From the island, and what's ahead this summer
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We just returned from Vancouver Island. A small group gathered for five days in Ucluelet and Tofino. There were memorable meals around a long table with the Pacific just outside the window, a chef foraging greens steps from the table, a surf day that built trust, time with a local artisan who had a way of looking at things that shifted the room, and unstructured space to deepen connections. Our team were the ones behind the scenes, making sure everything felt easy. That's what I love to do the most: take care of the details that make the difference without anyone noticing them. Coming back to the Lower Mainland in June feels like good timing. The valley is at its best right now, and there are a handful of things worth knowing about: Fort Langley: The Village Table runs Tuesday and Thursday mornings through the summer. If you've been meaning to get out with someone, a friend, a sister, visiting family, June still has open dates. Everything's included. You just show up. Chilliwack: The Downtown Table is running all summer alongside the Chilliwack Mural Festival, which kicks off June 15. Ten new murals, eleven artists. Our host Chris lives and breathes that world. It's a good reason to finally make the drive. ROOTED — Sarah's next public gathering is September 26 in Fort Langley at Tradish: The Ancestor Café. Seats are limited and book individually. If fall feels far away, private gatherings are available year-round. For groups, teams, or something custom, I'm taking a small number of private bookings for the rest of the season. If you have something in mind, reach out directly to me at lise@chewonthistastytours.com The ferry home from the island had its own surprises: A pod of orcas swimming alongside the boat. Sometimes the commute is the experience. Warmly, Lise View Fort Langley dates | View Chilliwack dates | Join Sarah at ROOTED |
Chew on This Tasty Tours
Six years ago, Chew On This began in Fort Langley. And this September, we will end one of our chapters there. Chef Sarah Meconse Mierau and I have been talking for some time about what this gathering is becoming, and Sarah felt the name ROOTED was no longer a fit. So ROOTED is becoming Nene. Nene is a Dene word connected to land. It feels like a fitting name for a gathering shaped by plants, food, story, and time shared around the table. What isn’t changing is the heart of the gathering....
We gathered for ROOTED yesterday with a small group of travel writers. Sarah shared some of the plant knowledge first.Then people blended tea, asked questions, and gathered for a meal. By the end, people were saying how relaxed and peaceful it felt. There’s a public ROOTED date on May 23 in Fort Langley. It’s one of three public dates we’re holding this year. View May 23 details We're currently designing a five-day retreat in Ucluelet and Tofino this June for a private group. And we're taking...
There are certain recipes that carry more than flavour. They carry memory. Growing up, Sunday dinner was the one day my mum made Indian food. If it were up to my dad, we would have had it much more often. My mum hadn’t learned to cook while growing up in India, so when she and my dad married, they went to the library together to learn how to cook the flavours of their childhood from cookbooks. Over time she typed many of those recipes out and passed them along to us. They now live in a purple...