A workshop is being organized to help increase local food in restaurants and other foodservice establishments in Prince Edward Island. The day-long workshop, Developing Culinary Connections, is being held at the Charlottetown Seaport Event Centre on May 6. It is co-hosted by the Department of Agriculture and the ADAPT Value Chain Advisory Committee.
Wayne Oulton, a leading direct marketer in Nova Scotia, will talk about building relationships with restaurants, chefs and caterers. With his father and brother, he produces, processes and direct markets beef, chicken, turkey and other poultry, as well as deer, other exotics, and sheep under the Martock Glen Farms brand. They operate a farm market in Windsor, Nova Scotia and sell to restaurants and they direct market produce boxes to a significant number of homes in Halifax. They actively partner with the Slow Food Movement and with top chefs in the province. Recently, Oulton and his wife Nicole were selected as Atlantic Canada's Outstanding Young Farmers.
A panel of chefs from restaurants and another panel from foodservice institutions will speak on their experience with purchasing and serving local food on their menus.
Producers will be given the chance to display their products, develop relationships with chefs and other buyers and make sales for the upcoming season.
To showcase the high quality local food available, Chef Austen Clements of the Culinary Institute will be catering lunch using the Cuisine Machine.