Are you bold and woodsy or mellow and fruity?

Why do we need a coffee profile? Well, much like how we choose different wines for different foods to create a memorable experience, coffee is another wonderful way to learn about our palates and taste preferences. Every person has a preferred blend, roast and pairing that best suits one’s individual taste and when we know our coffee profile, we choose coffees and pairings best suited to us and create a more enriching experience of the coffee and food we are savouring.

What is YOUR coffee profile? Coffee Profiles® are a combination of the intensity and flavour characteristics of the coffee you enjoy most. Intensity is determined by the beans’roast and flavours are built upon the  natural characteristics of the bean through factors such as cultivation methods, origin and terroir.

Van Houtte has identified six Coffee Profiles®, and each of them combines one of the three intensities: Mellow, Velvety or Bold, with one of the two flavour categories: Fruity or Woodsy.

The discovery of your very own Coffee Profile will enhance your daily coffee experience by identifying the coffees that best suit your palate. An easy way to find the ones you will most enjoy and explore their nuances with delight.

Are you Bold & Woodsy? Velvety & Fruity? Select your preferences in terms of intensity and flavours to discover your Coffee Profile.

Click here to discover your profile - START NOW

Coffee Ambassador Wendy Boys has teamed up with Van Houtte to create recipes to pair with your coffee profile.

CLASSIC ECLAIRS FILLED WITH VANILLA PASTRY CREAM AND CHOCOLATE GLAZE BY WENDY BOYS

SERVINGS: makes 36 – 3 inch éclairs

Choux Paste:
¾ cup water
¾ cup milk
½ cup butter
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1¼ cup flour
6 eggs

Heat the water, milk, butter, salt and sugar. Bring to a boil and dump in the flour all at once. Stir the mixture until it comes away from the sides of the pan. Transfer into mixer bowl and add the eggs one at a time, scraping down often. Pipe the batter into
rows onto parchment lined sheets.
Bake at 375°F for 12-16 minutes, rotating the pan at 5 minutes.
Remove from oven and test one éclair for doneness. Break one open and if it looks hollow and dry, remove from oven.
Transfer pastries to a cooling rack to bring to room temperature.

Caramel Cream – Makes about 2½ cups
1¼ cups milk
½ vanilla bean
3 large egg yolks
½ cup sugar
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 sheets gelatin, bloomed in ice cold water
1 cup whipping cream

In a medium-sized heatproof bowl, mix the sugar and egg yolks together. Stir the flour and cornstarch into the egg mixture, mixing until you get a smooth paste.
Meanwhile, in a saucepan bring the milk and vanilla bean just to boiling. Remove from heat and add slowly to egg mixture, whisking constantly to prevent curdling.
Remove vanilla bean, scrape out seeds, and add the seeds to the egg mixture. Then pour the egg mixture into a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until boiling, whisking constantly. When it boils, whisk mixture constantly for another 30 - 60 seconds until it becomes thick. Remove from heat and stir in gelatin. Pour into a plastic wrap-lined sheet tray and immediately cover the surface with another sheet of plastic wrap to prevent a crust from forming. Cool to room temperature. If not using right away refrigerate until needed, up to 3 days.
Whip the cream to medium peaks. Stir 1/3 of the whipped cream into the cooled pastry cream. Fold in the remaining whipped cream.

Chocolate Glaze
1 cup 65% dark chocolate
1/3 cup whipping cream
1/3 cup glucose or corn syrup
Bring the cream and glucose to a boil. Pour over the chocolate in a small bowl.Allow to sit for 5 minutes. Stir until shiny and smooth. Set aside until needed.

To serve:
Poke two small holes into the bottom of each éclair with the tip of a knife. Fill the éclairs with a generous amount of pastry cream through the small holes. Dip the tops of the filled éclairs into the chocolate glaze. Place on a tray to allow the glaze to set.
Sprinkle with a light dusting of cocoa powder.
The éclairs can be enjoyed immediately or refrigerated in a sealed container overnight. They make a great dessert for a dinner party or a delicious afternoon treat.
These éclairs pair well with Van Houtte’s “Velvety and Woodsy” blends of coffee.

For more recipes click here:

http://www.vanhoutte.com/en-ca/c-the-coffee-blog

Bella Gellateria Hot Cross Gelato with Cinnamon & Rum Soaked Raisins (this is how I imagine it looking as I have yet to get down to lick some)

Thierry Chocolates – Handcrafted Easter-themed Chocolates by Maître Chocolatier Thierry Busset and his expert team. Prices range from $9 to $200 and many chocolates are crafted in true Parisian style, such as chocolate fish and roosters, and of course Easter eggs.

Beta5 Easter Eggs - Layers of white and dark chocolate filled with pebbles such as sun-dried cherries, Macrona almonds and house-made pretzel bits.

Urban Tea Merchant - TEA Chocolates and Petit Fours from Divine Delights

Pink Spatula Marshmellows - The spring collection includes Toasted Coconut, Cherry Blosson, Lemon Meringue and Cocoa Mallow

Benton Brothers – Grown-up Easter Baskets with a selection of amazing cheese & charcuterie (my kind of Easter basket).

Thomas Haas Chocolates - The ultimate in Easter treats, Haas bakes up Easter stollen, crafts chocolate bunnies, lollipops, eggs and flowerpots.

Cupcakes – Cake Pops, Cupcakes and Cookies from Cupcakes

Soirette Macarons - Easter egg macarons

Mink chocolate – Easter Egg Unplugged Dark Chocolate Bar with Mango Puree filling

Terra Breads – Hot Cross Buns and French Macarons in lemon, espresso, and earl grey with black currant buttercream.

CocoaNymph - Peanut Butter Chocolate Eggs

Chocolate is the preferred ingredient when it comes to Easter eggs, and this year, Cocoa West Chocolatier of Bowen Island offers a stunning and delicious alternative to the mass market eggs that seem to spill from every retail shelf.

These unique sun-sculpted eggs, made with all organic ingredients, are works of art in chocolate, using the master’s techniques Cocoa West Chocolatier Joanne Mogridge has developed over the many years she’s been making her exquisite chocolates.

Mogridge says she first saw these unusual eggs in Barcelona, Spain, where its creator, Enric Rovira – inspired by the sculptural qualities of Spanish master architect Antoni Gaudi – began making them several years ago. The process involves setting the chocolate eggs in the sun to let its heat do the sculpting. It’s a precisely timed process that can only be done by hand. But Barcelona is likely sunnier than southern B.C. at this time of year, so even if the sun does hide behind the clouds here, Mogridge says she  has other tricks up her sleeve to make sure the eggs develop into beautiful sculptures.

The sun-sculpted eggs come in 4-inch ($26.75) and 6-inch ($46.75) sizes, sit in a charming chocolate nest adorned with chocolate twigs and are filled with her shop’s specialty, the Unbelievably Good Egg, a soft caramel and chocolate centre truffle rolled in toasted almonds, as well as foil-wrapped solid dark chocolate eggs.

Cocoa West truffles, chocolates and hot chocolate mixes have always been made with certified organic and fair-trade chocolate. They are also free of soy lecithin, a common emulsifying ingredient in many mass market and artisan chocolates, because of concerns about common allergies to soy, Mogridge says.

The special eggs are available at the Cocoa West on Bowen Island, at the Portobello West Market in Vancouver on March 24 and 25,  and online at cocoawest.com. There is an additional shipping charge for online orders.

About Portobello West Market: Created in 2006 by Carlie Smith and inspired by the famous artisan markets of Europe, Portobello West’s goal is to introduce Vancouver’s style-conscious shoppers to the creative artisans and designers working here. Now operating as a not-for-profit society headed up by a board of directors and a market manager, Portobello West remains Vancouver’s premiere fashion and art market. Portobello West Market, located at the Creekside Community Centre, launches its new season this weekend, March 24 & 25, 11 a.m. To 5 p.m.

 For more information, please contact Joanne Mogridge at Cocoa West Chocolatier, 604-947-2996 or email her at joanne@cocoawest.com.

To see a demonstration of sun sculpting eggs done by Enrik Rovira in Barcelona for Anthony Bourdain, check http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9N4RS9ow9DA.

Say “I Love You” The French Way, And Gluten Free! http://frenchmadebaking.com/en/

French macarons have been trending for a couple of years and are still high on the 2012 must-have list of every food lovers. If you wish to break free of traditional gift ideas for the upcoming Valentine’s Day and hit the (sweet) spot, these heart-shaped macarons baked by French Made Baking will do the trick. This limited edition will be available in the store at 81 Kingsway, Vancouver, from February 10 to 14 but it is recommended to pre-order.

Handcrafted with love by a Parisian-born baker, they are flavoured with all-natural rose water, crispy on the outside but smooth and chewy in the middle. They “melt in your mouth like a snowflake” as Sadie D., a customer, puts it. Made of almond meringue and buttercream they are naturally gluten free.

Before opening a brick-and-mortar location in December, this family-run Parisian-style bakery has gained the favours of Farmers’ and Bakers’ Markets shoppers with its baked goods over the last year. It has made a speciality of being creative with macarons, giving them a contemporary look while sticking to a very traditional recipe. Limited editions for Halloween, Movember and to show support to the Vancouver Canucks during the 2010 Stanley Cup Final all proved very popular.

Owners David and Catherine Introligator are driven by a common passion for good food and the desire to share it. They are convinced it is possible to recreate typical French pastries in Vancouver, just as good as they are in France, while sourcing most of the supplies locally. They have built a solid reputation with the macarons and canelés de Bordeaux but also offer all sorts of croissants, tarts and cakes in the store as well as macarons making classes.

Valentine’s Day macarons price (tax included): $2.25 each  /  6 for $12   /  12 for $22. Various packaging available.

The beginning of a new year makes most of us take a second look at our diet, vowing to eat more healthfully, and take better care of our bodies to fight disease. It’s surprisingly easy – all thanks to one little blue superfruit. There’s no better way to increase your antioxidant intake, support local growers and satiate your tastebuds than with BC blueberries!

Full of essential vitamins and minerals, including vitamin C, A and E, as well as potassium, calcium and magnesium, blueberries are an exceptionally sweet and delicious way for Canadians to achieve the Canada Food Guide recommendations to eat seven to 10 servings of fruit or vegetables every day. A 250 ml (1 cup) serving of blueberries – about the size of a tennis ball, contains 3.6 grams of dietary fibre, virtually no fat, and just 80 calories.

Over the past couple of decades, antioxidants have increasingly become the focus of health research. Antioxidants help neutralize harmful by-products in the body called ‘free-radicals’ that may lead to cancer and other age-related and degenerative illnesses. Researchers who ranked the antioxidant potential of 40 fresh fruits and vegetables found blueberries at the top of the list, earning them the nickname, ‘#1 superfood‘. This is due to the blueberry’s high content of polyphenols, the same types of compounds that provide the health benefits found in red wine and dark chocolate. In blueberries, the polyphenol that has most excited scientists is the same one that gives the blueberry its distinctive and wholly unique blue colour, a pigment called ‘anthocyanin’.*

New research has revealed additional anti-inflammatory benefits of the polyphenols that appear to greatly increase the disease-fighting power of the blueberry. Both antioxidant and the anti-inflammatory actions of polyphenols have been linked to a wide range of health benefits and improved treatment outcomes in a large number of age-related illnesses, including brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s** and Parkinson’s disease***, cardiovascular illnesses such as ischemic stroke^; metabolic syndrome, a frequent precursor to heart disease, stroke and diabetes^^; and improved urinary tract health.^^^

But the best news is how easy and delicious BC blueberries are to incorporate into your family’s daily diet, even in the middle of winter. So sweet that they’re known as “nature’s candy,” you can find them in the freezer aisle of your local grocery store year-round. Creating a healthy start to the day is a breeze – add an Apple, Pear and Blueberry Puree to your oatmeal, enjoy breakfast-on-the-go with a slice of Blueberry Oatmeal Breakfast Cake, or entertain a crowd with a Blueberry Breakfast Bake. Recipes for all three are below.

About the British Columbia Blueberry Council
The British Columbia Blueberry Council represents over 700 blueberry growers, located in some of Canada’s most rich and fertile farmland. Plantings of premium quality high bush blueberries top 8,100 hectares in British Columbia and produce upwards of 40 million kilograms of blueberries annually. With more than $1 billion in sales in the past five years, Canada is the third largest producer of sweet and juicy highbush blueberries in the world. Available fresh in BC from July through October, delicious BC blueberries are also frozen, dried, juiced, pureed and powdered, available for year round-distribution throughout Canada and around the world.

BC BLUEBERRY RECIPES

Apple Pear and Blueberry Puree

Ingredients

• 1 small, sweet apple, peeled, cored and diced
• ½ ripe pear, peeled, cored and diced
• 4 oz (½ cup) fresh blueberries

Method

• Remove any stems from the blueberries, then place all the ingredients in a small saucepan.
• Just cover with water and simmer gently for approximately 5 mins, until all fruits are tender.
• Drain (reserving the cooking water), then transfer the ingredients to a blender and puree until smooth. Use the reserved cooking liquid to thin the puree, if necessary.

Makes: 1 ½ cups

Blueberry Oatmeal Breakfast Cake

Ingredients

• 1 ⅓ cups flour
• ¾ cup quick-cooking oats
• ⅓ cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoons salt
• ¾ cup milk
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1 cup frozen blueberries

Method

• Preheat oven to 400°F.  Grease an 8-inch round baking pan; set aside.  In a medium mixing bowl combine flour, oats, sugar, baking powder and salt.
• In a 1-cup measure stir milk, oil and egg; pour all at once into flour mixture.  Stir just until moistened (batter will be lumpy).
• Fold in frozen blueberries; spoon batter into prepared pan.  Bake until cake is golden and pulls away from sides of pan 20 to 25 minutes.
• Cool on a rack, 5 to 10 minutes.  Serve warm.

* When baking, frozen blueberries should be very firm.

Makes: 8 portions

Blueberry Brunch Bake

Ingredients

• 1 loaf (450 g) sliced, firm white bread, crusts removed
• 2 cups (500 ml) frozen (not thawed) blueberries, divided
• 4 ounces (100 g) light cream cheese, cut in 1/4-inch cubes
• 4 large eggs
• 2 cups (500 ml) low-fat milk
• ¼ cup (50 ml) sugar
• ¼ teaspoon (1 mL) salt
• ¼ teaspoon (1 mL) ground cinnamon

Method:

• Butter an 8-inch (20 cm) square baking dish; set aside.
• Cut bread in 1/2-inch (1.25 cm) cubes.
• Layer half the bread cubes and half the blueberries in prepared baking dish; sprinkle with all the cream cheese; cover with remaining bread cubes and blueberries.
• In a bowl, combine eggs, milk, sugar, salt and cinnamon; pour over bread.
• Gently press bread down to absorb milk mixture; refrigerate, covered at least 20 minutes or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C).
• Bake, uncovered, until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean, about 1 hour.
• Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Slice in 8 rectangles; serve with maple syrup, if desired.

Makes: 8 portions

]]> http://goodlifevancouver.com/sweet-bc-blueberries-healthy-recipes/feed/ 0 http://goodlifevancouver.com/quick-and-easy-fall-meals-snacks-and-desserts-featuring-the-best-of-b-c-blues/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=quick-and-easy-fall-meals-snacks-and-desserts-featuring-the-best-of-b-c-blues http://goodlifevancouver.com/quick-and-easy-fall-meals-snacks-and-desserts-featuring-the-best-of-b-c-blues/#comments Thu, 03 Nov 2011 17:46:29 +0000 cassandra http://goodlifevancouver.com/?p=13171 FRESH OR FROZEN BC Blueberries ARE ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS

Pull those frozen blueberries out of the freezer or pick up a few bags of locally grown from the grocery store.  It’s time to liven up meal time with one of B.C.’s best crops.  Frozen blueberries are perfect for quick breads, pancakes and desserts. They also add depth, colour and flavour to savory entrées. Beautiful blueberry sauces, spreads, marinades and chutneys present all kinds of meal options.

Mix up a batch of moist and seemingly decadent pumpkin blueberry loaf.  Consider a blueberry chutney, brie and grilled chicken sandwich – hearty, healthy and soooo delicious.  Warm up and fill up the family with blueberry-onion pork tenderloin.    Top the evening off with a classic blueberry betty or put a blue twist on an old favourite with blueberry rice pudding parfait.    Visit the B.C. Blueberry website for these, and many more, great recipes.

It’s pretty hard to top the ease and health benefits of cooking with B.C. blueberries – fresh or frozen.  Every half-cup serving represents one of the seven to ten recommended daily servings of fruit and vegetables by the Canada Food Guide.

Considered one of the leading “Superfruits” by North American researchers, the known health benefits of these little beauties continue to grow.  Absolutely loaded with antioxidants and bursting with tannins, eating blueberries is extremely beneficial – helping to stave off cancer, aging, heart disease, urinary tract infections and more.

British Columbians can feel good about BC blueberries for so many reasons.  Buying local means supporting over 700 Lower Mainland farmers who proudly represent one of the world’s largest blueberry growing regions as the rest of the planet continues to discover the “taste good-feel good” effects of BC blueberries.

About the British Columbia Blueberry Council

The British Columbia Blueberry Council represents over 700 blueberry growers, located in some of Canada’s most rich and fertile farmland. Plantings of premium quality high bush blueberries top 8,100 hectares in British Columbia and produce upwards of 40 million kilograms of blueberries annually. With more than $1 billion in sales in the past five years, Canada is the third largest producer of sweet and juicy highbush blueberries in the world. Available fresh in BC from July through October, delicious BC blueberries are also frozen, dried, juiced, pureed and powdered, available for year round-distribution throughout Canada and around the world.

BLUEBERRY-ONION SAUCED PORK TENDERLOIN

Serves 4

Ingredients:

3/4 to 1 pound pork tenderloin

2 tablespoons butter, divided

2 medium onions, sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup port wine or sweet sherry
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 cup chopped cherry tomatoes

Directions:

Preheat broiler.
Broil pork, turning occasionally, until cooked through, about 20 minutes.
Remove to a platter, cover to keep warm.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter.
Add onions, salt and pepper; cook until onions are golden, about 10 minutes.
Add sugar; cook until onions are caramelized, 3 minutes longer
Add port wine or sherry, balsamic, blueberries and tomatoes, bring to a boil.
Remove from heat.
Thinly slice pork and serve with sauce.

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Lesley Stowe Fine Foods’ products are now available in more than 4,000 stores across Canada and the United States

 Following successful expansion in the US and widespread availability in more than 4,000 stores across North America, Lesley Stowe, the creator of Raincoast Crisps, is adding a new addition to her specialty foods product family with today’s launch of Raincoast Cookies—a new line of all-natural, gourmet cookies.

What began as a small Vancouver catering business 25 years ago, Lesley Stowe Fine Foods has grown into a team of 60 employees with unprecedented 20 per cent year-over-year growth.

Like the signature Raincoast Crisps, the new cookies are available in a variety of flavours packed with all-natural ingredients including chicory root, flax seed and chia, and are fully manufactured and distributed from the company’s 20,000-square-foot facility in Richmond, BC.

“We built Lesley Stowe Fine Foods on the guiding principle of never compromising the quality of the ingredients or the integrity of the brand,” says Lesley Stowe, founder and CEO. “Our Raincoast Cookies stay true to that promise—they are baked in small batches with only the finest ingredients. It took us a couple years to bring them to market, but we think it was worth the wait.”

Available in three varieties—Apricot Ginger and Slivered Almond, Cranberry Hazelnut, and Chocolate Cherry Pecan to start—Raincoast Cookies are sold at fine food retailers throughout BC, including Urban Fare, and will be coming soon to Whole Foods Market. They are high in fibre and protein, and provide a healthier alternative to other snack foods on the market.

“More than ever, consumers are looking for great-tasting, well-balanced snacks to accommodate their busy lifestyles, which is why we created the Raincoast Cookie,” says Stowe. “We are very fortunate to have a strong and loyal customer base that continues to grow, and this has allowed us to expand across North America and now offer this delicious new product line.”

The Raincoast Cookie will initially be distributed in BC and then rolled out more broadly across Alberta and Ontario by the end of the 2011. More product information is available at LesleyStowe.com.

About Lesley Stowe

Lesley Stowe is a Parisian-trained chef who began her catering company 25 years ago in Vancouver. A culinary pioneer, Lesley helped to develop and refine the palettes of Vancouverites with her specialty fine foods store. The store’s success, combined with Lesley’s ability to predict and capitalize on food trends, resulted in the creation of Raincoast Crisps – a revolutionary snack food beyond compare. Also the author of her own cookbook, the Lesley Stowe Fine Foods Cookbook, Lesley is a regular contributor to other popular cookbooks including The Girls Who Dish series.

NORTH AMERICA’S FIRST AND ONLY WINE-SWIGGING BEEF LAUNCHES DISTRIBUTION ACROSS CANADA IN TIME FOR BBQ SEASON

In perfect time to hit the grill this summer, North America’s first and only wine-fed beef has officially launched distribution. Found in the kitchens of fine restaurants and butchers across Canada, Sezmu Meats treats their happy cows with a litre of red wine for a full 60 days before they are finished. The result; a tender, more flavourful meat that promises to whet the appetites of meat lovers everywhere.

Based, naturally, in the heart of British Columbia’s wine growing region, the company was founded by farmers Darrel Timm and sister Janice Ravndahl. Inspired by chef Gordon Ramsay who fed beer to his pigs, Ravndahl opted for wine being made right at her doorstep in the Okanagan Valley to enhance the meat of her Red Angus cattle. Enjoying a blend of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and shiraz wine, the hormone-free cattle range happily in the Okanagan pastures before they move to the feedlot for their wine-swigging program. Only because serving organic wine is cost prohibitive, the cattle can’t be labelled organic.

Under the expert guidance and fine palate of renowned chef Michael Allemeier, Timm and Ravndahl found the perfect formula and Sezmu Meats was born. Named after the Egyptian God of wine, Sezmu has tempted the taste buds of chefs who appreciate the meat both for its flavour and the fact that the meat is raised locally from a small farm operation.

“What stands out to me the most when I’ve cooked Sezmu beef is the rich flavour that is developed from the cattle being wine fed. My favorite cut to cook is the rib-eye. No need to marinate the Sezmu, just use salt and pepper and allow the natural flavour of the beef to come through,” says David Robertson at the Dirty Apron Cooking School.

Restaurants that proudly serve Sezmu Meat on its menu include Chambar Restaurant and the Four Seasons in Vancouver, as well as Aura at the Nita Lake Lodge in Whistler. Those who want to throw a Sezmu steak on the grill at home can purchase product at The Dirty Apron Cooking School and Delicatessen and Market Meats in Vancouver, and The Cup Bistro in Squamish amongst others.

Based in Kelowna, British Columbia, Suzmu Meats produces hormone free, wine-fed beef to fine restaurants and butchers. For more information, call 250-681-0580 or visit our website at www.sezmumeats.com.

With harvest tours and the upcoming B.C. Shellfish Festival, the world is your oyster this summer on Vancouver Island.

Eating an oyster from the waters around Vancouver Island is a way to taste the mysteries of the Pacific Ocean in a single bite. Oysters owe much of their particular qualities – flavor, size, color, shell shape – to the salinity level and depth of the water in which they are raised. Interestingly, though each of the 12 varieties of oyster from Vancouver Island has its own very distinct qualities, they all originate from the same seed, further underlining the importance of water depth and salinity in their flavor profile.

Consider the Kusshi. Named after the Japanese word for “ultimate” or “precious,” this perfect bivalve is now one of the most sought-after oysters in the world. Raised by only one shellfish grower, Keith Reid of Stellar Bay Shellfish in Vancouver Island’s Comox Valley region, this small (just over five cm) oyster is raised in deep trays, and an aggressive tumbling process after harvest smooths any frills off the unusually deep cup of its midnight-purple shell, making it easy to shuck without any breakage. The taste? A perfect balance of ultra-clean brackishness and a fresh, almost floral flavor, with a meaty mouthfeel due to the slight stress tumbling.

Chef Robert Clark of Vancouver’s C Restaurant , a global reference point for shellfish cuisine, calls the Kusshi a “little package of joyous oyster meat.” Clark often includes the Kusshi and its larger version, the Stellar Bay Gold, on his restaurant’s prized tasting menus. But as co-founder of the Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Wise program, Clark loves Kusshi and other Vancouver Island oysters for their sustainability as well as their unbeatable flavor. “What I love about B.C. shellfish is that they’re a very well-monitored food source. Every oyster I serve is tagged, so I know where, when and how it was grown. Each Kusshi came from Keith, I can be sure of that.”

Oysters are fascinating as well as delicious; a visit to an oyster lease is a great way to understand the ocean as a living organism and better appreciate how these tasty bivalves spend their lives before we squirt them with lemon and down them with mignonette. The B.C. Shellfish Growers Association has mapped out a tour of Vancouver Island’s 12 oyster harvests, including five in close proximity to one another in gorgeous Comox Valley: The leases where Mac’s Beach, Fanny Bay, Kusshi, Komo Gway and Chef’s Creek oysters are harvested are within a few minutes’ drive from each other, and many, including Stellar Bay, offer tours for the public.

The B.C. Shellfish Festival in mid-June, which includes a chowder contest, an oyster-shucking contest and an open-air Chef’s Dinner, is also a great occasion to sample B.C. oysters and other shellfish, including clams, geoduck, sea cucumbers, mussels, urchins and other delicacies particular to Vancouver Island’s waters. Chef Clark of C is planning a dish consisting of one perfect, still-living Qualicum Bay scallop on the half-shell passed under the broiler and covered in piping-hot dashi seaweed broth.

“It’s a dish that fits the mood and fits the occasion,” he says. “We have access to the best shellfish in the world, so I want to take the product into account and showcase its delicateness and sweetness – I want to play with it as little as possible.”

Getting here

B.C. Shellfish Festival , June 17–18, 2011, Comox, 250-890-7561, bcshellfishfestival.ca
Stellar Bay Seafood , 7400 West Island Hwy., Bowser, 250-757-9304, stellarbay.ca
BC Ferries , 1-888-BC-FERRY (1-888-223-3779), bcferries.com
Comox Valley Tourism, 1-888-357-4471, discovercomoxvalley.com
Tourism British Columbia , 1-800-HELLO-BC (1-800-435-5622), hellobc.com

“Natural HARDBITE Chips - a superior taste – minimally processed, artisan hand-crafted in the region for the region. We are not a mega corporation, nor a foreign conglomerate. We are approachable. We all live and work here. The fact that quality pays is both our biggest chance and our greatest challenge,” states Sepp Amsler, Owner and President of Hardbite Potato Chips.

The contest has two parts.

(1)     Rename the Hardbite product line.

(2)     Redesign the logo and bag.

There are seven flavours: All Natural, Barbeque, Rock Salt and Vinegar, Jalapeno, Wild Onion and Yogurt, Canadian Cheddar and Roasted Onion and Creamy Coconut and Curry. Participants are encouraged to be daring and creative with the renaming process. For part two, the sky is the limit. This is a fantastic opportunity for designers who want to add a high profile client to their portfolio. Winners will be chosen by a panel of carefully selected judges.

The contest winner of Part 1 will be given full credit and recognition in a press release, awarded a 2-night stay at a Canadian Fairmont Property and sent a year’s supply of Hardbite. The contest winner of Part 2 will also be given full credit and recognition in a press release, awarded a $1,000.00 and a 2-night stay at a Canadian Fairmont Property in addition to being sent a year’s supply of Hardbite. The contest begins February 21, 2011 and closes on June 21, 2011.

Some interesting points:

• Hardbite is an award-winning artisan chip, but it is so different than regular potato chips that it shouldn’t be called a potato chip at all. 
• Hardbites are chemical free. Only natural ingredients are used.
• True kettle chip with an outstanding crunch
• High in potassium, vitamin C. Source of folacin, iron and dietary fibre.
• ‘All Natural’ flavor has only 30 mg of sodium per serving portion-competing brands range from 150-620 mg.
• Flavoured with Himalayan crystallized salt, which formed millions of years ago. and is in its original wholesome, unaltered natural form. This salt is so powerful that only half the amount of salt is needed.
• 100 mile compliant. Only uses locally grown chipper potatoes.

Hardbite is readily available in most health and natural lifestyle food stores, as well as in the Natural/Organic Section of large retail chains. For contest details visit http://www.vancitybuzz.com/ For more information on Hardbite Potato Chips go to www.homegrownfoods.com