Chef on a Bike: A Joyful Culinary Tour
Sea Sites & Salty Bites
Culinary tours come in all shapes and sizes, from afternoon heli-wine trips, to delicious city walking tours and comfortable guided bus excursions. Each and every one is the result of careful planning and hours of organization - researching the best local eateries, building relationships with business owners, managing opening and closing times, distances between one another, and capacities during specific times.
But if you're interested in something slightly more active, and a bit more joyful, then you'll want to know about Island Joy Rides. Based out of Campbell River and the Comox Valley, Island Joy Rides operates supported bike and kayak trips, all with some sort of a food component. As owner Laurel Cronk exclaims, "how can a bike tour not include food if you're on Vancouver Island?" And so we joined Laurel and her team on their recent Chef on a Bike tour.
Chef on a Bike
As this was one of the Chef on a Bike tours, Executive Chef Richard Benson from Kingfisher Oceanside Resort & Spa joined us for the ride and provided commentary at each of our foodie stops.
The day began with snacks, of course, as we each loaded a goodie bag with trail mix and treats for energy throughout the day. A leisurely ride through the historic Chinese and Japanese settlements near Cumberland brought us to Dark Side Chocolates for an informative discussion about organic, fair trade chocolate and a taste of their amazing truffles - with flavours like mango, lavender, mojito, and salted caramel there was something for everyone.
Continuing our ride, we were excited to visit Comox Valley Mushrooms, a recent addition to the local farming community, where Stoyan and Galina are cultivating shiitake, oyster, and lion's mane mushrooms. We were again spoiled as we tasted their garlic sauteed lion's mane, pickled oyster mushrooms, fresh apple juice from Watrin Orchard and Galina's traditional Bulgarian Banitsa.
Oysters by the Bay
As we slogged onwards (read: "a scenic downhill ride on back country roads for about 5 km"), we were escorted to a private beach (special thanks to Laurel's sister and her family) for freshly shucked oysters and a gin tasting. But these were not your basic beach oysters, and not your everyday gin!
Julia Gillis of Stellar Bay Shellfish did an amazing job of educating us about the Kusshi Oyster - like "kissing the sea" she proclaimed, and we had to agree. The story of how Kusshi oysters have become world renowned for their deep shell and plump, firm, meat can be found online at kusshioysters.com.
Meanwhile, Dave Brimacombe of Wayward Distillation House, had us behaving slighty unruly as we sipped their award winning Unruly Gin from the oyster shells. Perfection!
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
You know when you're watching fireworks, as you watch one explosion after another, wondering each time if this might be the last, and yet knowing that the finale will soon light up the entire sky leaving you breathless?
It sounds too good to be true, but that is exactly how we ended our bike tour with a "simple" 4-course gourmet meal prepared by Chef Richard and his culinary team at the Ocean7 Restaurant. Paired with customized cocktails by mixologist Julie Ferris, one course after another left us in awe. The seafood tower alone was worth the price of admission, and words really can't do the meal justice.
At the end of the day, each of us came away with not only new stories to share, but also with new friends. Please do consider joining Island Joy Rides on one of their upcoming trips!
