This place is such fun---and it really is the soul of Campbell River. You can buy west-coast fished albacore tuna or buy a warm whole wheat crepe cooked on the spot and stuffed with cream cheese before being dolloped with stewed fresh rhubarb and whipped cream. Island-roasted, fair-trade coffee in any urban-esque variation you choose is made to order.
In the distance, beyond the ocean, are the snow capped mountains of the coastal range. Behind is the Marine Heritage Centre where BCP 45, the B.C.Packers ship that once appeared on our $5 bills, is being rebuilt by a cadre of local shipwrights.
While the official book tour ends on the coast of Vancouver Island, the real odyssey of Canadian cuisine is just beginning. Across the land, Canadians are claiming local food as their own and these days they're making the choice, not out of necessity as was done in the earliest days of settlement, but out of pride. Never before has a food book on Canada hit the Globe and Mail's best seller list, not just for one flash-in-the-pan week, but for two. More than anything this speaks to the hunger Canadians have for an understanding of our collective food ways. 
easily be at home in any large urban centre. From the superb cheeses of Saltspring Island - David Wood's gorgeous goats milk concoctions to Over the Moon Dairy's artisan cheeses from the cows that each have names, owner Michelle sells the finest cheeses from across Canada. She also shops locally for her ingredients. She tosses freshly steamed prawns onto Patterson Farms stunning greens...her breads are from Cakebread Artisan Bakery in Courtney but all the rest of her baking is done in house by a lady simply named Madonna. How perfect. 
