Brett Thoms
Bristol September 24, 2022
Using only local ingredients to make a meal for guests, Pure Conscience Farm held a Fete de la Récolte, or harvest festival, on Saturday.
“It’s to celebrate the end of the season, and at the same time get together with our clients and other people from the community to eat this amazing meal that is being prepared by our chef, Lewis Robinson,” said Gema Villavicencio, owner of Pure Conscience Farms.
According to Villavicencio the meal was 100 per cent made with locally sourced ingredients.
“Most of the vegetables come from us,” said Villavicencio. “He’s cooking with yak, which also . . .
comes from us. Everything else, down to the little details, is coming from locals.”
“The flower is from a farm in the Ottawa region and is freshly milled,” said the chef Robinson about the ingredients he was using. “Sugar has been kind of replaced with maple syrup and honey and then we’re celebrating all the vegetables that are coming out of the farm at the same time.”
Lewis, who lives in Gatineau and works in the Ottawa area, met Villavicencio at a farmers market and connected with her over a pepper that only her farm was growing. That’s what motivated him to come to cook for the harvest festival.
A table from Brauwerk Hoffman brewery was also present at the event selling its beer, and bottles of wine from the Little Red Wagon Winery were also available.
The event completely sold out 21 tickets, and notable guests included Pontiac MP Sophie Chatel and CAQ candidate Corinne Canuel-Jolicoeur.
“It’s an amazing opportunity just to get together and create our community and meet everybody around,” concluded Villavicencio.
