Edible British Columbia in partnership with Blue Planet Kayaking Adventures hosts three-day west coast explorations of camping, kayaking and cuisine
Snuggled in for an afternoon nap, the rain lulled me into daydreams of the early morning: sea otters popping up to see what all the splashing was about, paddling along honey-combed sandstone cliffs and fueling the day’s adventure on a wild smoked tuna nicoise salad of organic greens prepared by a culinary master.
“Isn’t camping great?” said my tent buddy settling into a book a few hours before dinner.
Camping is downright brilliant when you get to hideout from the rain while an executive chef whips up a magical meal of confit chicken on two camping stoves for nine people.
Camping is a vacation when a guide packs the equipment needed for your kayak adventure and reads currents, maps and weather, leaving you free to paddle along B.C.’s oceanside worry free.
Unencumbered, you breathe in B.C.’s rugged coastline without concerns about an unintended underwater viewing and fueled by gastronomic wonders rooted in locally sourced ingredients and wines, the body and spirit meets the three-day paddling challenge with vigor.
The Gourmet Kayak Adventure hosted by Blue Planet Kayaking Adventures and Edible British Columbia is the exact balance of ruggedness and comfort — leaving the rough to the landscape and comfort to camping and dining.
I have to admit my inner foodie rather than my inner adventurer agreed to the leisurely three-day paddle through the Gulf Islands. The adventure of both palate and the wild West Coast links professional kayak instruction, a three-day paddle adventure, fine cuisine and comfortable camping — I’m still dreaming about their princess-in-the-pea-thick thermarests.
With Eric Pateman, both critically acclaimed chef and founder of Edible B.C., at the helm, I was assured if the “killer” whales got to me, I would at least say farewell with a last supper worth dying for.
Thanks to the wile of kayak guide Alex Blais-Montpetit and chef of the two-burner Coleman stove Steven Elskens, I received the last supper fanfare without plunging into a watery grave.
“The Gulf Island trips are set up for the novice kayaker, so people who have never seen the ocean can come out on the trip,” said James Bray of Blue Planet Kayaking Adventures.
Despite having paddled a few air mattresses in my time, I invited a former white-water raft guide to ride shotgun for the trip, just in case.
The Gourmet Kayak Adventure begins Friday morning in Nanaimo. A two-hour a.m. ferry ride from the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal will land guests on Cedar by the Sea just south of Nanaimo’s downtown core, where they will confidently learn the ins and outs of kayak navigating in only a few hours.
Blais-Montpetit explains we will travel across the Trincomali Channel to Pirates Cove Provincial Marine Park on De Courcy Island, where we will set up base camp for two nights.
And me without my eye patch. But as our group of six kayaks paddled out to towering sandstone cliffs, the sand carved away by crashing waves revealed cavity-ridden shapes; skull faces with lopsided smiles crying out from the wind-torn earth. Long John Silver must be around the next bend. Instead we pulled into rain as well as the provincial campground ridden with tall tales of gold, mystery and murder.
It felt like murder trying to get into dry clothing under a covered walkway, wondering if the pair of dry warm socks would be our last for the weekend. I realized I wasn’t as hearty a B.C. girl as I once thought.
All reservations evaporated as we struck gold not even an hour into the trip.
On a brilliant blue plate, summer sizzled, even if the weather didn’t, with a tuna nicoise salad of Vancouver Island farm fresh vegetables in a truffle aioli topped with smoked tuna. I eyed the still ocean for traces of water taxi waves. I couldn’t believe a dish I might find on a white-table-clothed table with polished silver could emerge from a little boat that weighs less than a fridge.
“Thank you very much chef,” said one guest to Steven who spends equal time practicing the perfect omelet with local lamb sausage on a camping stove as he does kayak rolling.
To leave a stainless steel kitchen flanked with sous chefs is quite a feat of bravery, but for Steven, who keeps a passion for outdoors and paddling simmering side by side, he wasn’t afraid to leave his past soufflé incarnation behind — not too far behind, as a coupling of blue-cheese cheesecake with a Cowichan blackberry dessert wine were slated for later that evening.
“Instead of being in a hot kitchen, I am outside cooking on a beautiful beach,” he said. “The biggest challenge outdoors is getting everything ready at the same time and keeping them warm… I keep it as tasty and good looking as possible.”
The handsome suit-jacketed salad out dressed the traditional camping flannels of wieners and beans, foreshadowing the fresh, simple, yet flavourful, local-ingredient-driven fare yet to come. Like the five-star Oceanside views, our table for eight wielded feasts fit for a pirate king: chicken confit braised in duck jus with celery root and spinach drizzled in grainy mustard. Dessert of rhubarb and strawberry soup with mascarpone. My x-marks the spot treasure for the weekend was the dish of spaghetti swirled in sea asparagus with a puttanesca sauce. The story behind the sauce further spiced up the evening. The tasty cheap trollop of capers, tomatoes, olives and anchovies was made by prostitutes to woo the sailors.
I was wooed and then some with the partnering of the Starling Lane 2005 Pinot Noir. Cherry fruit opening with chocolate finish, this 2007 Northwest Wine Summit gold medal winner was the first thing I bought once our kayaks hit Vancouver Island shores on Sunday. The Saanich Peninsula winery only corks 50 cases of this $25 gem. The island is famous for its pinot noirs, but pinot gris shone as well; the island’s 2005 Averill Creek pinot gris aged in French oak proved Vancouver Island is becoming more and more of wine drinker’s destination.
With all of the eating and drinking over the weekend, thank goodness paddling kept me fitting into my boat.
I explored neighbouring islands via waterway. I pulled into white clam shell crushed beaches, clamoured up rock mounds to views of the Strait of Georgia and splashed into stories and humour with guides and guests alike. Lightning and thunderstorms really got things rolling as we all laughed at the group of us scuttling for shelter under arbutus trees. Skies were wonderfully stormy one minute, then blue filled with drifting eagles the next.
Confidence building with every stroke, our boat was soon surfing with small swells. Our little yellow banana boat was later dubbed the “fast boat”. So my speedy in-case-of-emergency-pull raft guide ended up being a valuable companion after all.
As a result, I stepped into the Edible B.C. experience led by my inner foodie and paddled out a lightning relationship with my inner kayaker — both well fed.
The summer paddling adventures are selling out fast with only a
few dates left including Aug. 24 to 26, Aug. 31 to Sept. 2, Sept. 7 to 9 and
Sept. 21 to 23.
For more information, visit edible-britishcolumbia.com.
