Chef Jeff Van Geest says cooking is about learning and building on a body of knowledge
Jeff Van Geest has a loosely formed mission statement for his approach to cooking for his clientele, but he says it’s all in his head. Not that he’s ad-libbing. His menus at Miradoro at Tinhorn Creek Winery in Oliver are well thought out using local, seasonal ingredients and, like many chefs, he interprets a lot from other cultures.
Has family contributed to your interest in food?
JVG: My family weren’t chefs although we were good cooks. My one grandfather was a gardener-for-hire with a small kitchen garden at home and my other grandfather had an orchard and strawberry farm. Both on the Niagara Peninsula in Ontario.
How did you land in the Okanagan?
JVG: I moved to BC because of a recession in Ontario in the early ’90s and I couldn’t get a job cooking. I took the culinary course at Vancouver Community College and worked my way up. I worked with Bernard Casavant and learned a lot from him, but it was at Bishop’s in Kitsilano where I really sharpened my talents. Every step of the way I learned something new and important.
After 20 years in Vancouver, my wife Melanie and I started looking around for someplace to raise a family. We tried different places like the Kootenays and Gulf Islands before coming to the Okanagan. While working at Burrowing Owl I was introduced to Manny Ferreira and invited to become the executive chef for his new restaurant at Tinhorn Creek.
What region affects your style?
JVG: When I first started visiting the Okanagan the dry rolling hills reminded me of the Mediterranean region—around the south of Spain and Morocco. It was the landscape that really made me want to introduce this cuisine to the region. Our wood-fired pizza oven got me making Neapolitan-style pizzas right from the start and it seemed to me that this was an authentic approach to food.
Any there any Mediterranean regional foods you don’t prepare?
JVG: Definitely no French. It’s not that I don’t like it, but there are other interesting cuisines out there to explore.
What sets you apart?
JVG: We make our own sausages and smoked meats. I produce a lot of our own charcuterie like mortadella. Right now I have a prosciutto (smoked ham) that’s been hanging for nearly a year and is just about ready. (Charcuteries are meat products like pâté, terrines, pressed meats and brined meats that take their taste from the preservation process. They are usually associated with pork, but can be any meat.)
Do you use any special equipment?
JVG: No, other than the pizza oven, but if I recommended anything, it would be a good cast iron pan—a frying pan. It has to be well-seasoned and you should clean it by gently rubbing the cooking surface then oiling it with warm oil before putting it away. Never, never use soap on it.
Read more of the original stories celebrated in our 30th-anniversary issue.
Does Okanagan Living Make Us Happier
In this corner, San Luis Obispo, the happiest place in America as named by National Geographic writer Dan Buettner; and in this corner, the Okanagan, thought of as one of the happiest places in Canada by its citizens, media and country. Looks like we’ve got us another gold medal game—a happy-off!
Voluptuous Valley Villa
Romanesque lines, multiple roofs, exposed rafter tails, stucco, tile and the rich warm tones of the earth speak of an elegant Tuscan heritage in this five bedroom, five-and-a-half bath villa built by Frame Custom Homes. With over 6,000 sq. ft. of living space on three levels, Ginette Interiors had tremendous scope to develop the old world theme. Heritage elements work seamlessly beginning with hand-scraped hickory flooring and the handcrafted wrought iron railing by Westside Railing Solutions that defines the foyer staircase and floating bridge,
Call of the Drums
Piece by piece Okanagan Indian Band member William (Bill) James Robins, carefully lifts from a blue satchel and proudly displays his grass dance regalia. Headband, belt, wristbands and drop—picture a long, narrow scarf worn draped around the neck—all decorated with colourful appliqué. Furry ankle bands and a pair of worn moccasins add to the growing pile on the desk.
Date Rape Drugs
In the mid-1990s, the media began to report what appeared to be a growing trend: drug facilitated sexual assault, and in 1997 a young woman named AJ Januszczak put a human face on the story. Going public in the newspapers and on a national television talk show, she described exactly how a man drugged her while she was playing pool with her sister and her friends, then took her out to the parking lot where he and one of his friends raped her.
Save Keremeos Heritage Site
A lot of water has flowed past the old grist mill in Keremeos. So have a lot of people. Around the turn of this century the Grist Mill and Gardens saw some 17,000 visitors annually, says Walter Despot, the town’s mayor and one of the site’s champions.
Bridging the Gap
When women who have been subjected to abuse or violence are ready to move on with their lives, Vickie Roraph is there with hug coupons and the Bridges employment program. There are two signs on the door of Vickie Roraph’s office: Build Bridges, Not Walls and Attitude + Ambition = Achievement.
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