The Ultimate Guilty Pleasure

I just picked up a copy of this months Where Magazine, and our Pecan & Gruyere shortbread and Stilton & Walnut shortbread are mentioned just inside the back cover in an article titled "13 Things We Love About Vancouver". I think we better get baking more shortbread right away...If you haven't had them, they are addictive. Great on their own, and an tasty accompaniment to your favourite bubbly. We make them in small batches by hand with only excellent ingredients.

New Food Packaging

We've been busy testing new packaging for our frozen soups and entrees this last week. Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for people to heat our food. Our favourite option so far is boilable bags for the soups and some of the entrees like the Braised Brisket, Beef Stroganoff, Moroccan Lamb Shanks and Chicken in Mustard Sauce. The testing has been positive so far. Everything we've tried has turned out better. It's definitely an improvement over heating in the oven and on the stove. Also, the time it takes to heat is much quicker. An entree can go from freezer to the plate in less than 30 minutes.

Some of the entrees will always have to be baked, as that is how they cook best. For these items like Mac n Cheese, we are looking into the options of sustainable packaging, and the ability to heat in a microwave or conventional oven instead of the current foil containers. Other options include a pressed paper container that can handle up to 1 hour at up to 400 degrees. They are a bit shallower, so the cooking time would be reduced. They can go right from the freezer and into a hot oven or microwave.

Hastings Update

We've settled on a design company by the name of Sculpin Fish Design who have provided us with a basic layout. Now begins the process of permits, construction and kitchen design. The plan is to spread out the construction over three phases. The first phase involves getting the building ship-shape. During the second phase, we will build more refrigerated storage and a much needed larger kitchen. The final phase will see a new store.
I just noticed a new Vespa store a couple of blocks to the east at Clark, which is where Gourmet Warehouse just doubled their store space. It would be great to see a bakery open nearby.

We met with the building inspector, property use inspector and kitchen designer this week. All of the comments were positive and encouraging. Everybody I speak to is excited for us and happy to see something new in the neighbourhood.

I spent some time looking at microfiche records at city hall earlier in the week. I've discovered a ramp underneath the front steps and a more detailed facade that we all hope is still underneath the metal cladding on the front of the building. I also dated the building back to 1923, the same year the cenotaph was built in Victory Square. It's a great photo (1925) of Victory Square. Notice the the original courthouse in the background, and the recently planted trees.