Food

Crystal Hedlund (left), who operates a business, Crystal’s Baked Blessings, helps out families in need with Christmas dinners and gifts. (Submitted photo)

Burnout, death threats, stigma: Inside the life of an Okanagan non-profit operator

Three women who have tasked themselves with helping others share their stories

Crystal Hedlund (left), who operates a business, Crystal’s Baked Blessings, helps out families in need with Christmas dinners and gifts. (Submitted photo)
Il Mercato Social Kitchen chef Tristan Reia portrait photography by Lia Crowe

A seat at the table

Il Mercato Social Kitchen is a place to share family, friends, food and wine

  • Jan 27, 2023
Il Mercato Social Kitchen chef Tristan Reia portrait photography by Lia Crowe
Northern Cafe and Grill was named the best-rated restaurant in Yelp’s list of the top 100 places to eat in Canada in 2023. (Northern Cafe and Grill/Special to The News)

B.C. cafe declared best place to eat in Canada in 2023

23 B.C. restaurants made Yelp’s annual list of top-rated eateries in the country

Northern Cafe and Grill was named the best-rated restaurant in Yelp’s list of the top 100 places to eat in Canada in 2023. (Northern Cafe and Grill/Special to The News)
Local Tim Hortons store owners and General Managers presented the YMCA with a $59,908 donation made possible by their record-breaking Smile Cookie sales. (Photo contributed)

Okanagan YMCA all smiles after cookie campaign cash

Tim Hortons Smile Cookie Campaign donates $60,000 YMCA of Southern Interior BC

Local Tim Hortons store owners and General Managers presented the YMCA with a $59,908 donation made possible by their record-breaking Smile Cookie sales. (Photo contributed)
(Submitted photo)

Vernon restaurant gone to the birds with mini Wings

An exact miniature replica of the Wings Vernon restaurant was created by Barnwood Birdhouses

(Submitted photo)
Wild Blue Restaurant and Bar. Photo supplied

The culinary kingdom of Whistler

Glacier-level eats from steak and seafood to sushi and Thai

  • Jan 11, 2023
Wild Blue Restaurant and Bar. Photo supplied
November 9, 2022 - Shortbread for seasonal cookie feature with Ellie Shortt. Don Denton photo

Cookie chronicles

Winter’s sweet treats past and present

  • Dec 23, 2022
November 9, 2022 - Shortbread for seasonal cookie feature with Ellie Shortt. Don Denton photo
Nature’s Fare Markets’ Tara Berger (left) and Brandon Molzahn (right), present a cheque to Neil S. Thompson (middle) of the Salvation Army Food Bank in Vernon. (Contributed)

Nature’s Fare delivers Christmas food, cash to B.C. food banks

More than 12,000 pounds of food collected, $60,000 in cash donated

Nature’s Fare Markets’ Tara Berger (left) and Brandon Molzahn (right), present a cheque to Neil S. Thompson (middle) of the Salvation Army Food Bank in Vernon. (Contributed)
A worker re-stocks shelves in the bakery and bread aisle at an Atlantic Superstore in Halifax, N.S., on Friday, Jan. 28, 2022. How those wheat kernels end up in a loaf of bread — and why prices have risen this year — is an odyssey involving growers and grain handlers, rail cars and flour mills, and bakeries and supermarkets. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Kelly Clark

From seed to store: A look at the rising cost of bread

Benchmark price of wheat is set on exchanges all over the world

A worker re-stocks shelves in the bakery and bread aisle at an Atlantic Superstore in Halifax, N.S., on Friday, Jan. 28, 2022. How those wheat kernels end up in a loaf of bread — and why prices have risen this year — is an odyssey involving growers and grain handlers, rail cars and flour mills, and bakeries and supermarkets. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Kelly Clark
It was a record-breaking year for the North Okanagan Valley Gleaners, as they produced and shipped more than 13 million servings of food overseas to feed the world’s hungry. (File photo)

Record-smashing year for North Okanagan Valley Gleaners

Organization that helps feed the hungry more than doubled their production and serving of food in 2022

It was a record-breaking year for the North Okanagan Valley Gleaners, as they produced and shipped more than 13 million servings of food overseas to feed the world’s hungry. (File photo)
Daniel Bae - portrait by Martin Knowles

The meat of the story

Daniel Bae’s journey from professional musician to master meat processor

  • Dec 21, 2022
Daniel Bae - portrait by Martin Knowles
Santa and the Grinch helped make the Packman Opens Hearts Christmas dinner extra special Dec. 19. (Contributed)

Warm meals feed Vernon’s homeless over holidays

Special Christmas feasts continue amid freezing temperatures

Santa and the Grinch helped make the Packman Opens Hearts Christmas dinner extra special Dec. 19. (Contributed)
(Brendan Shykora - Morning Star)

Christmas Street Lunch serves up hot meals at Vernon church

On top of a full belly, guests also left with a bag of warm clothing and treats

(Brendan Shykora - Morning Star)
Hector Laguna at Botanist - Lia Crowe photo

Rooted in culture, steeped in love

Botanist chef Hector Laguna treats local, seasonal food with respect

  • Dec 16, 2022
Hector Laguna at Botanist - Lia Crowe photo
Apples speed along as they’re sorted for size and quality at the BelleHarvest packing and storage facility, Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022, in Belding, Mich. This process happens repeatedly throughout the year as apples are taken out of special storage rooms that help them stay fresher. They are then sent to grocery stores. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Fight to curb food waste increasingly turns to science

ReFed: 500,000 pounds of food could be diverted from landfills annually with better packaging

Apples speed along as they’re sorted for size and quality at the BelleHarvest packing and storage facility, Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022, in Belding, Mich. This process happens repeatedly throughout the year as apples are taken out of special storage rooms that help them stay fresher. They are then sent to grocery stores. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
October 19, 2022 - Dina Stuehler photographed at her Ironworks Cafe & Creperie in Ladysmith. Don Denton photo

Sweet, savoury & made from scratch

Crepe sensei and Ironworks owner Dina Stuehler has you covered

  • Dec 9, 2022
October 19, 2022 - Dina Stuehler photographed at her Ironworks Cafe & Creperie in Ladysmith. Don Denton photo
Jen Fowler and Gabriela Schoch recently opened Sweet Leaf Bakery & Cafe in the Mall at Piccadilly. (Lachlan Labere-Salmon Arm Observer)

Friends form sweet partnership in new Salmon Arm bakery and cafe

Sweet Leaf Bakery & Cafe now open at Mall at Piccadilly

Jen Fowler and Gabriela Schoch recently opened Sweet Leaf Bakery & Cafe in the Mall at Piccadilly. (Lachlan Labere-Salmon Arm Observer)
Bakery owner Florence Poirier, LEFT, smells the fresh baguette who comes out of the oven as Mylene Poirier stands next to her at a bakery, in Versailles, west of Paris, Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022. The humble baguette — the crunchy ambassador for French baking around the world — is being added to the U.N.’s list of intangible cultural heritage as a cherished tradition to be preserved by humanity. UNESCO experts gathering Wednesday Nov. 30, 2022 in Morocco decided that the simple French flute deserved U.N. recognition. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Crunch time: The baguette gets UN world heritage status

Designation comes as France warns of a “continuous decline” in the number of traditional bakeries

Bakery owner Florence Poirier, LEFT, smells the fresh baguette who comes out of the oven as Mylene Poirier stands next to her at a bakery, in Versailles, west of Paris, Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022. The humble baguette — the crunchy ambassador for French baking around the world — is being added to the U.N.’s list of intangible cultural heritage as a cherished tradition to be preserved by humanity. UNESCO experts gathering Wednesday Nov. 30, 2022 in Morocco decided that the simple French flute deserved U.N. recognition. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
Sheena Barbour, The Graze Company - Lia Crowe photography

Good food, good wine and good company

The Graze Company connects with communities

  • Nov 25, 2022
Sheena Barbour, The Graze Company - Lia Crowe photography
(Jacqueline Gelineau/Capital News)

Salted liquorice, horchata, pierogis and music: Multiculturalism celebrated at Kelowna school

The Okanagan Mission Secondary School Multicultural Expo was Nov. 23

(Jacqueline Gelineau/Capital News)