A garden for cooking

It’s been a long-held dream of mine to live off the land. As a chef, I’ve always known that great food starts with great produce, and the very best comes from gardens that are tended with patience, passion, and a bit of stubbornness. I wanted to grow it myself.

Turns out, it’s not exactly easy. It’s quite a journey in fact! We have our plot, and we’re tending it: pulling weeds, laying mulch, sprouting seedlings, watching them flourish… and sometimes watching them vanish overnight to hungry snails. The weeds return, we start again. It’s the same discipline as a kitchen: repetition and attention to detail, but under an open sky.

It’s also been a complete change of pace. I’ve swapped the windowless, high-adrenaline hours of service for long days in the garden. Still plenty of steps, but a completely different rhythm. After so many years defined by the urgency of the pass, finding this slower pace has been both a challenge and a gift.

I still love cooking. These days, instead of plating for 800 corporate guests, I’m cooking for neighbours, friends, and family — revisiting recipes from my childhood, ignoring food cost spreadsheets, and letting the ingredients dictate the dish. Most of it comes from just down the road… or, if the snails are feeling generous, from my own garden.