Without much hesitation, I accepted, and am very excited to share a bit of our story in the room! As most of you are aware, the foundation of our family business is all about connection. Connection to our land, our family and team, along with connecting our clients to our partners in business. Whether it is our strong stance of supporting like minded producers and suppliers, or to our winery and distillery partners, I felt this was an amazing opportunity i couldn’t refuse. Looking forward to sharing our path, in an industry that is needing some positivity, encouragement and visionary approach. Our mutual tourism and local clients deserve this more than ever.

We have been included with so many fantastic people, business owners and like-minded community members. Check it Out here:

Nat Geo Article

2025 started with a very encouraging spring, “fruitful” I would say. After very lean(if any) peaches, nectarines and plums, we had an amazing blossom in the orchard. In fact, since moving to the property in 2006, the amount of fruit set for us was unprecedented-leading to the excitement of future menu development for our long list of return clients. Perhaps serving as a metaphor for life as it has been stated there are always going to be challenges, but you need to look for the sunshine through the clouds. The same can be said for the wine industry after two years of vine death, or no fruit. We were incredibly thrilled to hear that many of our winery partners and peers saw a bumper crop of amazing fruit after the challenges of the prior two seasons. Strength through adversity truly is a calling card for farming, as mother nature holds the cards….The energy in the valley was one of recovery and excitement, and I am sure I am not the only one who welcomed this revitalized optimism with very open arms!

The farm was bursting at the seams with ground crops, with no shortage of effort from all those involved in our family and within our team. Mikkel, Debbie(my mother in law), Michale the resident handyman, Susie(the child wrangler and sprinkler nemesis), all worked in helping this be the most amazing year of produce we have seen! Everyone put forth extra effort in planting, building, fixing, managing and harvesting. A true passion for Mikkel, and this year we were able to have the most amazing flower garden behind our outdoor dining area. Those who hear the stories understand that Backyard Farm serves as a template for creativity, passion, and a livelihood for our family and small staff. Every flower on our table, in the guest washroom and home were grown lovingly by Mikkel-and her arrangements were frankly staggering…..I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next season, after watching her spend hours upon hours cleaning and storing her bulbs for the winter. Here is some of her creative genius….

Our Team!! This year I feel was likely the most inspired our team has ever been(including myself). Not an easy task to be inspired after 30 years in the culinary industry, but the creative juices were flowing. I can safely say that this can be attributed to the hard work, and positive energy, humour and integrity of everyone who works with us. It is a small but mighty team, but we all make a big impression through our love of food, farm and hospitality. Kyle was promoted to sous chef, a well deserved title as our longest employee, first apprentice of the farm, and a huge part of our business and family. He will be retuning to our kitchen for his 12th year, and it has been very rewarding to watch his growth as a leader. Which brings us to our newest kitchen addition-Sam! Oh Sam. Like a chip off the old block, an old soul with a great taste in music and ambition to pursue this career. He has been signed on as my new apprentice, and Kyle and I have been investing much time and energy sharing our knowledge and experience with him. A bit of a trial by fire, he has jumped in with very little experience to be a part of so many incredible events! I am looking forward to seeing how he grows and matures as a young cook, but he is eager and excited-I can teach the rest. So lovely to go into our rest period knowing we have a solid team for next year!

And it goes without saying that the lovely Jovia has been the most instrumental in our business growth, social media presence (until I got hacked….), and keeping our bookings organized. I always had a vision of ensuring our guests and clients receive the undivided attention they deserve in making a booking, while also enjoying a level of hospitality that is challenging in a typical restaurant setting. Her demeanour, attention to detail, sense of humour and approach to her role has taken so much off of my shoulders in the last few years. It has allowed me to have more time for the family and farm work, and I may even get closer to the “balance of life and business” we strive for….She wont let me post a picture of her without my approval so you’ll just have to meet her in person! Our service team is mainly comprised of on call staff, working on top of other full time employment, and we are so grateful for the efforts of Brie, Adrienne and Lindsey-upholding service standards that I feel are very hard to rival….

Our wonderful partners in business have been so amazing this year! We had so many memorable events with our winery and distillery partners. This season we had a few more events at the farm, rather than just off-site, allowing us to share our space with some new guests, and those who love returning to the farm atmosphere. New to the farm, we utilized our outdoor dining room for curated AlFresco lunches. A really awesome collab with Michael at Devino Wine Tours, we hosted many groups during their wine tasting tours, and intend on doing more for the 2026 season-depending on our weekly schedule, and pre-booked group sizes. You can contact Devino directly for pricing, availability and details here: Devino Wine Tours. We hosted a few speakeasy dinners in the spring and fall, a successful experiment to help us fill in empty dates, and co-hosted by some of our favorite wineries and guest organizers. We intend on arranging some dates next season as well, and plan on releasing the dates a bit earlier. Stay tuned on these, as we will post them on our socials as soon as we have looked at our schedule. For those interested, we have also updated our events page, reflective of pre-bookings with our winery partners, and allowing for a bit of pre-planning to join us in 2026. In addition, our calendar page is currently up to date. As we have taken a bit of a break for the holidays with our families, we have noticed(yet again), an unprecedented number of peak season bookings for 2026. We encourage anyone looking for dates and wanting to arrange a private, tailored culinary experience should reach out sooner than later…We will be reaching out to those who have tentative dates for deposits to confirm, and will have our availability reflected on the website. We will also be more than eager to put you on a waitlist for dates that are awaiting deposit if you may be interested.

And so, that is a wrap! The end of our 11th season, and another opportunity to share our passion for food, farm, and wine culture will come soon. The orchard needs to be pruned, rest and relaxation with family is needed to recharge, and a few irons are in the fire for some exciting upcoming additions this spring.

And while we take a break, and jump on a few projects at the farm, we want to thank each and every one of you who continue to support us, take interest in our business, and join us to share our beautiful region. Thank you from our family and team for helping us to continue our pursuit of thoughtful food, storytelling, and tailored hospitality with all of our contributions.

Happy New Year, and all the best to you and yours!

Chef Chris, Mikkel, Ainsley, Baker, Jovia, Kyle, Sam, Adrienne, Brie, Lindsey.

Some of you may have noticed our social media presence has all but disappeared over the last few weeks. Sadly, we were hacked, forcing us to shut down all of our accounts, and start new ones.

This also means that we lost over 5000 followers on our pages, both on facebook and instagram. Frustrating? Absolutely! We lost so much media, photos, comments and stories that will likely be gone for good. Our hope as we move forward is to gain our following back-but we need a favour……Please follow and share our new pages so we can get back to where we were, and beyond. As we use these pages as tools to promote and showcase our culinary projects, events and otherwise, we need your help to get the word out. We will start the process of following some of our many friends, colleagues and clients-please accept our follow on these pages:

Facebook: Backyard Farm Chef’s Table

Instagram: byfchefstable

We will continue with our stories, photos and events on these pages, so stay tuned!

Thank you for your understanding, and we appreciate your continued support in our endeavours.

We are pleased to invite you to an exclusive Winemaker’s Dinner in collaboration with French Door Winery, an evening celebrating exceptional wine and thoughtfully curated cuisine.

Event Details:

Event Timing: May 2, 2025, 6PM-9:30(ish)
Event Address: 3692 FRUITVALE WAY, OLIVER BC
Contact us at (250)485-2249 OR info@backyard-farm.ca

Price: $175 Per Guest (Price includes +5% GST, 18% Gratuity, Wine)

This event will feature a guided tasting and wine pairing experience led by French Door Winery, alongside a seasonal menu crafted by our culinary team.

Seating is limited. To reserve your place, please RSVP by filling out the form below.

We look forward to welcoming you!

***Please note you will need to fill the form out TWICE if you would like to reserve more than ONE ticket. Once ticket is reserved we will reach out to you for payment and to confirm details.

Here is a link to purchase tickets for the event: French Door Speakeasy Tickets

We are thrilled to invite you to a special Special Speakeasy Dinner in collaboration with Lakeboat Vineyard and Winery. This intimate evening will feature a beautifully curated multi-course dinner expertly paired with exceptional wines from Lakeboat Vineyard and Winery.

Event Timing: April 25th, 2025, 6PM-9:30(ish)
Event Address: 3692 FRUITVALE WAY, OLIVER BC
Contact us at (250)485-2249 OR info@backyard-farm.caPrice: $175 Per Guest (Price includes +5% GST, 18% Gratuity, Wine)

***Please note you will need to fill the form out TWICE if you would like to reserve more than ONE ticket. Once ticket is reserved we will reach out to you for payment and to confirm details.

Here is a link to purchase tickets for the event: Lakeboat Vineyard and Winery Speakeasy Tickets

To say I have been excited to see and share this article is an understatement, and she certainly captured the essence of our passion project beautifully. Thank you to Joanne, and to Edible Vancouver and Wine Country for helping share our vision of food, farm, family and hospitality!

An immersive evening of Food and Wine Culture, in collaboration with stories and wine from our friends and neighbours at Liber Estate Winery. Ticket includes a 3 course wine paired menu plus arrival canape and handcrafted, terroir inspired sourdough breads. Tickets are very limited, so be sure to get in on this inaugural event at the farm. 

Event Timing: April 11th, 2025, 6PM-9:30(ish)
Event Address: 3692 FRUITVALE WAY, OLIVER BC
Contact us at (250)485-2249 OR info@backyard-farm.caPrice: $220 Per Guest (Price includes +5% GST, 18% Gratuity, Wine)

***Please note you will need to fill the form out TWICE if you would like to reserve more than ONE ticket. Once ticket is reserved we will reach out to you for payment and to confirm details.

Here is a link to purchase tickets for the event: Liber Estate Winery Speakeasy

Many have asked, and so we have decided to elaborate on our private dining experiences. Well, what is a “speakeasy” you ask? In our mind, it is a private collaboration of like minded people gathering for a uniquely private, immersive and interactive experience. For you, it is a unique pre-season opportunity to join us around our table. We have quite a list of prior guests and followers who have expressed much interest in joining us more often, or are challenged with gathering a group of people to book our space. Peak season still books very far in advance, but we wanted an opportunity to shake off the cobwebs, and fill some dates this spring. Our staff is excited to get back in the kitchen, and offer the culinary experience we have become known for over the last 10 years.

So, here it is. We are booking some dates with a few of our winery partners to showcase their wines and swap some stories. We are also looking at perhaps inviting some chef friends to join us in the kitchen and play with food, while sharing the mutual passion for our craft. It is in the early stages of planning, but the lineup is coming together! It is very much an experiment to iron out the details, but frankly we are really excited to see a group of strangers sitting together and enjoying an evening or afternoon with our team and winery partners in anticipation of what we think will be a truly amazing season.

We decided to pre-sell tickets to our “friends of the farm” list, curated from our meal kit experiment during the pandemic. Should we be challenged in filling the room, we will open it up to the public. With only 18 seats at the table, it is likely the events will sell out quickly, so if you aren’t on the list, send us an email and you will get first dibs on these events. It may be a great opportunity to meet really nice people, or be introduced to a winery you may not have been aware are doing really amazing things…..

Three course menus will include seasonally derived ingredients, and include wine pairings for each course(including an arrival canape, terroir inspired sourdough breads, and a little sweetness at the end of the evening). As per usual, it will be an event in sharing stories about the food and wines, along with the people behind the products. If you haven’t been to Backyard Farm Chef’s table in awhile, here are a few chances.

As we firm up details and dates with our partners, we will post accordingly. Our first event will be with Liber Estate Winery, on April 11th. We will be releasing the tickets on Monday afternoon. We are requesting pre-payment for all events, with cash, e-transfer or Credit Card to hold your seats. As a “Friends of the Farm” member, you will receive the event deatils via email, with the order form allowing us to contact you to confirm. As we move forward, here are a few ideas we have floating around, and confirmed partners we are sorting out dates with:

Noble Ridge-Date TBC(maybe a patio bubbly brunch……)

Lakeboat Vineyard and Winery-Date TBC

The Wine Umbrella-Date TBC

French Door Winery-Date TBC

This is just a starting point, as we ensure it is equitable for our partners, and the experience meets the expectations of our guests.

In addition, once I have sorted out some important farm things(spring is a bit intense with planting, irrigation, etc), I will be reaching out to some of my chef buddies to see if they want to come hang out in the kitchen with us.

Chef Jeff Vangeest, Chef Brock Bowes, Two of my chef Mentors; Chef Bernard Casavant and Jim Armstrong, and Chef Mark Filatow- all have shown interest in some “kitchen dualling”. We will also be having a winery or distillery join us to represent their deliciousness with our deliciousness.

If you aren’t already a “Friend of the Farm”, get on the list by sending us an email: info@backyard-farm.ca