Perched next to the Courtenay River stands a rustic heritage building, which is home to one of my favourite restaurants, Locals. When it opened in 2008, with award-winning chef Ronald St. Pierre at the reigns, it was the first restaurant in the city devoted to showcasing local food and drink.
When I eat at Locals, I am blown away by the quality and freshness of my food. My sister, who has travelled the world looking for the best dishes, mentioned to me that the wild sablefish at Locals was one of the best meals she has ever had. Locally-inspired cuisine can offer a unique dining experience, one that is not only tasty but also supports local economies and jobs.
We’re lucky to live in a part of the world that can boast such a delicious array of foods. Meats, honey, artisan cheeses, grains and greens, wine, cider and craft beer are all being produced right here in B.C. for our consumption.
In the Comox Valley, we’re very proud of West Coast Wild Scallops, 40 Knots Vineyard & Estate Winery, Big D’s Bees honey, and more. But across B.C., virtually every community has its own local businesses and products they’re proud of. This is not only a part of what makes a community, but also what helps those communities thrive.
Last year the Ministry of Agriculture’s Buy BC program made its return to restaurants, grocery stores, and farmers markets alike. With that program came the EAT DRINK LOCAL campaign, delivered in partnership with the British Columbia Restaurant and Food Services Association. EAT DRINK LOCAL serves to connect B.C. growers, producers, brewers and chefs with those who have an appetite for local flavours.
Delivering on our promise to bringing back Buy BC is just one of the ways we are connecting producers and consumers, and making it easier to identify made-in-B.C. products.
But never forget the key ingredient in successfully serving up high-quality, local foods: you.
Our farmers and producers take pride and joy in what they do, but they depend on your commitment to reach for B.C. whether you are walking the aisles of your grocery store or ordering off a wine list.
Locals has committed to bridging the consumer-producer gap. This gem of a restaurant will identify producers on the menu, to showcase them in a way that helps hungry restaurant-goers access the inherent community connection with the food they are ordering.
I hope we can achieve great things for local producers through the EAT DRINK LOCAL campaign. We need to grow our local economies by supporting these businesses, and there is no better, or tastier, way of doing that than indulging in local flavours.
There are many other restaurants and brewers in the Comox Valley participating in the EAT DRINK LOCAL initiate, and you can read about them here: