Getting To Know: Ela Made Me Do It!

What is your inspiration to create your products? How did that passion turn into a business?

My grandmother, Ela. It’s hard to put into words the endless streams of food that came out of her kitchen. Anytime that I spent in her home in Poland was in her kitchen. Nothing made me happier than to help her cook. Close second was helping in her vegetable garden where she grew so much of the ingredients she cooked with, or joining her as she visited local farms for eggs, milk and meat. She opened a big wide food-shaped door in my heart that can never be closed! More specifically, she made chicken stock daily to go into her soups. Every day, no exceptions, there was soup on the table. So naturally, my passion for soups was born!

Why is creating small batched soups important as opposed to a larger production?

For one, my suppliers are so small scale that I couldn’t cook on a massive scale even if I wanted to! When foods become mass produced, short cuts begin. It’s the small things like roasting vegetables, caramelizing onions and freshly toasting and grinding my spices that make all the difference. There is nothing more satisfying for me than the smiles on my customers faces when they taste my food, that is what I live for and why I take my time cooking my products.

What local producers do you work with to create your products?

Using meats from suppliers that treat their livestock with respect was one of the most important goals for my business. As a customer of the Coquitlam market it only made sense to use Tim and Flo’s chicken (Rockweld Farm) for my soups, broth and pot pies as it’s what I was already using in my home! There are now 3 other wonderful farmers who provide me with the meat and bones I need to create my products: Redl’s grass fed beef in my pot pies, Stony Mountain’s heritage pork bones in my ramen bone broth, and Forstbauer’s grass fed beef bones in my beef bone broth.

Why is sourcing local ingredients important for you?

Local tastes better, it’s more nutritious (long journeys on the back of a truck can degrade nutritional values of foods) and it helps stimulate our local economy! My soup flavors are definitely dictated by what is in season! When you use products that are not shipped from far away and artificially ripened you don’t need to add nearly as much salt, sugar or fats to make up for lack of flavor.

Where do you hope to see your business in the near future?

I would like to see us continuing to work with small businesses, be it new farmers and producers, or small cafes and independent grocers!

Sunday, October 28

This Sunday is the last market of the season! Thank you to all of our vendors, volunteers, and our amazing customers for a terrific season! See you in Port Moody on November 4th!

This Sunday is Member Appreciation Day! Members can enjoy Member-Only specials while shopping the market.

Member Specials for this Sunday
Big Red’s Poutine: A free drink with any poutine order
Central Park Farms: 25% off on whole chicken wings and 25% off chicken backs perfect for making bone broth
Cocoaro Craft Chocolate: Three bars for $14
Gesundheit Bakery: Save $1 on a purchase of $5 or more
Gypsy Jean Jewellery: $5 off any necklace purchase
KICS Gourmet: FREE hot lemonade
Kizzy’s Macarons: One free macaron with the purchase of 5 or more
Mama Bear Essentials: 20% off of all Silicone Chewelry items
Okanagan’s Best: Mennonite sausage & smoked Gouda combo for $20
Oyster & King: 15% off all cultivated mushrooms
PoCo Soap Co: One bar for $6 instead of $7
Rockweld Farm: Whole Roasters – 10% off
Sweet Thea: $2 off a mini cookie variety pack
The Cawston Market Farmer: Granny Smith apples. 5 lbs for $3 and Squash 5 for $5″
The Jerk Store: 3 large packages for $30

Come to market hungry this Sunday and pick up breakfast or lunch from Mike’s Perfect Perogies or Big Red’s Poutine. Be sure to stop by and see Harry at Biscotti Joe for your Sunday coffee!

This Sunday is our Halloween Spooktacular! Come to market in your costume for some Halloween games, crafts, and treats. Kids can trick-or-treat our vendors and participate in a costume parade at noon.

We’re happy to have Barry Wilson as our musician this Sunday. Barry is our regular Halloween musician, and has dressed as Batman and Spiderman in the past. Rumor has it, this year he will be a famous villain – stop by to find out who this weekend!

Vendor List for Sunday, October 28

Sunday, November 4

The wait is over! This Sunday is Opening Day at the Port Moody Winter Farmers Market! Stop by to welcome our fantastic vendors back to Port Moody, and pick up some of the best in local produce, baked goods, prepared foods, artisan crafts, and more!

This Sunday’s food trucks are Big Red’s Poutine and Kampong-Taste of Malaysia. Don’t forget to grab your Sunday cup of coffee from Brewnetti mobile cafe!

Kids! Stop by our Kids Craft Table to make a tissue paper poppy. These are great to put on a backpack or coat zipper pull.

We’re happy to have musician Ranj Singh joining us for Opening Day! Get a sneak peek of his music HERE.

Please note, there will be no market on November 11 in recognition of Remembrance Day.

See you in Port Moody!

Vendor List for Sunday, November 4

On The Wild Side With: Sons of Vancouver Distillery

How did Sons of Vancouver begin? Where did the inspiration for the business as a whole come from and how was your name developed?

Richard Klaus and Myself are the Owners of Sons of Vancouver. We previously bartended and as a hobby, brewed beer together. Over time we found ourselves drinking and making delicious beer but serving the same cocktails over and over. We saw the opportunity in its infancy and jumped on it. Sons of Vancouver is a name we felt would travel well and was something cool we could get behind.

In your opinion, what are the differences in artisanal distilleries versus larger scale distilleries?*

Innovation. Rarely do you see a large distillery release a new product that isn’t just an ‘Apple’ or ‘Cinnamon’ variant of its current product line. Large distilleries are stuck in the same process for many reasons, but it mainly comes down to the people making the products are not the ones dreaming them up.

How was your distillery school brought to life? How has what is offered developed, and where do you see it going in the future?

We had enough people asking us how we got started and if they could come in and train with us. Additionally it was selfish – I want to see a lot more variety in spirits out of BC so we push people to branch out from Vodkas.

What process do you go through to pair the names of your spirits with label designs?

The hardest part is knowing what you want a product to taste like before you start out making it. From there we have a list of cool names, some of them may never see the light of day, and we try to pair them with the product and build a brand and market off that.

Why is it important for you to have free samples in your tasting room? What can customers expect when they visit?

Free samples are such a small thing but its important because its approachable to everyone. We could charge for samples, but it’s the little things that make an experience memorable and make a customer want to come back again with a friend.

Is there anything about your company or products that you would want customers to know?

I would like to say that there are only three of us that work in the company and if you run into us at a farmers market don’t hesitate to chat us up. Everyone who you see at the markets works in the distillery and we are full of cocktail ideas. Additionally, Richard is an incredible dancer and you can find him every Thursday at the German Club on Victoria and 33rd dancing up a storm.

Sunday, October 21

Only 2 markets remain of our summer season! Visit your favorite vendors before we move to Port Moody for the winter!

Come to market hungry this Sunday and pick up a sweet or savoury crepe from Kara’s Crepes or a delicious meal from Kampong-Taste of Malaysia. Don’t forget your coffee from Biscotti Joe!

Kids! Halloween is coming up, and we’re getting excited! Stop by the Kids Craft table to make clothespin bats.

We’re happy to host Coastal Sound Music Academy at the market this weekend for their annual Sound-A-Thon. Stop by their tents to enjoy choral music performed by choirs of all ages. This is the 4th year we have hosted this event, and we are thrilled that it has become an October tradition at the market.

Check back soon for a complete list of Sunday’s vendors

Sunday, October 14

Visit us this Sunday for all the best in local produce, prepared foods, baked goods, artisan crafts, and more!

Come to market hungry this Sunday and pick up a sweet or savoury crepe from Kara’s Crepes. Don’t forget your coffee from Biscotti Joe!

Kids! Halloween is coming up, and we’re getting excited! Stop by the Kids Craft table to make a masking tape mummy!

Coquitlam’s general election will be held on October 20, 2018. To give our customers the opportunity to be more informed in our City’s upcoming municipal elections, we will be hosting candidates for Mayor, Councillor, and School Trustee at the Market this Sunday. Stop by the Coquitlam Candidate area at the market to chat face to face with the candidates.

We’re happy to have musician, Ranj Singh, join us this Sunday! Get a sneak peek of his music HERE.

Vendor List for Sunday, October 14

On The Wild Side With: Cocoaro Craft Chocolate

What initially inspired you to create chocolate? How did this turn into a business?

Rather than an “initial” inspiration, I think my journey of creating chocolate began with a combination of factors. I had, for a long time, made chocolate confections for events and gifts and an offhand comment sent me down a rabbit hole of learning about the process of making chocolate from beans. I was also inspired to make my own chocolate as I learned more about the conditions under which much of the “commodity” chocolate is grown and sourced. I started by just seeing if making chocolate was actually something I could do and then the flavours of the beans themselves kept inspiring me to make more. Meanwhile, friends who had begun a bakery inspired me from the entrepreneurial side. At the time, I was living in a small town in north-central BC, which was a pretty great place to start thinking about how to craft chocolate and to experiment in a fairly low-risk way. My good friends shared their commercial kitchen with me and I had great support at home to be able to take this chance. It really became a business through the encouragement of friends and by blindly taking a leap. It was not a very structured business venture.

How do you decide where to source your cocoa? What sort of conversations do you have with producers or checks that you go through to ensure the quality of the product?

Part of the sourcing was access from where I was living. I found a great company that works with farmers and fermentaries that shared my principles with regards to social values and sustainability. I researched the farms where my supplier sources their beans and they have provided me with certification as well as information about the people and the cacao produced. Someday, though, I do hope to be able to go and meet some of the producers. I have also purchased beans from East Van Roasters in Vancouver, who also deal directly with farmers in Peru. EVR also makes delicious chocolate and works with women in the Downtown Eastside, so chocolate lovers should also check them out!

How do you design your beautiful and intricate packaging?

When I was thinking about packaging, I knew I wanted something that would also be beautiful. I am half Japanese and we have a strong culture of gifting on the Japanese side. With my chocolate, I wanted to make something that you could easily buy and gift if you were, say, just going to a friend’s for coffee. Everywhere you go in Japan, almost whatever you buy can be wrapped quickly and beautifully for this purpose. While I was thinking about the chocolate business, we came across an old cache of chiyogami paper from when I was younger. That just inspired me to use the paper and then I found a company in Toronto that imports the handmade Japanese paper I use today.

What sets your chocolate apart from others? What impressions do you hope to leave customers with?

I focus on single origin chocolates and making flavour combinations that compliment or bring out the flavour of the cacao. The beans are all fine flavour cacao that is harvested fairly and sustainably. The chocolate is made in small batches with care in each one. I hope people leave still thinking about their chocolate, appreciating chocolate like they do other fine food and wanting to share their experience by gifting it to others. I call the chocolate “Cocoaro” which is a pun of the Japanese “Kokoro”, which means “heart” or “spirit”, and from the farmers to my customers, Cocoaro is chocolate with good heart.

Where do you hope to see Cocoaro Craft Chocolate in the near future? Are you looking to create any new products?

I am definitely looking to create new products! I am also looking to bring back some of the bars I had been making up north, including different percentages and inclusion bars (bars with things like salt or coconut added). I really like experimenting and exploring flavour combinations and also started producing limited run confections, that I plan to do again. I have only just been getting settled into the new environment down here, so I look forward to getting back into that side of things. I also look forward to continuing to explore new beans with my suppliers. In terms of the business side, in the near future, I just hope to develop a strong foundation and look forward to exploring the possibilities.

What are some things your would like your customers to know about you or your business?

I think I’d really like customers to know the values that I and the business stand for, which is sustainability in our food production and consumption; fair treatment for everyone, which means good working conditions for producers and paying a fair price for food and labour as well as respecting and appreciating customers. Where possible I also source organic and local ingredients. I am also super happy if people just come by the market table to learn more about chocolate! I love making, sharing, learning about and consuming good, real food.

POP Club – Week 19

Join the POP Club and discover the Power of Produce!
Week 19: Sunday October 7 – This week in the POP Club tent we will be talking about community and prepare a stone soup.
Two Bite Club – Kids will be tasting the soup and/or vegetable ingredients.
Drop in anytime during market hours from 9am – 1pm to sign up and participate in the POP Club!
The POP Club is a farmers market-based kids program. Children (ages 5 – 12 years old) will learn about fruits and vegetables, local food systems and healthy food preparation through fun activities.
Each week children will earn a $3 market token to use towards any fruit or vegetable of their choice.
There is no cost to participate. Sign up at the POP tent this Sunday! The POP Club runs every Sunday until the end of October.

Sunday, October 7

Happy Thanksgiving weekend! What better way to feed your friends and family than with the freshest ingredients from local farms and producers! Visit us this Sunday for all your turkey dinner needs!

You’ve got enough cooking to do this weekend, so why not grab a meal at the market this Sunday? Grab a delicious sandwich for breakfast or lunch from Hunger Management food truck and a coffee from Brewnetti Cafe.

Kids! Visit us at the Kids Craft Table to make a paper bag turkey. This classic Thanksgiving craft can make an adorable centerpiece at your family dinner.

We’re happy to have musician Caden Knudson joining us this weekend! Get a sneak peak of his music HERE!

Vendor List for Sunday, October 7