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.
