About
VANCOUVER ISLAND LOCAL FOOD:
Overview
Bill Jones and Gary Hynes developed the Vancouver Island Local Food website to support the idea of local food and drink in our region. Our intent is for this website to be a resource for both Islanders and visitors on where to source locally made products—in restaurants, from the farm, in artisan processing and in markets.
The site is a dynamic and evolving guide to local food and drink. It helps encourage and promote the local economy and acts as a gateway to exploring the real essence and experience of Vancouver Island.
CULINARY PHILOSOPHY – You are what you eat.
Both Bill and Gary are proponents of eating not only locally but also of eating responsibly. This means we are concerned with how our food buying and eating choices impact neighbourhoods, workers, our health, eco-systems and last but by no means least, the taste and flavour of the foods we eat.
They feel that local food really tastes better – and has higher levels of nutrients and health promoting anti-oxidants. The better you feel (and the happier your taste buds are), the more likely you will want to support and eat local foods at home and on the road.
We also seek out fairly traded and ethically imported products to feed our irrational love of imports like coffee and chocolate (among others). It’s too hard to be perfect, so eating locally should be a journey not a destination. It’s also fun to use these imported products paired with our great regional treats.
However, in a world of increasing complex global choices, we need to nourish and protect our traditional food sources – and to encourage the development of new local products. These simple purchases lessen the impact to the environment, promotes the local economy and improves the health of our communities. The money we spend in our own regions multiplies quickly into a powerful economic force for positive change.
We also support ethical and sustainable methods of food production in developing areas of the world. These methods include buying sustainably harvested seafood, importing fairly traded goods, creating clean food and supporting direct supply lines from the farm to your table.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Bill Jones is a French-trained chef, food and wine consultant and author of nine culinary books including two winners of world cookbook awards. His home base is Deerholme Farm in the Cowichan valley where he offers culinary tourism activities including events and classes. His specialties are local food, wild foods and global cuisine styles. Bill is considered a regional expert in wild mushrooms and is a long-time critic for the Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards. His farm was recently featured in the August 2009 issue of Gourmet Magazine. Please visit www.magnorth.bc.ca for more info.
Gary Hynes is a former chef, sommelier and restaurateur turned food writer and magazine publisher. He owns and publishes EAT, the award-winning BC food and drink magazine on Vancouver Island. Hynes has been a judge for the Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards and EnRoute Magazine’s Best New Restaurants Awards. He lives in Victoria with his family. EAT Magazine was founded in 1998 and is read bimonthly by over 100,000 avid food and wine lovers around BC.
Visit www.eatmagazine.ca for more info.
