Food Country
Food Country is a weekly web series featuring Chef Michael Smith and the flavours, people and stories of Prince Edward Island.
One week Food Country follows Michael as he explores the island, searching for fresh ingredients. The next week Food Country visits Michael’s home kitchen as he cooks and creates simple healthy food.
New episodes every Tuesday.
Episode 1 > Brookfield Gardens
Prince Edward Island is often described as a giant green farm floating in the deep blue sea. Nowhere is that more apparent than at Brookfield Gardens in North Wiltshire.
30 years ago Gerald, Bert and Eddie Dykerman started with 40 acres and a dream. Today Gerald, Eddie and their nephew Travis farm more than 300 acres and have become one of Atlantic Canada’s best-known vegetable farms. They ship vegetables all over the world and enjoy an unparalleled reputation for their environmental stewardship. When we visit our supermarkets looking for local vegetables chances are they come from this beautiful farm.
Brookfield Gardens grows a harvest basket full of different vegetables. Cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, turnips, cucumber, cabbage and a variety of lettuces fill their fields. These are the type of crops that flourish in the islands rich soil and benefit from the gentle rain of our long warm summers.
Harvest time is always rewarding at Brookfield Gardens. Many crops like their lettuces are picked continuously all season but most of their bounty is harvested in the fall. Some are picked by hand others mechanically. It’s an amazing sight to see one of their carrot harvesters at work as it transforms a field’s lush green carpet into an endless bright orange stream flowing into waiting trucks while leaving behind bare red soil. Meanwhile the broccoli fields are dotted with farmers carefully cutting and trimming each stalk of broccoli.
Brookfield Gardens is a genuine Prince Edward Island success story!
Comments
Leave a Reply
Hey there, I just wanted to see if you ever have any trouble with hackers?
My last wordpress blog at http://chefmichaelsmith.com/food-country/brookfield-gardens-vegetable-farm/ was hacked and I wound up losing months
of hard work due to no back up. Do you have any tips
to stop
Very good article. I actually like February 8, 2013.
I’ve researched some content and am finding out gradually more as I’m going along.
I will certainly be sharing Chef Michael Smith | food-country | Episode 1 >Brookfield Gardens with my website
visitors from now on. Anyhow, is your theme custom made or did you get a hold of it from elsewhere?
With a theme like the one you have, my blog could really
stand out more. Tell me where you got your
template when you get the opportunity.
So glad to see that you’re on the web and even more so that you’re into the web 2.0 stuff. More people need to see your face and better yet your amazing food!
Cheers, and thanks again for all the great tips you are an inspiration. You can be sure that I’ll be watching every chance I get.
GREAT .I’m a city boy and it’s time to get out into the country; PEI has everything ; glad you brought this to my web-site; more fab things to come; I feel like I missed alot along the way; keep it up MICHAEL
Where on the island are the gardens?
Wow! What a great site. Congratulations, Michael. Love collecting your recipes when watching Chef At Home. Now I have another site to catch you on. My dad was from O”Leary but we were all raised here on CapeBreton Island….yet my soul connects with PEI. THANKS FOR FOOD COUNTRY
Margaret
Love the series and love Michael Smith and his down-home cooking. We have a cottage in PEI and recognize many of the places seen in this series – especially “our beach” with “our rock” in Sea View at the end of the videos as the camera pans along the North Shore of this inspiring island….. We sit and look at that view every summer – Ahhh – wish I was there right now! Thanks for all the great recipes and tips, Michael!
Awesome!!!! Loved watching & can hardly wait for the rest of the series!!
It’s so interesting to see where our food comes from and the local island scenery is fantastic to see at the end of the show!!!!
Great Job!!!
Hello from Saskatchewan, great website! Been following you since the Inn Chef and have all your books. Keep on cooking..
How fun! Great website. It’s my way of connecting to PEI while living in the States. I am a fab Italian cook, so I can add the PEI flare to my own meals. Can I come along to the potato fields? One day, I’ll be an Islander……..I just know it.
Great series, looking forward to the rest of the episodes. Good luck!!
Congratulations! I love the site and am anxious to try some of the recipes listed.
Congradulations! on your new show, I have told our friends and relatives to watch!!!
You truly are PEI’s food ambassador…..Keep up the great work and the great cooking Chef Smith!
Great web site always followed Michael on his other ventures will stay on board with this one.Keep up the great work
Wow, as an Islander and a farmer in this province Food Country is an excellent example of Island products,people,and scenery. Michael Smith could be the greatest promoter PEI has ever had.
Wow, Michael, this was a long time coming! Awesome idea, user-friendly, and we foodies love it!
Awesome launching…………have sent this website to all of our families in Canada,usa and Europe.
Chef Michael Smith, Food Country and Island Harvests – doesn’t get much better than that. Congratulations on the launch, production and content. Another feather in PEI’s cap. Thanks Chef!
Great new site! First webisode is fantastic!
Love It! Looking forward to the next episode! Have sent links to several friends and family!
Great web series! Love the site!
been following you since the Inn chef! Love your work, great project as well!
Thanks!