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What I Learned About Eating Local in West LorneĀ 

20/7/2015

 

I picked up a few 'outrageous' lessons in local food when I traveled to Southwest Ontario to the Art and Cookery Bank.

Update in 2021: The Art and Cookery Bank is now closed. I hope this exciting space will soon find new life. In the meantime, please enjoy this post as an example of how creative the community of West Lorne, Ontario, really is.

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It's not everyday you're invited to a food fight, especially one that takes place in a barn that's over 130 years old! But West Lorne, Ontario, is anything but your usual destination. The community manages to walk the fine line between preserving the past and focusing on heritage while still moving forward with a modern style and focus. And their location in the heart of southwest Ontario's farmlands means that local food is at the heart of all that they do - including the odd food fight!

The local food movement may just be the biggest culinary trend in the world, but there's still a lot to learn about what it really means. And West Lorne was ready to teach me some crucial lessons.

Rural doesn't mean boring.

Arts and Culinary Bank Food Fight West Lorne Ontario
Arts and Culinary Bank Food Fight West Lorne Ontario
Do you associate rural attractions and products with sleepy villages and play-it-safe flavours? The Arts and Cookery Bank will change all of that! A combination of a 1914 Bank of Montreal building and a restored timber barn from 1883, The Bank brings visual and culinary arts together for a little "food and foto" magic. 
The Cookery West Lorne
While I loved the heritage photos on display, I have to say I was captivated by the cookery side of The Bank. Imagine the most gorgeous kitchen in the world, with the most modern of tools and ingredients, in the most idyllic rural setting.  Their recent "Food Fight" - a week long, black box cooking competition, produced some 'definitely not your grandma's' results. 

During the Food Fight event, we had the opportunity to sample all of the concoctions and my favourite was #1, a creamy, two layered dish that listed vanilla and pistachios. And with a little luck, soon you'll be able to try it too! The Bank is turning all of some of these outrageously good products into an Outrageously Rural product line - hopefully by 2016 you'll be able to take the best of the cookery home with you!

To everything there is a season.

Arts and Culinary Bank Food Fight West Lorne Ontario
Arts and Culinary Bank Food Fight West Lorne Ontario
We all know that there's a peak season for berries and tomatoes, but did you know that everything we eat has a season? This was a huge takeaway for me from the culinary session I attended with Chef Jeffery Crump during the West Lorne Food Fight. There's an ideal season for things you can easily find in the grocery store year round, like apples and oranges, and there's even a season for meat and fish. 

So how do you figure out the ideal season for your favourite foods? It's easy. A food is in season when you can find it in its original form from a local source. And the more local the food, the better it will taste. Eating food in season, when you can obtain it locally, is a sure way to enjoy a delicious treat - like the amazing blueberry tarts I had! 

There's more to local than just 'rustic'.

Arts and Culinary Bank Food Fight West Lorne Ontario
When you picture 'local food', chances are you picture a very rustic looking dish - maybe some chunky stewed tomatoes, roughly crumbled cheese, or coarsely chopped bread. And I'd happily eat all three! But just because food is locally sourced doesn't mean it can't be sophisticated. 

One of the other culinary demonstrations I attended was hosted by Chef Stephanie Brewster, who made homemade steamed buns, roasted duck, and quick pickled cucumbers. It definitely crossed the line from rustic to fancy! It also introduced me to three new ingredients I had never tried before. I'm not sure it's something I'd eat every day, but I would definitely have it again.

When you save memories, you save heritage. 

Arts and Culinary Bank Food Fight West Lorne Ontario
The idea of making homemade pasta used to be something that filled me with dread - and I consider myself a pretty ambitious cook. So when Chef Emily Richards said that her ricotta recipe called for two or three cups of flour I felt myself breaking out in a cold sweat.  What's all this crazy talk about two OR three cups of anything? Shouldn't recipes be exact?

Turns out, Chef Emily knows what she's talking about and she's right about something else - you just need to get in the kitchen and cook. You never know what the future holds and I was so touched by her stories of collecting recipes from her elderly family members. The instructions may not be precise but there's no replicating the love that comes from a tested and true hand-me-down. The Bank shares this philosophy and it offers culinary classes that help to preserve heritage recipes and techniques. 

This "Bank" has plenty of riches to share.

Arts and Culinary Bank Food Fight West Lorne Ontario
West Lorne doesn't quite count as being off the beaten track however it's not necessarily a destination you'd naturally stumble upon. But chances are, it's a lot closer than you think. It's less than an hour from London, Ontario, and just a few hours from Toronto or Detroit. It's the perfect destination for local food enthusiasts and a visit to The Arts and Cookery Bank is one bank stop that always brings riches. 

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Time for you to weigh in! What does local food mean to you?


If you're in southwest Ontario, here's what else you should check out.


London Eats Local at this Farmers Market
​​
Hotel Review: London's Hotel Metro

Fiesta Flavors and Fun in London, Ontario

My visit to West Lorne was sponsored by The Arts and Cookery Bank and I thank them for their support.


Lian
23/7/2015 02:40:41 am

Local food means freshly grown and prepared food within a certain region. You are right, there is nothing boring about local food. It is great to see everything that can to made with the food that is produced within Ontario.

Vanessa
23/7/2015 02:52:23 am

It's amazing how much food is produced in Ontario - I've seen canola oil, peanuts, hops, lavender.

Ladena link
23/7/2015 04:46:05 am

What a great experience! Local food is so important to me. My family always goes to farmer's markets to buy fruits and veggies. I would love to go to a similar cooking class in my city. It sure makes you appreciate the food grown in your region.

Vanessa
23/7/2015 05:21:18 am

It really does - when you see where your food comes from, you appreciate it so much more.

Randa @ TBK link
23/7/2015 05:22:54 am

I love to support the local guys because most of the time, they're supporting local farmers! I also find that you get a whole experience with local restaurants as well.

Vanessa
23/7/2015 02:25:08 pm

Absolutely - it's great when the restaurants get in on the scene!

Ourfamilyworld link
23/7/2015 05:57:23 am

I love local food and it's not boring at all. Rustic? Oh no. You can do so much with locally grown food.

Vanessa
23/7/2015 02:26:02 pm

I agree - you can do as much with local food as with anything in a supermarket.

heatherlynne link
23/7/2015 06:40:32 am

This post has my mouth watering. What a neat looking place!

Vanessa
23/7/2015 02:26:27 pm

It's a really amazing building!

Crystal @ HelloCreativeFamily link
23/7/2015 07:02:30 am

Oh my goodness! Your food experiences look SO GOOD. We have great restaurants that serve local food in Vancouver. I love hearing about how the chefs go down to granville island or to the farmer's markets in the morning to pick up the best local produce, fish and meat!

Vanessa
23/7/2015 02:27:13 pm

One cool thing about the local food movement is that a chef in rural Ontario can have so much in common with a chef from Vancouver - local isn't limited to any one particular setting.

Tracy Antonioli link
23/7/2015 11:08:28 am

And...now I'm hungry AGAIN! Thanks, Vanessa!

Also, agreed on the pasta recipe. In many things, precision isn't necessary. But pasta? I'd be weighing that flour. I have issues.

Vanessa
23/7/2015 02:28:23 pm

I learned something really cool about flour when I was there. You should never 'tap' your measuring cup to settle the flour. Doing so will add up to 25% more flour to a recipe. Instead, you need to heap the flour over the rim of a measuring cup and then level off using a knife. Who knew?

Natasha link
25/7/2015 04:17:10 am

I'd love to take a class like that. There's no better place to learn about the local food culture than right in the kitchen.

Vanessa
25/7/2015 08:45:52 am

I learned so many cooking tips just by sitting in on the demos - it was such a fun experience.

Carol Colborn
25/7/2015 05:28:48 am

I will not look at a bank in the same way as before. Local food will always be interesting because they do things a little differently than what we are used to. I wish they had something like this in all the places we visit.

Vanessa
25/7/2015 08:53:11 am

I love how they have converted an old building into having a new purpose. I wish more towns could embrace the potential of older structures!

Vourneen | Words About Travel link
25/7/2015 06:34:47 am

I'm a big fan of local food, I think it is a great way to connect to a place.

Vanessa
25/7/2015 08:58:46 am

It really is!!

Brianna link
25/7/2015 11:23:00 am

Eating locally is something I strive to do no matter where I travel. Discovering new foods is part of the reason I travel!

Vanessa
26/7/2015 03:50:05 am

Me too! Even just discovering different preparation methods of familiar ingredients can be really rewarding too.

Mags link
25/7/2015 02:53:26 pm

I try to eat local foods as much as possible when traveling. It's a great way to learn about a place and it's people... except when in Iceland, I just couldn't stomach rotten shark! Luckily, this looks A LOT better lol.

Vanessa
26/7/2015 03:50:51 am

I too would pass on the shark! I think loving local food doesn't mean you have to enjoy all of it - just being open to trying new things is great.

jen link
25/7/2015 02:55:17 pm

I completely agree that eating locally sourced food in season is the best way to go. The food tastes so much better and can be quite a bit less expensive too. Win-win

Vanessa
26/7/2015 03:52:01 am

I remember one summer I went to pick up a cauliflower at the market- they cost just $1 a head. And they were SO huge I was giving away huge hunks of it to my friends. Some people show up with wine, some people show up with bags filled with cauliflower chunks...

Dana link
25/7/2015 10:19:12 pm

You're right, there is nothing boring about local food. Some local foods have been the best I've ever eaten. This looks like a great culinary lesson and it's something I think my kids would even enjoy.

Vanessa
26/7/2015 03:53:07 am

The Arts and Culinary Bank runs a lot of programs for kids, including a culinary boot camp, and they don't hold back. Kids even learn about trimming meat and butchering different cuts of meat, just like a real chef.

Dariece Swift (Goats On The Road link
26/7/2015 07:33:18 am

This looks like an incredible place! I've never been to Ontario, but when I go, we'll have to check out this culinary delight. I love the "food fight" idea, and totally thought it was actually a food fight lol. It seems like you learned a lot and were able to participate a good amount as well - looks awesome!

Cheers.

Vanessa
28/7/2015 08:22:54 am

I think the food fight name is so clever - it catches your eye because you think of a traditional food fight! But rest assured, no one is throwing anything here.

Vicky and Buddy link
27/7/2015 10:36:45 am

I really thought I was going to see pictures of people covered in food because of the "food fight" lol This was probably better though, less to clean up ;) And I think it's cool that they'll be making their own product line. 2016 isn't that far away!

Vanessa
28/7/2015 08:24:06 am

Very true - less clean up, much more eating! I can't way to try out some of their products in the new year!


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