facebook page

A little bit of a different show for Edible Valley, in the model of the show featuring Arzeena Hamir back in the fall about winter gardening, we welcome local compost educator Patty Rose. Patty is a familiar face in the community, teaching a variety of composting and organic gardening courses through out the year. She has a passion for local food, and clean eating. And ,of course, her worm bins. Thanks you Patty, it was a great learning experience for us! Thanks for listening to the Edible Valley podcast. We gratefully accept donations to help with our hosting, as well as contributions of food ingredients to the Edible Valley test kitchen. Please feel free to contact us by email ediblevalley@gmail.com, follow our twitter feed (@ediblevalley) and like our facebook page

It was a pleasure for Edible Valley to bring Vickey Brown, manager of the Comox Valley Farmers Market, into studio for this episode. The Farmers Market is a huge draw for folks interested in local food, community support, and socializing. Now it it's 20th year listen as Vickey gives the origin story of our great market, arguably the best in the province, one of the few that runs year round, and also maintains diligent rules for vendors selling locally sourced, grown, and produced products. They also keep craft items to a minimum and focus on the agricultural side of what a Farmers Market is. Thank you Vickey, it was an honour to have you in. Visit the Comox Valley Farmers Market from 9-12 Saturdays at the Native Sons Hall in downtown Courtenay.
This week in the Edible Valley Test Kitchen, Jon surprised Blayne with making shell-less quiche. Blayne is eating a diet where he avoids grains, so anytime a meal can be made without, it is a wonderful thing. The quiche Lorraine was fantastic and contained some of Blayne's homemade bacon. Jon also made yam pav with mustard sauce and a little garnish of butter lettuce and grape tomato's, dressed with bacon vinaigrette. A quick easy meal, especially for a chef of Jon's caliber.

A chance encounter this week by Jon and Sarah Walsh of Prontissimo Pasta at Atlas Cafe this past weekend resulted in the news that Prontissimo Pasta was re-opening after a four month hiatus. Sarah is welcoming Julie Edwards who is bringing wonderful central coast seafood to our market, via N'usi Seafood of Bella Bella. The bringing together of pasta and seafood is an easy, one stop shop for a quick dinner or a gourmet party meal for however many you can feed. Prontissimo will be scaling back some flavours and pasta shapes, and will still offer some of their proven favorites, as well as gourmet olive oils and Parmesan cheese. Call of the Wild will be offering frozen dungenese crab, shrimp, salmon and Julie hopes to bring in other gifts of the sea, such as sea cucumber and possibly dried seaweed. This is an exciting collaboration for our food community, bringing an familiar product back to the market and a new face to the scene. Stop by the location in Tin Town this Saturday from 10 until 5 at 2384 Unit C Rosewall Crescent in Courtenay. Sarah and Julie will be offering samples as well as specials on frozen crab. I might just have to show up and pick up a box!
This week in the Edible Valley Test Kitchen was a collaboration between chef and hunter. Blayne supplied some venison meat for Jon to create a delicious goulash. He added some dumplings and steamed broccoli. Goulash is a perfect meal for this time of year. Comforting and hearty.
Thanks to Hans Peter Meyer and Bon Vivant Vancouver Island for participating in Edible Valley with his collection of exciting food events for December.

This episode we had a scheduling mix up with our expected guest, so we had to make alternate plans at the last minute. We decided to ask our beloved producer, Drex, to join us in studio and talk about the Edible Valley Test Kitchen event that we did at Beyond the Kitchen Door on November 13th. We mentioned this cooking demo on the show several times, which was by invite only to give thanks to several people at Jet FM and we also included Sue and Teresa from Beyond the Kitchen Door to enjoy a meal with us. Jon runs down the whole menu during this episode. Drex was happy to give us some feedback from someone who doesn't get to see a professional chef in action. Thanks for helping us out Drex!
For our Edible Valley Test Kitchen meal before the show, we were fortunate to receive a donated whole pastured chicken from Tannadice Farm in Dove Creek. Jon brined the bird and cooked it "beer can" style. The meat turned our moist and tender, and the skin was crunchy and salty, just the way it should. A side of coleslaw made with Eatmore Sprouts purple cabbage, smashed potatoes fried in butter and garnished with Blayne's homemade bacon, and savoury muffins. A ladle of flavourful gravy topped the whole plate. As always another amazing meal showcasing Comox Valley grown food.