A couple weekends ago, my group and I had the pleasure of traveling to Comox Valley on Vancouver to Island to meet our client Laura Agnew and speak to her about her catering business “As You Like It”.  This was thanks to the support of the Community Learning Initiative Office which we are very grateful to.

A short recap of our trip:

We woke up early on Sunday morning (we were all quite thankful for daylight savings time for the extra hour of sleep) to make the 8:30 am ferry leaving Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo. Some members of the group managed to fit in a extra bit of sleep on the ferry before we were on the road again driving south to Courtenay.

My first impression of the small town was how quaint it was, and how all the grocery stores had names that suggested they carried sustainable produce such as Edible Foods.  Getting a feel of the atmosphere there definitely helped us to understand the consumers.   The highlight of trip though was actually meeting Laura, who definitely spoiled us with all sorts of goodies.  The muffins, soup and don’t even get me started on the lemon tarts.  Truly mouthwatering!  Her property is a sustainable-minded person’s dream come true, especially for those who have a passion for growing their own foods.  Her garden was mightily impressive with a wide assortment of vegetables and fruits.  She even raises hens to lay fresh eggs.  And all around her home, she grows fresh herbs including rosemary, bay leaves, mint and oregano.

Meeting Laura and understanding her values really has helped me frame her business in my mind, and gives me a better vision of what our report to her will look like.  I hope to visit the Comox Valley again sometime in the near future to get a little bit more exploring done.  I promise I’ll upload a couple pictures from our trip soon!