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Readers’ Choice Awards from Conde Nast Traveler, Sooke Harbour House among the top 30 hotels in Canada…
We want to share our happiness and gratitude to you our guests and readers of Conde Nast Traveler for choosing our small hotel among the best in Canada. We are also thrilled to be in such good company with The Wickaninnish Inn in Tofino among the top 20 resorts in Canada and the Wedgewood Hotel in Vancouver as one of the best hotel in Canada. Vancouver Island is third Best Island in North America and Vancouver is first Best City and Victoria is fourth among the top ten Best Cities in the Americas! We live and work in a little piece of...
read moreA showcase of local cuisine and a passion for food, art and gardens
http://mediacentre.canada.travel//content/ctc-blog/sooke-harbour-vancouver-island We love to encourage people to visit our little inn on the edge of the Pacific and experience local, seasonal and organically grown...
read moreThe Prince, Agaricus augustus
George Butcher found the Prince mushroom, Agaricus augustus in his yard this weekend and shared some with me. They were at the button stage. This is one of the very best edible mushrooms there is. This mushroom is meaty, on the sweetish side and is almondy at this stage in development. This is one of the easier agaricus to identify because of its big permanent ring, large size, shaggy stem and almond scent. It usually grows in the open and, in this case, grew near flowerbeds on George’s lawn. The best time to harvest this mushroom is...
read moreBoletus Smithii
I found about 6 of these mushrooms last week and Oluna Ceska was kind enough to identify them for me. They were growing in a mixed conifer, west facing, sloping forest which was made up largely of western hemlock near the beaches north of Jordan River. There was a lot of rotting wood on the ground. Although Trudell and Ammirati (pg 219) identify the flavour as mild, several of us found this mushroom to be an excellent edible! As you can see from these photographs, my specimens were much pinker in colour than the ones in the Trudell- Ammirati...
read moreArmillaria ostoyae and Winter Chanterelles
Today, Friday , October 1st, I went out and found quite a few mushrooms in the Sooke area including these, Armillaria ostoyae. These are a type of Honey mushroom and they are best when young and should be well cooked to bring out the flavour. There are occasional reports of allergic reactions to these mushrooms and sometimes this includes honey mushrooms growing on hemlock trees. Some suggest disgarding the stems although I think they are palateble. They are tough. Michael Kuo, 100 Edible Mushrooms, pg 246, suggests parboiling them for 1...
read moreOctober/November Artists of the Month
October 1st – November 29th, “Art from Scratch” featuring works by Maria Kaltio and Patrice Plank will be on display at Sooke Harbour House. An opening reception with artists in attendance will be held Sunday, October 3rd, from 1-4 pm. Admission and refreshments are free so why not stop by for a...
read moreCulinaire Saisonnier
Please follow the link to read a recent Dutch article on Diane Bernard, the seaweed lady, and also on how seaweed is used in cooking at Sooke Harbour House. LINK TO...
read moreBoletus coniferarum
I found this Boletus coniferarum, Conifer Boletus, on Tuesday, September 28th. It is an edible bolete but it’s flavour is bitter and it is definitely considered to be inferior to many other boletes. I found this mushroom in a predominantly western hemlock forest by the ocean near Sooke. We found four types of boletus including lots of King Boletus...
read moreThanksgiving sample menu
Share a delicious holiday meal with family and friends in our ocean-front dining room. Open at 5:30pm, enjoy a 4 course dinner for 74.95 per person. Phone 250-642-3421 to reserve your table. We look forward to welcoming you and yours to the Inn. Click on the link to see last year’s Thanksgiving day menu. LINK TO...
read moreFeast of Fields, our 13 year with Feast of Fields
13 years of Feast of Fields: What we served over the years, a celebration of land and ocean, of farmers, gardeners, foragers and of our very talented chefs, cooks and apprentices. 1998 Qualicum Bay weathervane scallop with Venturi Schulze Balsamic vinegar and herbs of Vancouver Island Indigenous people 1999 Stuffed Cedar Glen Farm Suckling Kid roast with salal berry jelly 2000 Grilled octopus on flat bread with Gentian sage flower vinaigrette 2001 Seaweed salad in a cracker cone 2002 Chilled soufflé Sooke Dungeness crab with Feather boa...
read moreSooke Harbour House Testimonials
