Local Food: Charting a course of B.C. Eating

Eating local is all the rage at Vancouver restaurants, and now home chefs can join the trend by stocking their pantries with an abundance of food items sourced right here in B.C.

Sticky birch tree syrup, jam made from hand-picked huckleberries and dried morel mushrooms foraged from fire-ravaged forests are some of B.C.’s exceptional edibles you’ll find packed into a corner of the Granville Island Public Market.

“Edible B.C. started out as a culinary concierge service helping people experience the best of B.C. from a restaurant perspective,” says Eric Pateman, company founder, president and chef. Pateman opened his store in the Public Market seven months ago with partner and pastry chef Cecelia Yong. The company expanded its offerings beyond the store to include guided gourmet kayak trips, cooking classes and chef-led market tours of Commercial Drive, Chinatown and Granville Island.

“I spent eight weeks in the Okanagan travelling and looking for unique products,” says Pateman, who has sourced what he terms the “best in class.” Edible B.C. carries more than 450 artisan food products from all corners of B.C.

The shop’s stock reads like a cartographer’s cornucopia of B.C.’s best. Olga’s Blackberry Concentrate (Nanaimo) is “fabulous for putting in martinis.” Vista D’Oro’s artisanal jams (Langley), including Turkish Fig and Walnut Wine or Green Heirloom Tomato with Garam Masala (which pairs perfectly with pork belly or grilled scallops, says Pateman) sit alongside aged balsamic vinegars from Maison Côté (Vancouver).

Shoppers can samplealmost anything in store, or join one of the bimonthly classes where Pateman and Yong or guest chefs prepare five different dishes paired with B.C. wines.