We had the pleasure of having permission to photograph the dinner service for Friday, the 9th of January, 2009. It is always exciting to see what delectable cuisine comes out in to our dining room, but it was a special thrill to have permission to photograph our Chef de Cuisine Edward Tuson and his team at work.

Read on for the pictures, and the menu. Perhaps you can glean some tips for your own cooking as you see them assemble their artful delicacies. Bon appetit!

(Don't forget that our kitchen team would gladly prepare vegetarian dishes, as well as any other concerns!)

Click Full Story for pictures! Click the pictures and explore the entire Flickr gallery, many more goodies hide in there that are not posted with-in.

Why do we like so much to spend time with friends around food that we have foraged, fished for, gardened for or just bought not at a sterile supermarket but at a Farmers’ market? The connection between food and the people that grow it and us eating it and filling our bodies with it, is not just an organic connection but a deeper one and one that I feel is spiritual. Food is our fuel, not just for our body but as much for our mind and soul!

Sharing the food with other people is a social event that makes us more complete.

Case in point, a 45 minute journey up the western coast of the island takes you to Sooke and the incomparable haven of Sinclair and Frederique Philip.

While the concept of using local ingredients is beginning to take root in popular culture, the Philip’s celebrated Sooke Harbour House has been living off the surrounding lands for the past three decades. The property, originally owned by the first sheriff of Vancouver Island, was built in 1925. The couple bought it in 1979.