brunswickanarts arts@thebruns.ca
Jan. 4, 2012 • Issue 15 • Volume 145 • 9
Spreading the Relish Haley Ryan Arts Reporter “What do you Relish?” If this question is unfamiliar, chances are you haven’t yet had the opportunity to check out the city’s only gourmet burger joint, located on King Street. Frederictonians have been enjoying the friendly service and creative burger toppings at Relish for the past couple of years. As of January, people all over Atlantic Canada will have had the opportunity to take part in the Relish experience or look forward to one coming soon to their community. Rivers Corbett, a UNB alumni, began Relish with his business partner and head chef, Ray Henry, two years ago. Even then, the pair had big plans for their new business, and Corbett said the recent expansion across Atlantic Canada is just the start. “We had the goal of 101 stores from day one, because everyone wants 100 stores so we had to do one more,” Corbett said in a phone interview. “Also, we wanted 11 stores sold by January, not 10 or five.” Corbett wanted to start out in Atlantic Canada simply because there is not much competition. Even now, looking into franchisers in the U.S., Corbett is going into Maine and New Hampshire and staying away from the huge cities with multiple burger chains. “I’d rather be the first guy on the block instead of the last guy,” he said. Corbett said he’s always had an entrepreneurial spirit, which stems from the fact that his father was an independent businessman. He got into the food industry because there will always be a demand, although Corbett said with a laugh that he actually hates cooking himself. Ray Henry, head chef of Relish and ‘director of burgers,’ saw a need for a great
Rivers Corbett and Ray Henry pose next to the chalkboard menu at Relish. Mike Erb / Brunswickan File Photo burger joint in the city and went to Corbett with the idea. He said his ‘a-ha’ moment came when friends from his home province of B.C visited and asked where to get a great hamburger. When Henry looked around and realized that there wasn’t a local restaurant known for their burgers and fries, he figured that many others in Fredericton must notice the lack of delicious patties as well. The large blackboard in Relish lists the
types of burger ‘personalities’ you can choose from, with veggie, turkey or beef burgers and sweet potato or regular French fries. Henry credits fun names like ‘L.A. is my Lady’ and ‘The Simpleton’ to his wacky sense of humour. “There’s really no science to it, it’s just a lot of fun,” Henry said. Along with priding themselves on a delicious burger (and a brand new gourmet poutine option) Corbett said what sets Rel-
ish apart is the experience, which begins as soon as you walk in the door. Full of smiles and puns, the staff of Relish will greet you with a cheery chorus of “welcome!” when you come in, and they’ll be sure to get your name when you order. When your meal is ready, don’t be surprised to hear them calling you in the same volume, either. Henry got the idea of a personalized greeting from a restaurant he frequented
when he lived in Vancouver. “When you went in, the whole staff would yell at you in Japanese, and then again when you left,” Henry said. “They could have been insulting me for all I knew, but it really left an impression.” You can check out the Relish website at relishme.ca with links to their Twitter and Facebook pages, which keep you updated on what stores are opening next and what’s on the feature burger of the week.
better (more eggs),” he said. “They’ve done a lot of work here (building) over the years to improve it for the vendors and the people coming in. The market environment has grown in the right direction over the years.” Hailing from Bear Island, the Goodine family makes their living from what they sell from their farm. Although they have more than eggs, such as beef cattle and dairy cattle, they don’t sell any of those products at the market in Fredericton. “We’re a family farm and everything we produce is family oriented and we all work together (three brothers). All in all we do pretty good. We’re true farmers.” Also a familiar face at the market is Larry Yerxa of Yerxa’s Meats Inc. from Scotch Settlement. Yerxa’s, another family business, has been a vendor at the market for 23 years, and also wholesales meat at some stores around Fredericton. Yerxa believes it is important to have local meat available to the community, both to support the community, but also because he believes it’s healthier. “I believe it is safe. Our beef does not have growth hormones in it or antibiotics in the feed,” he said. “When you buy local you support the community and create jobs for the local people.” Yerxa has noticed that the demand for local meat has increased as people become more aware about where their meat comes from. “I believe there is more interest now, today, then there was 20 years ago. There is a lot more support in recent years for this market than we’ve had (in his 23 years).”
A relatively green market vendor, Gagetown Fruit Farm, is run by Matthew Estabrooks and Heather Rhymes. It’s proving to be a popular spot to buy apple cider. Starting at the market two and half years ago after moving back to New Brunswick from Ontario, the pair now are farmers and vendors full-time, visiting both the Fredericton and St. Andrews markets, and looking to pick up more. “We’re both trained chefs and we spent some time in Ontario and saw what they were doing and decided to come back here and bring it into the marketplace,” Estabrooks said. “My family owns a property that had an apple orchard on it already.” A lthough they make enough money as t hey wou ld work ing a not her job for someone else, Estabrooks says it takes a lot more time, but there are positives to working for yourself. “You make as much as you would going out and getting a similar job working for someone else. There’s a lot more time involved; this summer we averaged 14 and 15 hour days.” A n overarching theme among market vendors is their concern for the environment. Estabrooks believes that being able to use everything they have as a product is a positive for the environmental impact. For example, most of the products they sell are made by using apples, but they also sell a few cartons of eggs from the few birds they have. “People are trying to reduce the carbon footprint and the more local you can buy the better off things are.” The Boyce Farmers Market is open every Saturday from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Think local, buy local
The Boyce Farmers Market
Heather Rhymes helps a customer at her Gagetown Fruit Farm stall at the Boyce Farmers Market. Andrew Meade / The Brunswickan Christopher Cameron Editor-In-Chief It was raining, so the usual crowd was lacking outside, but the Boyce Farmers Market was buzzing indoors this past Saturday morning as it does most every week. The smell of sausages and kettle corn f ills your nose as you walk through the row of vendors out-
side, while the smells inside range from artisan cheese to waff les to homemade candles. Trying to find a favourite vendor inside always takes time as people stop to gander at what everyone offers. The farmer’s market opened in 1951, and began with only four vendors. Now, t here are up to 250 indoor and outdoor suppliers throughout the year.
Roy Goodine’s family was one of the first four vendors at the market, but he was only a child when his father opened the Goodine’s Eggs stall at the market. He has noticed changes both at the market and with his production over the 60 years his family has been involved. “We have different types of birds now. They are smaller birds that lay