Fresh food that’s close to home

Local farmer Rod Venturelli picking baby spinach

We work closely with local farmers and their families to ensure that the highest quality ingredients reach our kitchen soon after harvest, sustainably. We’re part of Local Food Plus, an Ontario non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the availability of local food by connecting farmers with retailers, restaurants and consumers.

Because of climate and seasonality, you may sometimes find an ingredient that isn’t local. For these exceptions, we follow fair trade practices to ensure that farmers and their local community are given a fair price for their work and product.

Meticulous kitchen practices blended with devotion to quality

Our kitchen principles are simple. We prepare meals from scratch using fresh ingredients packed with authentic goodness. We believe that recipes should enhance the richness of each ingredient’s natural flavor. For example, we:

Meticulous kitchen practices

• Use organic or naturally grown produce
• Use only organic or hormone-free meats
• Use milk that is free from antibiotics and hormones
• Make our own salsa, salad dressings, sauces and stocks
• Purchase whole spices and grind them ourselves
• Use  virgin cold pressed non- gmo, locally grown canola oil and fairtrade olive oil
• Do not deep fry food, nor do we use preservatives, flavor enhancers, coloring or other processing chemicals

Packaging that’s good for food and good for the environment

To help preserve nature for our children’s future, we use environmentally friendly packaging for all our menu items. Soups and sauces are available in recyclable or re-usable glass bottles. Main dishes are served in 100% recyclable  aluminum containers that are perfect for freezing, reheating in the oven and serving. Other menu items are packed on biodegradable trays .

It’s even healthy to shop here

All our locations are built with sustainable practices in mind. Here are some examples of how we’re taking care of the environment:

• Clay-based paint – free of volatile organic compounds (VOC), clay-based paints are naturally mildew resistant and don’t bother people suffering from allergies or asthma.
• Alternative energy – we prepare our meals using carbon-free sources of alternative energy such as wind and solar from our energy provider, Bullfrog Power.
• LEED certified - our commercial kitchen and Burlington store are built according to LEED guidelines and will be certified.
• To help fight climate change, we’ve partnered with carbon off set organization to help you contribute to sustainable and carbon-free energy projects.