WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13TH AT 7:30 PM (PST)
Four Season Foraging
FOUR SEASON FORAGING
Wednesday, October 13th at 7:30 pm (PST)
Spend time with Robin Kort of Swallow Tail Tours, Lori Snyder, Indigenous herbalist & educator, and Steph Ganea of Seeker’s Club to learn the ins and outs of foraging safely, ethically, and sustainably year round!
$75 ticket - Includes $25 tax receipt, reference materials, dish ingredients and recipe, and wine. Pickup on October 12th from 4:00-7:00PM at the Italian Cultural Centre, 3075 Slocan St, Vancouver.
$20 zoom-only ticket - Includes virtual access (no beverages/ingredients).
Guests will receive the ingredients and recipe to prepare a dish designed by Chef Devon Latte of The Acorn, and a bottle of wine from Mission Hill Family Estate.
Maple + Sherry Glazed Vancouver Island Chanterelles from Lance "Wildcraft" Staples, Caramelized Chanterelle Purée, Toasted Haida Gwaii Wakame. Finished with Harissa Olive Oil from Victoria Olive Oil Co.
Special Guests
Photo Credit: Food Network
Lori Snyder
Lori Snyder is a Métis herbalist and educator who shares the wisdom and traditions of her Indigenous roots. Tsuu T’ina, Anishinaabe, Cree, Nakoda, and Nipissing Nations are mixed with her Scottish, French, and Celtic ancestry. She shares knowledge with people of all ages, reminding us of the practices of reciprocity with all that exists.
My favourite local ingredient is: Any fruit or vegetable that grows locally, like salal berries.
The best advice I can give a child who wants to become a chef is: Try not to eat sugar so you can educate your palate and really taste the wonderful world of flavours.
My favourite meal to cook for myself is: Roasted vegetable lentil cumin soup.
If I could have any superpower it would be: The ability to clean up the ocean.
I believe programs like Growing Chefs are important because: Food is the gift of life, and anyone who shares that love is important.
Chef Robin Kort - Swallow Tail Tours
My favourite seasonal vegetable is: Tomato.
My favourite local ingredient is: Sea Urchin.
The best advice I can give a child who wants to become a chef is: Play with your food!
My favourite meal to cook for myself is: Congee with wild mushrooms is my comfort food.
My favourite food memory when I was a kid is: Picking berries with my Grandma and making Saskatoon berry pie.
I believe programs like Growing Chefs are important because: Having a healthy relationship with food and knowing where it comes from is just the right thing to engender in a kid, both for their own health and to show respect for the earth.
Steph Ganea - Seeker’s Club
My favourite seasonal vegetables are: Perfectly ripened heirloom or cherry tomatoes.
My favourite local ingredients are: Chanterelle or Lobster mushrooms.
The best advice I can give a child who wants to become a chef is: Help in the kitchen as much as you can! If you’re curious about an ingredient, ask, or research it yourself. Ask if you can experiment with one new ingredient or recipe a month. Try to grow a garden. Learn about your local wild edibles to really take your cooking skills to the next level.
If I could have any superpower it would be: Definitely flying. It would make getting to the best foraging spots a breeze.
Chef Devon Latte - The Acorn
My favourite local ingredient is: The bounty of local wild foraged mushrooms and greens!
My favourite food memory when I was a kid is: Gardening with my mom, grilling in the summers with my dad!
The best advice I can give a child who wants to become a chef is: Start cooking as much as possible in your younger years, read plenty of books on technique. Understanding food is the most important part of cooking!
I believe programs like Growing Chefs are important because: This program is amazing. Having the younger generation understand what it takes to grow food, even in urban environments, is extremely important. In this new world of ultra-take out, cooking at home is becoming more and more rare. The act of showing and teaching kids to grow and cook food, how delicious and nutritious it really is, it's priceless!
Donor Profile: Champion Radish Club
The Champion Radish Club is currently made up of 83 generous individuals and families who donate to Growing Chefs monthly. They share our vision of a world with healthy, just, sustainable food practices and we’d love to introduce you to a few of them! Keep scrolling to learn more about their food stories, and how they feel about Growing Chefs.
LINDA OLSON
Linda is a phenomenal chef, formerly of Culinary Capers, and now working with Truffles Fine Food Catering. She is a star at our annual From Farms to Forks Harvest Kitchen Party and is a long-time (since 2007!) volunteer with Growing Chefs in the classroom. She has been a Champion Radish since 2019.
SEVAN KADIAN
& TRAVIS LAMARCHE
Sevan and Travis volunteer at our annual From Farms to Forks Harvest Kitchen Party and help to make it a blast for our guests. Sevan works for another local charity, the Take a Hike Foundation, and Travis works for a small ship cruise line, Windstar Cruises. They have been Champion Radishes since 2018 and 2019 respectively.
VIVIAN CRUISE
Chef Vivian volunteered in a Growing Chefs classroom in the Comox Valley in 2012 and 2013. She is a Red Seal Chef, a natural story-teller, a cookbook author, and an all-around wonderful supporter of our mission. She is a wealth of knowledge and character. Vivian has been a Champion Radish since 2020.
Do you have a garden at home? What do you like to grow?
Linda: I live in an apartment, so I don’t have a yard to grow a traditional garden. However, I grow herbs in pots outside and I, also, have indoor AeroGarden - that I grow tomatoes and basil in year round. I also joined a project last year that connects apartment dwellers that want to garden with homeowners who have lots of space and don’t want to garden so I get to grow a garden in someone else’s yard!
Sevan & Travis: Yes, we bought a cabin in a remote area at the start of covid and gardening has been quite the adventure. We used to live in an apartment in downtown Vancouver, and keeping houseplants alive was a struggle. Now we have a little orchard with fruit trees and lots of sunlight and space for garden beds. We enjoyed growing tomatoes, herbs, lettuce, kale and rhubarb this past summer. We’re currently renovating the landscape, and have big dreams of what we’ll be able to do next!
Vivian: I don’t have a garden now, as I live in an apartment, but years ago I liked growing snow peas, corn, and a salsa garden of tomatoes, jalapeños peppers, coriander and onions.
What's your favourite seasonal vegetable?
Linda: I love Brussels sprouts in the winter but fresh ripe tomatoes are probably a close second.
Sevan: I’d like to tie in a herb as well and say tomatoes and basil. Such a great combo fresh from the garden.
Travis: Potatoes. They are incredibly versatile and can be used for so many different world dishes from French fries to curries to pancakes. I’ve also recently learned that Pemberton (where we currently live) is famous for their potatoes. Delicious German butter potatoes are my local favourite.
Vivian: Tomatoes, there’s nothing quite like a freshly picked tomato still warm from the sun and summer’s heat.
What’s your favourite meal to cook?
Linda: I love making homemade pasta and tossing it with basil pesto made from my own plants.
Sevan & Travis: We cook a lot of Asian influenced dishes. Curries and stir fries are our favourites, using as many veggies as we can pack in.
Vivian: I love to make a nice Ratatouille and serve it on polenta with a fried egg and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.
What is your earliest food-related memory?
Sevan: I grew up in a middle eastern household. I ate things like hummus as a staple as a young child. I remember all of the neighborhood kids loving coming over and eating my families cooking, because it was so different (and delicious) than what they were used to.
Travis: Growing up in Alberta, my Grandparents had a garden at their house and also one at their cabin. I always remember going into the garden with them and pulling up carrots from the ground, snapping peas, and picking raspberries from the bush.
Vivian: My dad making ice cream and butter at home, from milk that he bought from a dairy farmer and that my dad pasteurized at our home.
What about Growing Chefs most resonates with you?
Linda: I’m a long time volunteer with Growing Chefs and becoming a regular donor was just another way I could support an organization I care about so much. As a chef, I think it is so important to understand where your food comes from and getting people passionate about growing and cooking food at a young age is a great way to start educating people.
Sevan & Travis: Healthy and good food seems really unaccessible to a lot of families in the lower mainland. Cost and time are barriers, especially for families with young children. We love bringing this food education into the classroom and getting the kids to have fun and experiment hands on with produce. Food/cooking is such a warm and connecting activity to gather around, and really promotes community.
Vivian: Helping youngsters to see where food comes from. I made ratatouille for my students and they LIKED it!
How does being a part of the Champion Radish Club make you feel?
Sevan & Travis: We’re each happy to provide some small form of assurance to the team at Growing Chefs, knowing that they can count on our funds each month. We know that not only does it cut down on administrative time (further costs) doing annual collections, it lets them plan for the future more confidently. It’s pain free and simple, and the annual get togethers are the BEST. (Can’t wait to do them in person again!)
Vivian: Quite nice, I assisted with the Growing Chefs group in the Comox Valley and as a Red Seal Chef, it is part of my job to educate people about food and cooking techniques.
Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival
We’re writing to amplify the 11th Annual Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival run by City Food Magazine! Vancouver’s best chocolatiers, pastry shops, bakeries, cafes, gelato, and ice cream makers are coming together, again, to create delectable hot chocolates to warm your bodies and cheer up your soul during Vancouver’s’ damp and gloomy Winter.
The initiative started in 2011 and was the first city-wide initiative in the world to use the hot chocolate beverage as a way to support small, local businesses. The initiative also donates a portion of proceeds to three charitable partners, including Growing Chefs; The Downtown Eastside Women’s Job Training Program of the PHS COMMUNITY SERVICES SOCIETY - run by East Vancouver Roasters; and Fresh to Families - Farmers Market Nutrition Coupon Program for low-income families, run by Vancouver Farmer Markets. This past year has been especially hard on local businesses and the Hot Chocolate Festival has allowed donations to their charitable partners to be optional for 2021.
The Hot Chocolate Festival encourages all participants to follow covid-19 safety protocols. And has modified the festival to respect BC Health Authority rules and regulations, including encouraging social distancing, mask-wearing, and offering takeout options. Some vendors will also be offering DIY hot chocolate kits that you may purchase to take home or mail to friends who will not be with you this year. For a full list of covid-19 measures, click here.
If drinking hot chocolate isn’t sweet enough, the Hot Chocolate Festival will also be having a photo contest on Instagram with $975 in gift certificate prizes available from participating vendors. You could be enjoying sweet treats for months to come if you win. For details on the contest, click here.
Our Growing Chefs team members and volunteers will be making their way across Vancouver, Burnaby, and White Rock to try a few of the hot chocolate creations. Stay tuned on our Instagram for updates on what we try!
Thank you to all the vendors who are participating in the festival. For a list of vendors and flavors, click here. And for a virtual map of vendors, click here.
We’d also like to extend a big thank you to Daily Hive, BC Food + Wine Radio, Made in Print, and Vancouver Farmers Markets for sponsoring the festival.
And of course, a huge thank you to City Food Magazine for putting on the Hot Chocolate Festival and including Growing Chefs as a charitable partner for the 4th year. We’re so grateful.
List Of Vendors
Click on vendor names for a link to their available flavours.
🌱plant-based options available
LADURÉE 🌱
Support local B.C. businesses for all your food-related holiday shopping!
We’re big advocates for sustainable and local products and you can bet that extends to our holiday shopping list. Now, more than ever, it is important to support our local businesses and local food community.
When doing your holiday shopping this year, we encourage you to think local and sustainable. Consumables make a great gift your loved ones will be more than excited to receive and there is no shortage of great local businesses that provide something for everyone on your list.
Remember that experiences and time together is a great gift as well. Consider supporting local restaurants by gifting a friend a gift card to their favourite local eatery so you can hang out and enjoy a meal together in the future, or source local ingredients and pick up a cookbook from a local chef for your family to cook and enjoy a meal together at home. There are loads of ways to get creative.
Our team of staff would like to share some of our favourites to help you find a gift for the foodie on your list. Almost all of the businesses below allow you to shop online and pick up your order at the store, or have your order shipped to you or directly to the person you are shopping for this holiday season making your holiday gift giving easier than ever this year.
East Van Roasters - eastvanroasters.com
319 Carrall Street, Vancouver, B.C.
If you have a chocolate lover on your holiday list this is the place to shop. Creating incredible, ethically sourced bean-to-bar chocolate and coffee, this local shop is also a social enterprise work and job training for women in downtown Vancouver. Check out their online shop for some sweet treats and even some sweet EVR swag.
East Van Jam - eastvanjam.com
Vancouver, B.C.
We love this local jam company with an incredible selection of locally made products made from B.C. produce. There are so many incredible flavours you’ll find it hard to pick just one. Available through online orders or at a selection of retailers (check out their website to find one near you).
Soirette - soirette.com
1433 W Pender Street, Vancouver, B.C.
For holiday cakes, cookies boxes, and macarons, check out Soirette bakery. Their holiday cookie box makes the perfect gift with nine varieties of delicious cookies. Or for a fun and scrumptious family activity- check out their DIY ginger bread kit. Everything you need to build and decorate your own gingerbread house.
Hives for Humanity - hivesforhumanity.com
101 - 1245 Glen Drive, Vancouver, B.C.
Looking for stocking stuffer ideas? Our friends at Hives fro Humanity have got you covered with jars of fresh local honey, beeswax candles, and a fine collection of salves , balms, and tinctures. Order online or check out their website for a retailer near you that carries their products.
Blue Heron Creamery - blueheroncheese.com
2410 Main Street, Vancouver, B.C.
Plant-based, cultured, fresh & aged. Blue Heron produces 100% dairy-free, plant-based vegan cheeses and other products, a perfect gift for the vegan in your life. But not just for vegans! Consider a Blue Heron purchase for any foodie on your gift list.
Mission Hill Family Estate - missionhillwinery.com
West Kelowna, B.C.
Mission Hill Family Estate Winery is Canada’s only five-time winner of Winery of the Year. Their online shop offers wine by the bottle, or carefully curated gift packages. Treat your friends and family to a bottle of B.C.
Coho Commissary Market - cohocommissary.com/market
Vancouver, B.C.
Head over to the Coho Commissary’s online Market for a number of incredible and delicious food and drink options from their incredible community of local small businesses. There’s something for everyone in here and if you simply cannot decide which food items to get for your gift try one of their curated food boxes with a selection of amazing products from their vendors.
Sheringham Distillery - sheringham-distillery.myshopify.com
Sooke B.C.
Started by a local chef turned distiller and his wife, Sheringham makes small batch handmade spirits from high quality, locally sourced ingredients. The perfect gift for those who enjoy making cocktails.
Lumette -enjoylumette.com
Sooke, B.C.
Alayne MacIsaac (also co-founder of the above mentioned Sheringham Distillery) created Lumette for those who want to enjoy a cocktail without the alcohol. These non-alcoholic spirits are crafted using premium botanicals and traditional distilling methods and make the perfect gift for those that love making fabulous cocktails, without the alcohol.
Davis Bay Tea Co. - davisbaytea.ca
Davis Bay, B.C.
Who doesn’t love curling up on a cold rainy day with a piping hot cup of delicious tea. Davis Bay Tea Company has a wide selection of delicious loose leaf tea blends and even has holiday gift boxes so you can give the tea lover on your list a gift that allows them to experience many of the amazing blends and flavours Davis Bay Tea Co. has to offer.
Flourist - flourist.com
3433 Commercial St, Vancouver, B.C.
Have an avid baker on your holiday list? Check out Flourist for some great gift ideas. Whether it’s some new tools for in the kitchen or perhaps a bouquet of flours, the baking enthusiast on your holiday list would definitely love to receive some of the amazing products Flourist has available.
Untangled Cider - untangledcider.ca
725 MacKenzie Road, Cawston, B.C.
Dry, fruit forward ciders made on the Klippers Organic Farm and served at Row Fourteen Restaurant. Klippers believes that food should be organic, fresh, and grown free of pesticides or genetic modification – just as nature intended.
You can find Untangled Cider weekly at the Vancouver Farmers Market.
Vancouver Farmers Market - eatlocal.org
Vancouver, B.C.
Our B.C. farms and producers offer fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, eggs, dairy, and poultry, sustainable seafood, craft beer, wine and spirits, artisan food products, handmade craft, wild harvested foods, and hot food and coffee. When you shop at a Vancouver Farmers Market, you’re buying fresh, delicious food directly from local producers.
Lettuce Ask You a Question…
Hello friends,
If you carrot all about healthy kids & healthy food peas lend me a moment of your thyme as I butter you up and eggs-plain why you should join a bunch of fungi’s for Growing Chefs virtual food trivia night this Thursday.
LETTUCE ASK YOU A QUESTION - FOOD TRIVIA | october 29, 2020 | 8:00 pm
$25 includes local beer and cupcakeS | $10 ZOOM ONLY
Bean missing pub trivia? Our friends in the local food community have brusseled up some trivia celery-brating local food. Tac-o-bout fun! Join us this Thursday, and use your melon to kick some asparag-ass and squash your competition proving your trivia knowledge is shrimply the best. Basil-ly it’s your chance to show your food knowledge can’t be beet and win some grape prizes if you come out on top, all in support of a good cause. Play for fun, play to win, play to learn. Are you eggs-cited to play? I know I yam and can feel the excitement for this event from my head to-ma-toes.
If you’re thinking about joining don’t delay, now’s the thyme to be sure you don’t get apricot without tickets. Kale your friends and rutabaga them to grab a ticket so you can play together, from a distance, and Lettuce Ask You a Question. Kiwi count on you to play food trivia with us? We would a-peach-iate you joining us a waffle lot.
Phew, I was definitely on a roll there, thanks for pudding up with those food puns.
Tickets for this virtual event are just $10. Still need a little extra encourage-mint? For $25 we’ll throw in a 4-pack/6-pack of locally brewed beer and a Chocolate Mocha Porter Carrot Cupcake featuring Mocha Porter from Persephone Brewing Company (Gibsons) for you to enjoy while you play to make it a true (at-home) pub trivia night, couch potato style!
Gluten-free cocktails from The Strait & Narrow (Sidney) or alcohol-free beverages from Coastal Cultures (Gibsons) or Phillips Soda Works (Victoria) are also available by request.
BeVERAGES and cupcakes must be picked up from an East Vancouver location on Thursday afternoon.
BEER THANKS TO: Bomber Brewing (Vancouver), Bridge Brewing Company (North Vancouver), Dead Frog Brewery (Langley), Driftwood Brewery (Victoria), Mariner Brewing (Coquitlam), The Parkside Brewery (Port Moody), Persephone Brewing Company (Gibsons), Russell Brewing Company (Surrey), Strathcona Beer Company (Vancouver), Twin Sails Brewing (Port Moody), and Yellow Dog Brewing (Port Moody).
CUPCAKES THANKS TO: Cassandra Cake Co. (Port Coquitlam).
Orange you glad the food puns stopped? I mean that was just bananas. Imagine if we were sharp enough to throw in some kitchen puns - that would have been pan-demonium!
Have a rice day and we hope to see you Thursday!
Amanda Adams
Growing Chefs Program Director and Trivia Buff
Donor Profile: Mission Hill Family Estate
Connecting over a delicious meal and favourite beverage is something all of us have in common. We use this to offer comfort, make friends, celebrate special occasions, and show appreciation, gratitude and love. Food is more than just nourishment; it allows us to create memories and express our creativity. Through this experience we are able to go on a journey, connecting with different cultures, traditions and stories.
Pairing wine and food is deeply embedded in our culture, and is a way to not only enhance one’s dining experience, but tune in with your mood and the meal you are eating. Thanks to the continued support from Mission Hill Family Estate, we are able to deepen the relationships with our community members and celebrate the joy of connecting over local food and wine.
Thank you Mission Hill Family Estate for your wine sponsorship, and thank you Executive Chef Patrick Gayler for taking the time to introduce yourself to Growing Chefs!
How long have you been working at Mission Hill Family Estate?
7 years
As Executive Chef, what do you do?
I help the sous chefs source ingredients, make menus, and train new cooks in the restaurant. I also host culinary classes and dinners too.
What makes Mission Hill different from other B.C. wineries?
Our commitment to quality and the Okanagan.
What is the most exciting part of working at Mission Hill?
Being able to focus on putting together great ingredients and wine is always exciting.
What makes you proud to work for Mission Hill?
Seeing guests from all over the world enjoying our unique winery and valley .
What is your favourite vegetable?
Onion or potato. I could never pick just one.
What’s your favourite food memory?
Turkey dinner at my grandma’s house.
CLICK HERE to learn more about experiences offered at Mission Hill Family Estate.
Meet Brad Bodnarchuk of Half a Dozen Hospitality!
Growing Chefs! relies on so many individuals who contribute their time and money to ensure children have access to our programs. In Brad Bodnarchuk’s case, he contributes both, and more! Brad, of Half a Dozen Hospitality, is a restaurant consultant, podcast host, father, and jack-of-all-trades. Between the hours he spends with our program teaching kids about yummy vegetables and healthy food systems, and organizing delicious fundraisers to benefit our charity and others, we are humbled by his ongoing support of our mission and organization. Here’s your chance to get to know Brad!
What about Growing Chefs! resonates with you?
I’ve always been super intrigued by food and people, so right off the bat, this program fulfills that for me. Taking this another step further, I truly love having the ability to work with and teach children. As a father myself, I take a ton of pride in sharing what I know about food with my daughter; it has been the same with the kids I’ve been lucky enough to interact with at Growing Chefs! Giving back to the community and helping share my passion for food with these kids has grown my passion for food even further.
What is your favourite Growing Chefs! lesson?
That is a really tough one, since each lesson seems to have it’s own unique and special memory attached to it. If I had to pick one, it would have to be the first lesson when we help the kids plant seeds in the soil. There is something so cool and symbolic about that process and seeing how engaged the kids are with this lesson makes it really special. I feel that showing them how easy it is to do something such as growing peas or lettuce opens their eyes to the real possibilities of fresh and healthy food.
Do you have a garden at home?
We are so lucky to have some great outdoor space in East Vancouver that gets a ton of natural morning and afternoon sun that has helped us to grow herbs, lettuces, tomatoes, strawberries, and blueberries. It is a true luxury in the summer months to be able to hop outside to harvest some of your very own food that you planted just weeks before.
What's your favourite vegetable?
Easily the potato. So many different types that you can prepare in so many different ways. I don’t think I will ever get sick of potatoes.
What's your favourite seasonal recipe?
Seeing as it’s November at the moment, you can still get some pretty spectacular local beets. I am a sucker for what I call a Beet Poke Salad. Essentially, you are replacing the raw fish you would traditionally see in a Poke bowl with roasted beets! The flavours are incredible and it is probably one of my favourite dishes to make guests whenever we host a dinner - it’s usually a hit.
Earlier this year your business, Half a Dozen Hospitality, hosted a dinner to benefit Growing Chefs! Tell us a little more about the dinner and/or the work you do?
That dinner was such a great time! Admittedly, I had no real idea how it was going to turn out. At the time, the Half A Dozen Hospitality Dinner Series had never been done before so our Growing Chefs! dinner was the first of its kind. The premise for the dinners is pretty simple: we pair a local chef with a local farm, and host anywhere between 40 - 60 people for an incredible 6-course meal. The idea came to me as I was lying in bed one night! I thought about creating a platform to connect the awesome people I consult with in the hospitality industry with the community on more positively impactful level. I decided to commit to executing 6 dinners throughout 2019 - basically one every 8 weeks - and see how much money we could raise for different local charities. With each dinner, we take all of the profits and donate them to a local charity that has a food component to their program. Growing Chefs! was a natural fit for our first ever dinner, and we hope to work with you again in 2020.
Anything else you'd like to share?
Honestly, I’ve just been really impressed with the kids and their willingness to try almost anything… and also, really eating their vegetables! For me, growing up I wasn’t nearly as adventurous, nor did I want to eat a plate of vegetables, but these kids are asking for seconds and thirds! I think this is so great and is going to serve them well as they grow.
To anyone that has the time and the ability to volunteer to help Growing Chefs! or a program like it, I would strongly advise you do it. You will learn more about your community than ever before and you will, no doubt, take so much joy from seeing the smiling faces of the people that you have had such a positive impact on.
Brad, thank you so much for your time, passion for food, and great ideas! We can’t wait to work with you more in 2020!
Whole Foods Market: Supporting Growing Chefs! for ten years!
Whole Foods Market has been supporting Growing Chefs! since 2009 and tomorrow, their generosity stretches province-wide! All seven British Columbia locations of Whole Foods Market will generously donate 5% of net sales from the entire day to support our Classroom Gardening and Cooking program. Happy shopping!
P.S. This old Whole Foods Market feature post may look vintage on our old blog, but it’s worth checking out!
From Farms to Forks 10: Thank You
On October 6th, we hosted our 10th annual From Farms to Forks harvest kitchen party at Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts. Our guests wandered from kitchen to kitchen to watch chefs in action, meet growers, and enjoy delicious tasting plates - each paired with a different wine from Mission Hill Family Estate.
Click here to relive the menu and the pairings!
More photos to come soon!
Photo Credit: Kai Mallari
From Farms to Forks is Growing Chefs’ biggest fundraising event of the year and we hoped to raise $70,000 this year to support our 2019/2020 Classroom Gardening & Cooking Program. Our supporters helped us to exceed our goals and expectations and together, we raised:
Over $84,000!
Each year, our founder and chair of the board, Merri Schwartz, writes and reads a thank you poem at the event. This is From Farms to Forks 10:
Gather ‘round guests, we’ve some thanks to attend to,
Don’t fret! They’ll be brief! Off to eat we’ll soon send you.
First, thanks to you for attending tonight,
To see you all here is a most welcome sight.
Thanks PICA, for hosting us each year with grace,
Our event would not work save your most special space.
Chef Marc, Yves and Sylvia, Jen, and the rest,
Our most sincere thanks. You are simply the best!
Our Silver Thyme Sponsors: Whole Foods! Mission Hill!
Bushel Sponsors, the thanks in our cups will soon spill…
… Over! For there are so many to thank,
Farmers, chefs, restaurants, your work fuels our tank.
The farmers whose toil and whose gifts make us grateful,
The chefs who create and bring magic to table.
The classic bar duo you’ve all come to adore,
Dear Ange and dear David, now go forth and pour!
Growing Chefs! staff, you know truly no bounds,
The work you put into this simply astounds.
Thanks Board of Directors, you shape our vision,
Thanks for attending and for all you’ve given.
50 volunteers came to help us this evening,
The effortlessness of it all is deceiving!
On bar and on wine, on auction and door,
On service, on fundraising, and still there’s more!
Robbyn—you’ve swooped in to save us as always,
You nail it each time, please accept our praise!
Dear Fred and Margaret, we thank you each year,
And each time, like angel emcees you appear.
Peter Blitz for the sound and the mic in my hands,
Stania and Devi, your ticket-selling record still stands!
For the many supporters among us right now,
Adopt-a-classroom donors, please take a bow.
CIBC, Whole Foods, Telus, SVP, SpencerCreo,
Les Dames, Christopher Family Foundation, we’re all such big fans.
Our Champion Radishes—29 here this evening,
All auction donors whose items you’re scheming…
… To win! Go ahead, take a look, place your bids,
Thanks our young growing chefs representing the kids,
Artona, your patience is truly abounding,
Thanks for the printing, our thanks is resounding.
Bella Wines for the sparkling and Fiodesigns for… design!
We’ve mentioned Mission Hill, but thank god for wine.
And beer! Thanks for beer, too. From Fuggles & Warlocks,
And cocktails. Long Table will knock off your socks.
More beer still, Strange Fellows, and Phillips the soda,
You ensure that refreshment will exceed our quota.
Thanks Terra, like many, you’ve been with us for years,
Edible and Scout ensured our event reached your ears.
Grounds for Coffee, we thank you.
Hives for Humanity, merci.
Mahalo, Mavreen David, Kai Mallari, and Leila Kwok Photography.
For cheese, we say danke, to our friends at Les Amis.
Mink Chocolates, grazie, for answering our call,
Namasthé, we’d say thanks but your name says it all. (ha!)
From Pedersen’s the rentals, our annual set,
For our sweet raffle prize, let’s not miss WestJet.
And lastly, let’s cheer for a decade of this!
You’ve made From Farms to Forks an event not to miss.