Producer

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!

 Today we sat down with
the lovably quirky Allison MacKenzie of Dark Side Chocolates. Allison discussed how she sort of 'fell into' the business, the merits of good dark chocolate
over mass produced cheaper chocolate, and finding new flavour combinations. We
also touched upon the ups and downs of being a small business in the Comox Valley
and all that comes with it.Dark Side Chocolates
P.O. Box 1119, 
2722 Dunsmuir Avenue
Cumberland, B.C. V0R 1S0
Phone: 250-336-0126
Website: http://darksidechocolates.com
Facebook:
Dark Side Chocolates

 Today, we got to sit down with Layne and Brenda of 40 Knots Winery. We had a wonderful time discussing not just their wine making, but what lead them down the road to wine making as a career. But beyond that, we talked about their impressive community involvement - the 40 knots social calendar is downright exhausting! And as you know, we love getting a chance to speak with community minded businesses!  
Web: http://www.40knotswinery.com
 
Email:  infoat40KnotsWinery@gmail.com
Phone: (250)
941-8810
 
Address is: 40 KNOTS WINERY
2400 Anderton Road,
Comox, BC V9M 4E5
Open Thursday - Sunday, 11:30 am - 5:30
pm (and most statutory holidays) 
 

  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.