oyster is wonderful.”
George is George Dowdle, who together with his wife Marlene and daughter
Britteny runs Green Gables Oysters, just up
the road. George has been oyster farming
for 38 years and his oysters can be found
in restaurants around the world. When the
oysters are close to being ready for harvest,
he brings them from his 10 sites in the
island’s pristine waters and puts them in
baskets over a natural artesian spring under
the sea.
They are left there for about a month
during which time they develop a slightly
sweet, melon-like flavour. George also
produces snow crabs, mussels, clams and
eels, and he welcomes visitors popping in
to see him.
“He’s just a good neighbour,” said Derrick, who also finds a good neighbour in Al
Picketts at Kensington, about five minutes
away. Al’s black garlic, produced under
the Eureka Garlic label, is fermented over
about 30 days till it caramelises and reaches
the consistency of a paste.
Al is one of only a handful of Canadian garlic producers making black garlic.
According to Derrick’s head chef, Roark
MacKinnon, Al “could be an exceptionally
rich man but he loves what he does.”
As we speak, 21-year-old apprentice
Michael Bradley is kneading bread with
shavings of the black garlic and walnuts. I
help him to braid the bread as he explains
what he loves about the island. “It’s the
local connections between everyone, for
example, George with his oysters and Al
with his garlic. It’s all local, fresh and full of
flavour.”
His sentiments are echoed by Roark,
who at 24 is wise beyond his years, knowing much about the science behind food
and cooking, and turning out spectacular
dishes highlighting the local produce.
Roark comes from a family of farmers and
fishermen on the island, and worked on
yachts for a few years before deciding he
wanted to pursue a career as a c