Tonight, New years Eve 2025, is the last time I will write a menu on the board until we reopen for our 12th season in March. What an amazing year it has been!
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.