Edible Vancouver Island Holiday 2022

Prefer a hot drink? Drive up Chemainus Road to Coffee Shack Saltair, which isn’t a shack at all but a spacious couch-filled café, where you can linger over an espresso, cappuccino or Americano. Also on Chemainus Road, Ma Maison is set in the Saltair Sta tion House, a former rail depot. Chef-owner Lauren Cartmel, who opened the farm-to-table tearoom in 2019, says that its location away from the main highway has made it something of a local hangout, especially outside of the summer season. Like other Island chefs, Cartmel looks to squashes, greens and heartier ingredients like cauliflower and pumpkin for her win ter menus. She might create a winter squash salad with feta cheese or a pumpkin bisque f lavoured with truff le cream. She enjoys baking different varieties of macaroni and cheese, quiche and pies. “I can’t wait for winter,” she says, as she looks forward to the holiday season, when she decorates the café and begins dreaming of peppermint lattes and gingersnap cookies. And of course, a holiday visit to the region would not be com plete without a date at the Chemainus Theatre Festival. The professional theatre puts on captivating shows throughout the year, and this year’s Christmas show is a holiday classic with a twist, called A Tiny Christmas Carol—a perfect way to get into the holiday spirit before diving into the rest of the festive decorations and delicious food in the area.

Top right: festive crepe from Ironworks Café & Crêperie. Bottom right: Old Town Bakery in the Christmas spirit, photo by Linda McBride. Bottom left: outdoor dome dining at Plantitude.

24 HOLIDAY 2022 EDIBLE VANCOUVER ISLAND