With restaurants opening up and travel is once again on the radar, you’ll want to add Victoria BC to your itinerary. Along with the plane ticket and car rental, tuck this gem of a resource under your arm and enjoy some brunch! Where, do you ask? According to John Catucci of Food Network Canada, Victoria is the brunch capital of Canada.
First, We Brunch breaks down where to eat in Victoria into sit down places, grab and go establishments, places to shop and recipes from local chefs. Each restaurant/business has a short description of who they are and what they’re good at, along with enticing pictures and then some recipes you’ll want to enjoy both in the restaurant and at home.
Rebecca Wellman is an amazing photographer – see our review of Bisous and Brioche where she co-authored that wonderful French cuisine cookbook. For First, We Brunch, Rebecca took to the streets of her home town of Victoria and put her camera lens to work…and came up with pics of people, places and food that will have you scouring the city for your next breakfast, brunch and lunch hot spot.
In her own words, Rebecca explains the backdrop of this book: “Having been a food and lifestyle photographer in Victoria for over 10 years, I’ve stood in many kitchens; I know the owners, restaurateurs, and chefs in this town well. I’ve celebrated with them when they found success and commiserated with them when challenges arose. Some of them have become friends, and I can attest to their commitment to quality as well as to the craftsmanship of the food they serve you and the places they serve you in. The recipes in these pages are gifts from them to us.”
Unfortunately, with the pandemic hitting the restaurant industry, some of these delightful establishments have closed their doors. But for those that are still open, your support of their tasty fares is greatly appreciated. I asked author, Rebecca Wellman, how the pandemic has changed the industry:
“This book was published back in 2017, so it’s definitely seen some changes. A few establishments no longer offer brunch, or had closed before Covid, so now I’m looking at it as more of a collector’s item. And of course, with the changes to the industry that Covid has brought on, home-cooking is even more prevalent! I love this book, and especially love Olo’s brunch recipe – made even more special now that Olo is no longer!” Rebecca is referring to Olo’s Brunch Fried Rice and Wake Up in the Dark libation. We tried the Spinach Quiche with Bacon (see Recipe section). The recipe was developed by Rebecca’s friend Jennifer Letham-Sobkin for the BRUNCH POTLUCK section of the book using Rebar’s pastry recipe. http://rebarmodernfood.com/ Thanks Jennifer for these yummy bites of comfort!
e sure to enter our Giveaway to win a copy of this book or to purchase it, head over to https://www.touchwoodeditions.com/book/first-we-brunch/
Recipe by Rebecca Wellman, from First We Brunch, copyright © 2017 by Rebecca Wellman. Reprinted with permission of TouchWood Editions.
