100 Mile Menus are Coming!

August 17, 2011

Each year for the last three years we have challenged ourselves to develop two weeks of 100 mile menus for the Fresh Meal Service.  Although you would think that for a business like ours, this would be simple, it’s actually quite a challenge.  For example, although Canada is known as a major wheat producer, very little of what we produce is grown within 100 miles of Ottawa.  Same for canola oil, quinoa, spelt and kamut.  There are other items that are not grown in Canada at all, let alone within 100 miles of Ottawa (think lemons, rice, olives for olive oil, most spices, sugar cane, salt, etc).

So when we sit down to create these menus we have to allow ourselves a few cheats.  Officially these are oil (mostly canola) vinegar, lemon juice, and some spices although we do our best to use apple cider vinegar, and fresh herbs instead.  We also are a little flexible with the 100 mile radius, and extend that out to a couple of hundred kilometres in some cases.

If you are interested in learning more about this concept, there are a number of resources to tap into including the book that started it all.  The inspiring adventures of a Canadian couple who make a year-long attempt to eat foods grown and produced within a 100-mile radius of their apartment in downtown Vancouver became an international sensation.  The 100-Mile Diet - A Year of Local Eating is available from Random House.

Along similar lines, the Ontario Table encourages us to spend our food dollars in our local economy.  This book is now available at the Red Apron.

Stay tuned for the menu details!

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