Here I am!
My son Julian and I on this year's Italy tour. Julian is now living and cooking in Montreal!
To all my valued customers and friends,
After 16 years of living on a farm in the Cowichan Valley, I am now happily settled in to a simpler life in Victoria B.C. I am living in the lower half of my heritage home in the funky neighborhood of Fernwood, close to theaters, shops, restaurants, movies and the ocean, never more than a few minutes away in Victoria!
Luckily, a great new kitchen shop which offers cooking classes, Cook Culture, opened in Victoria the fall of 2010 and I am happy to say I am offering many new classes there, from my annual hands on series of basics and advanced classes to classes on Italian techniques to my continued exploration of the possibilities of cooking with local Vancouver Island foods. For a full line up of classes, please check the Cook Culture website.
I am also excited to announce that my farm based, culinary bootcamps will be taking place at beautiful Foxglove Farm on Saltspring Island. I am thrilled and honoured to be working with Michael and Jean Marie Ableman on this unique and beautiful farm with some of the best organically grown produce. Please see the details below and sign up soon to avoid disappointment!
I may have started the new year with an empty calendar but it is now starting to feel quite full! I am, however, willing to consider private catering in Victoria, culinary or agritourism consulting or speaking engagements for an honourarium. Please contact me at mara@marajernigan.com if you have a request. I am currently in the process of changing from my previous blog site, www.farmchefblog.com to a new www.marajernigan.com website where you will find future updates.
Many of you have asked if I will continue to lead my culinary tours in Italy and the answer is a resounding yes! I’ll be sending out details with the exact dates, but generally, the tours start around the 3d week of October in the north. I am also currently working on the details of a special week of cooking in Puglia at the villa of my wonderful friend, chef Peppe Zullo.
After 10 years I still continue to be involved in the International Slow Food movement, currently serving as slow Food Canada president, and continue to work and network with this incredible global community to support local food and agriculture. Don’t hesitate to contact me with your Slow Food questions!
Finally, after many years of working with some fantastic gardeners, WOOFERS and staff on a large and varied agricultural property, I am now looking forward to a little backyard garden in Fernwood! Without a busy summer season of hosting guests, ironically, I may actually have the opportunity to spend more time working in the garden then I have had since the first year I moved to the Cowichan! Looking forward to keeping in touch,
Mara