ISSUE 105 ISSUE 1052026 NOV/DEC NOV/DEC 2026 yammagazine.com yammagazine.com
SQUARES & BARS: SWEET TREATS FOR EVERY OCCASION
P. 82
Global Traditions 3 top chefs share family memories + recipes
A happier holiday Your self-care survival plan
HOW TO: Get cozy at home Festive Knits
An homage to the “ugly” Christmas sweater FROM THE ASHES
How a community rebuilt after a devastating fire
The
... and much more!
Holiday Issue
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Δ Personal Real Estate Corporation Sotheby’s International Realty Canada, Brokerage. Real estate agency. Independently Owned and Operated. E &O.E: This information is from sources which we deem reliable, but must be verified by prospective purchasers and may be subject to change or withdrawal.
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Your Local Experts Alan Fuller Δ
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Exceptional heritage. Pioneering expertise. Experience extraordinary service tailored to your lifestyle. 752 Douglas Street, Victoria * Sales Representative ◊ Sales Associate Δ Personal Real Estate Corporation † Associate Broker E.&O.E.: Sotheby’s International Realty Canada is Independently Owned And Operated.
S O T H E B Y S R E A L T Y. C A
The Holidays at
CANADA’S CASTLE VICTORIA’S MOST ICONIC CHRISTMAS TRADITION
From legendary Tea at the Empress to festive dinners, Christmas Day feasts and cocktails overlooking the Inner Harbour, Fairmont Empress is where Victoria comes together to celebrate the season. Scan to discover all the Festive Events at Fairmont Empress.
NOV/DEC
Contents
H O L I D AY I S S U E
22
How to Trim Your Tree We ask an expert for the best way to make your tree the stunning centrepiece your home deserves. By Joanne Sasvari
32
A Global Gathering Three chefs from three continents bring their holiday traditions and favourite recipes to the table. By Joanne Sasvari
32
62
From the Ashes How historic Telegraph Cove rebuilt after a devastating fire — and emerged stronger than ever. By Linda Barnard
70
Have a Happier Holiday The holidays can be a lot. Avoid the seasonal overwhelm with these smart self-care tips.
22
By YAM Staff
74
Oh, What Fun! We unravel the history of the holiday sweater — and find ways to make it stylish, too. No, really. By Eva Rachert
8
YAM MAGAZINE NOV/DEC 2026
62
74
74
Effortlessly in command
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NOV/DEC
Contents
H O L I D AY I S S U E
12 EDITOR’S LETTER
50
15 HERE + NOW
Tips for making a festive entrance; all-Canadian winter gear; your guide to holiday markets; a candle that captures Victoria’s essence; cross-Canada roadtrip inspo; a parka for your pet. Plus: the YAM contest.
20 IN PERSON
In his new book, CBC municipal affairs reporter Justin McElroy goes on a search for the world’s best places. By David Lennam
42 LIFE AT HOME
From snuggly throws to welcoming spaces: How to transform your home into a cozy refuge this winter. By YAM Staff
42
50 STYLE WATCH
Add luxurious details to every occasion this holiday season. Styled by Janine Metcalfe
92 DESTINATION
For when you really need to get away, Antarctica beckons. By Lucas Aykroyd
96 SCENE
Conductor Joey Pietraroia’s busy, busy holiday season. Plus: Culture Calendar.
98 PERSPECTIVE
As El Niño approaches, prepare to weather the storm.
LUCAS AYKROYD
By David Lennam
92
By Joanne Sasvari
FOOD + DRINK 77 IN SEASON + THE DISH
Merry cranberries; a really Great Kitchen Party; the latest restaurant openings; seasonal cookbooks; gourmet gift ideas.
82 HOLIDAY HEROES
Easy, versatile and delicious: The dessert square is the star of every occasion. By Joanne Sasvari
88 BEYOND
THE SHAFT
Coffee cocktails for when you need a seasonal wake-me-up. By Christine Sismondo
10
YAM MAGAZINE NOV/DEC 2026
EDITOR'S LETTER
Own your finances. Shine through life. Shine Financial Group is a unique wealth management firm that specializes in working with women who are divorced, widowed or single by choice, with the desire to thrive through their own financial success. Book your complimentary goals assessment today — because when your finances shine, your life will follow!
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12
YAM MAGAZINE NOV/DEC 2026
OF ALL THE TREES MOST LOVELY
W
hen I was little, the Christmas tree would show up in our house like magic. On Christmas Eve, my dad would take me and my sister for a drive and when we got back home, ta-da! Where a boring old armchair usually sat, a fragrant evergreen would have appeared, sparkling with tinsel, dazzling with colourful lights, surrounded by a mountain of gifts. “Santa brought it while you were out,” my mom would say, but no fools us, we knew that she and my aunts had done all the work while dad was driving oh, so very slowly around town. The tree was always the centrepiece of our celebrations. Our family would travel from across the country — sometimes across an ocean — to stand around it, together, at Christmas. Some years there would be more of us, a new spouse, say, or a baby, or the boyfriend who showed up that one awkward time. But in recent years there have been fewer and fewer of us. Now more people are gone than are left to gather round the tree. There were years when I lugged a tree up three steep, narrow flights of stairs to an attic apartment and then back down a few weeks later, shedding needles every step of the way. Years when my place was so small I could only perch a potted tree on the balcony outside the living room window. Years when I was travelling so much, I didn’t have a tree at all. But in all that time, the Christmas tree never lost its magic, whether it was big or small, real or faux, a spindly Charlie Brown tree or as grand as that giant sequoia on the grounds of the B.C. Parliament Buildings. These days I’ve succumbed to practicality and have a fake tree that’s easy to put together, never sheds a needle and tucks neatly into the awkward corners of my house. I drape it in bougie gold garlands and gourmet-themed glass ornaments — oysters on the half shell, fancy cocktails, macarons, a lobster roll, cannelés, tins of caviar, you get the idea. I like to think it’s all very grown up in a cheeky sort of way. But I still kind of miss the Christmas trees of my childhood, fragrant and freshly cut, a little sticky with sap and kind of crooked, decorated with mismatched ornaments and surrounded by the people I love rather than their memories. Whether you have a fancy tree or a basic one or just a few evergreen branches on your mantelpiece or nothing at all, we hope this season is filled with love, joy and happy gatherings.
Joanne Sasvari, Editor-in-Chief editor@yammagazine.com
PUBLISHERS Lise Gyorkos Georgina Camilleri EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Joanne Sasvari DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Jeffrey Bosdet LEAD GRAPHIC DESIGNER Janice Hildybrant ASSOCIATE GRAPHIC DESIGNER Kelly Hamilton ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS Deana Brown Jennifer Dean Van Tol Brenda Knapik ADVERTISING CO-ORDINATOR Rebecca Juetten DIGITAL MEDIA SPECIALIST Lauren Ingle FASHION EDITOR Janine Metcalfe COPY EDITOR Lionel Wild WELL MADE, BEAUTIFUL, CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Lucas Aykroyd, Linda Barnard, FUNCTIONAL David Lennam, Eva Rachert, Christine Sismondo FINANCIAL ANALYST Allison Villacis EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Julien Johnston-Brew
Christmas starts at Muffet & Louisa with the magic of Patience Brewster SHOP WITH US IN THE STORE OR ONLINE
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CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Andréa Conforti, Rob Hilts, Kevin Light, Megan Rose Wilson CONTRIBUTING AGENCIES Getty Images p. 17, 23, 70, 74, 76, 92, 93, 97; Living4Media p. 42, 44, 45; Stocksy p. 23, 25, 46, 47, 77; Unsplash p. 26
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BC
HERE + NOW
A Grand Entrance
JEFFREY BOSDET/YAM MAGAZINE
Want your guests to feel merry and bright even before they set foot into your home? Turn the area around your front door into a showcase of festive design the way Jen Lasko does. Each year the co-owner and principal designer of ModPots creates a sumptuous tableau of containers, living plants, cut branches, ornaments, lights, garlands and wreaths. “I love Christmas. I love decorating for Christmas. It’s one of my favourite things,” says Lasko. “I really like to have our house set and dressed and everything else by November 30. Then we can really enjoy it. And by the time we take it down, you know, after Christmas, after New Year’s, we’re ready to take it down.” For Lasko’s tips on how to create your own doorway décor, turn the page.
YAM MAGAZINE NOV/DEC 2026 15
HERE + NOW ModPots co-owner Jen Lasko used ribbons, bells, large pine cones and ornaments in a variety of coppery-brown hues to highlight the magnolia and curly willow branches in her seasonal arrangement.
How to Create a Festive Entrance
S
tart by choosing your container(s), ideally, two of them, one for either side of your door. “The colour of the pot should be complementary to the door, and big enough to do a nice display,” says Lasko, who recommends pots at least 20 inches high and 20 inches wide. They can be plastic, metal or ceramic, as long as the material is designed to withstand freezing temperatures. Next, select your plants. You can use live plants, but for this display, Lasko used cut branches of eucalyptus, cedar and magnolia, along with curly willow for height. Other options include: evergreens
16
PHOTOS: JEFFREY BOSDET/YAM MAGAZINE
Each year, Jen Lasko, owner and principal designer of ModPots, creates wreaths, garlands, centrepieces and festive containers for her clients. We asked her how to create a gorgeous Christmas container for our own homes; here’s what she had to say.
such as cypress, hemlock or sequoia; “spillers” like ivy or creeping jenny; lotus pods and ilex berries for interesting accents. If you are using cut branches, Lasko advises filling the pot with soil and adding one to two litres of water. (After this, water the pots once a month or so to keep the branches looking fresh.) Cut branch stems on an angle so they’ll absorb water better, then plunge them into the soil, which will work as a base. If needed, use green florist wire to hold the branches in place. Lasko typically arranges the perimeter of the pot first, allowing some greens to drape over the
YAM MAGAZINE NOV/DEC 2026
sides, then works her way toward the middle. “For the centre of the pot, I go really tall and vertical,” she says. “I tend to pick curly willow branches for a very tall centre — they will sort of draw your eye up and into your next display, so we often do matching garlands for the door.” Add visual interest with pine cones, ribbons, Christmas ornaments and battery-operated fairy lights. (Tuck the battery pack somewhere safe from the elements.) “After Christmas, you can take all that seasonal stuff out and then all of your greens, your curly willow, your pot, your pine
cones, whatever is left there just becomes a winter display versus the Christmas display,” Lasko says. Finally, hang a complementary wreath on the door, drape a garland around the handrail, or tuck smaller pots of flowering hellebores around the bigger pots. “We often add lanterns and extra ornaments at the entrance, and I always really like to have a fresh new mat for Christmas,” Lasko says. “It really adds to the whole warm, cozy feeling.” For more tips, ModPots offers wreath-making classes on November 26 and December 5. modpots.ca
It’s Canada’s Season, eh? No one knows how to do winter better than those of us in the True North Strong and Free. Traditional Toque
Like the iconic sweaters, Cowichan toques have a long tradition here on the Island. They are handmade by Cowichan First Nation knitters from undyed sheep’s wool and incorporate traditional Coast Salish designs like orcas or eagles. They’re also the best way to keep your noggin warm and dry. Always look for genuine Cowichan knits like this helmetstyle toque, available at Cheryl’s Trading Post. cherylstradingpost.com
Cozy Mitts
Every Canadian knows that mitts are warmer than gloves. These cozy Cabin Waffle Flip Mitts not only have the retro vibe we love, they’ve been designed to be texting friendly so you can remind your buds to bring the rye to your rager. roots.com
Lip Service
Canadians, it seems, have a lot to say these days. Make ’em listen with the intense colour and high shine of Watier’s Supreme Vinyl Lip Lacquer in Flamboyance. This made-inMontreal hydrating lip lacquer is enriched with Labrador tea extract and apricot, jojoba and coconut oils, for a finish as protective as it is attention-getting. watier.com
Merry Markets Looking for that one-of-a-kind gift? Wanting to support local artists and artisans? Craving a little festive fun? Then check out these Greater Victoria winter markets.
CREATIVE CRAFT FAIR
November 6 to 8, Pearkes Rec Centre, creativecraftfairs.com
YULETIDE MARKET SERIES
Weekends, November 6 to December 20 (night market December 14 to 17), Bilston Creek Farm, bilston.ca
FIRST & LAST CHANCE CHRISTMAS CRAFT SHOWS First: November 7 and 8; Last: December 11 to 13, Mary Winspear Centre, firstandlastchance.ca
ATOMIC CHRISTMAS VINTAGE FAIR AND MAKERS MARKET
November 13 and 14, Da Vinci Centre, islandvintageevents.com
OWL DESIGNER FAIR
A Perfect Parka
Canada Goose may have a rep as a luxury brand beloved of Hollywood types, but it still produces outdoor gear as rugged, aggressive and adaptable as the cobra chicken it’s named for. The Snow Mantra, made in Canada and shown here in Fortune Red, is perhaps its most famous parka, developed for the planet’s coldest regions and harshest climates: ours. canadagoose.com
Toasty Tootsies
If your feet are warm, so are you. These moisturewicking crew socks from Victoriabased Outway are designed to be comfortable rather than bulky, with a reinforced footbed, arch support and seamless toe. Plus we love their classic Canadiana style. outway.com
November 21 and 22, Fernwood NRG, owlfair.com
OUT OF HAND HOLIDAY MARKET
November 27 to 29, Crystal Garden, outofhand.ca
WINTER BAZAAR
November 27 to 29, Gorge Park Pavilion, winterbazaar.org
LOCAL FOLK HOLIDAY FAIR December 5 and 6, Sea Cider Farm & Ciderhouse, instagram.com/ makesharevictoria
A TOUCH OF SALT SPRING CHRISTMAS CRAFT SHOW
December 4 to 6, Saanich Fairgrounds, atouchofsaltspring.com
45TH ANNUAL DICKENS FAIR
December 5, James Bay Community Centre, jamesbaymarket.com
YAM MAGAZINE NOV/DEC 2026 17
The Scent of Home If you’ve been thinking your home needs a signature fragrance, why not try one that captures the essence of the city where we live? The Victoria candle from Vancouver-based ROAM combines sandalwood, tonka bean, bergamot and eucalyptus for “an elegant, sexy and luxurious scent.” Or, for other Vancouver Island scents, you could try the Tofino (amber, cedarwood, jasmine) or Ucluelet (sage, eucalyptus, lavender). Not only do they have beautiful aromas, ROAM small-batch candles are made from premium, sustainable coconut and apricot wax, hand-poured in Vancouver and presented in elegant, reusable ceramic vessels, available in midnight or natural colours. roamthebrand.com
YAM Reads
TRAVELS IN CANADA
True wellness naturally unfolds when we choose to live in harmony with our surroundings. Inspiration for conscious Island living.
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The renowned travel writer Paul Theroux began his latest book as the third act of a roadtrip trilogy, but it became something much more personal and more thought-provoking, too. In True North: On the Road in Canada (HarperCollins), he traces his own ancestral connection to Quebec, and travels from the Viking settlement at L’Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland and Labrador to Vancouver’s Pacific gateway, meeting farmers, refugees, Indigenous leaders and others along the way. The result is not just a panoramic portrait of this vast land, but a thoughtful and witty meditation on kinship, patriotism, resilience and (this being Canada) bad weather. It’s the book you’ll be talking about all winter long.
No More Soggy Doggies Winter walkies can be a cold, wet, miserable experience for people and pups alike. But not if both of you have weatherproof gear. Just ask Jacqueline Prehogan. When the Toronto-based “dog mom” couldn’t find a coat she liked for Bella, the first of her three rescue pugs, she created her own line of pet parkas, booties and other gear called Canada Pooch. That was a decade ago; now the collection features everything from cooling vests for hot summer days to sweaters, hoodies and snow suits for chilly winter ones. The pieces are stylish and well made, and available in sizes from chihuahua to Great Dane. Who knows? You might even come to love those rainy, slushy, snowy days. ca.canadapooch.com
Canada Pooch’s waterproof black puffer (above) keeps your pup warm and dry on wet, chilly days, and waterproof booties (right) are for tender paws in our everyday West Coast weather.
Contest Alert!
Cozier Nights Giveaway Enter to win a luxurious Pinnacle goose down duvet from Sweet Dreams Boutique.
Light as a cloud, naturally warm and beautifully soft, goose down is prized for its exceptional ability to provide warmth without weight, allowing your body to stay comfortable throughout the night. The made-in-Canada Pinnacle duvet is filled with 650 loft European white goose down, and is encased in a smooth, 400-threadcount, 100-per-cent cotton shell. It has a value of $600. Enter for your chance to win — and make every night a little more comfortable. To enter, visit yammagazine.com or scan the QR code. Contest closes December 31, 2026.
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IN PERSON
Justin McElroy versus the World
The CBC reporter travels the planet to define what really makes a city great. By David Lennam | Photo by Megan Rose Wilson
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ictoria-raised and Vancouver-based CBC municipal affairs reporter Justin McElroy had already decided to take a year’s sabbatical, travel the world and return home with a publishable manuscript. However, the 39-year-old had yet to figure out exactly what that book would say. “For a good year-and-a-half I was going: What am I going to write? And if I do do this, what am I actually contributing?” But then came a certain city hall press conference where then-mayor Ken Sim, in defending some policy proposal that lacked any detail, started in on the Vancouver-needsto-be-a-world-class-city trope. “I sort of rolled my eyes and thought, not this phrase again,” recalls McElroy. But in the back of his mind he realized he would soon visit just about every world-class city and, well, that seemed good fodder for a book — to take his unique brand of data journalism and find out just what makes a city world class. The result is the just-published Searching for the Best Place on Earth: 52 Countries in 52 Weeks (Harbour Publishing). It is a buzzy hook, a mix of his personal and professional lives, plus an excuse to chart and rank and classify everything, which, if you follow McElroy, is his modus operandi. The lighter side of his reporting ranks things like Canadian TV shows (Mr. Dressup topped Kids In the Hall), B.C.’s best small towns (Ucluelet) or lakes (Sproat), even the best roadside attraction (Coombs’s goats on the roof edged out Prince George’s Mr. PG). The book would hold up a mirror to Sim’s claim of a world-class Vancouver, rank the Top 100 cities he visited and be critically honest. CBC honest. “You get more confident about what it is about your city that’s good or bad, and if you’re not going to be honest when you’re writing a book about travelling the world, and here’s how my city stacks up, when are you going to be honest?” he says.
A DEFENCE MECHANISM Although he was raised in Victoria, visits frequently and has much to say about travel on BC Ferries, McElroy has been deeply connected to Vancouver since he attended UBC and honed his chops on The Ubyssey
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campus newspaper. He talks about the energy and randomness and messiness of his adopted hometown, contrasted with its breathtaking natural geography. But world class? Hmmm. McElroy refers to that as “a benign, calorie-free phrase,” without any way to quantify that standing nor tangible benefits for those living in one. “And yet,” he writes, “those two words have become a shorthand aspirational phrase used by politicians, marketers, and urban planners around the world to denote what a city could be or should be — or isn’t.” McElroy’s book is relentlessly researched, full of whimsy and features the same off-thecuff signature wit he displays for CBC (or on those social media reels). The kind of stuff that has made him oddly loveable with a measure of quirky. His sometimes off-kilter approach (he has referred to himself as a jester), obsessively replete with a statistician’s graphs, charts and numbers, is reflective of his autism. It’s a strength he plays to rather than an eccentricity. (An autistic kid’s fascination with the minutiae of statistics, templates and ranking everything becomes the highlight of turning on CBC TV — that’s this writer’s take, anyways.) McElroy isn’t secretive about being on the spectrum. Diagnosed while he was living in Fernwood and still in grade school at Oaklands elementary, he has parlayed what could be an obstacle into journalistic gold. As a kid he developed a humble, genuine, self-deprecating delivery, which was “sort of a defence mechanism and also like, how do I not get bullied by pointing out the ways I’m silly?” In 2020, McElroy publicly revealed his condition and remembers clearly how it went down during a meeting in the CBC newsroom. “So now you understand why I’m terrified of, like, interviewing random people on the street or doing the emotional heart-wrenching profile thing,” he told his co-workers. “I’ll just come in and say, ‘Here are the numbers. Let me stay behind my desk and play with my charts.’ So they were able to go, ‘Oh, I get it.’ And by that point I was known as a person who was ranking every park in the city.”
ANALYSIS AND GUT FEELING There’s a great line in the book that sums up some of the fear he had to overcome during a year abroad: “I was surrounded by people who were too loud and too friendly and none of them were autistic millennials who enjoyed ranking things.” Asked how the trip changed him, McElroy doesn’t hesitate. “It made me feel smaller and more aware of the stunning infinite amount of the things happening every day around us and these small building blocks that have been created for thousands and thousands of years … I gained a greater appreciation for how tenuous it is what we have.” If there’s a metric or template or set of values for identifying a truly world-class city, of course McElroy has figured it out. He reveals that he combined intentional analysis with sheer gut feelings about cities, about their transit systems, food, museums and the mood of their citizens. World-class cities, he says, are places for all types of people. They are places with affordable housing, a social safety net that ensures anyone can live relatively freely, with good, cheap transportation and interesting things to do — which can come from the geography, the history or the fundamental design of a city. “So much of the discourse these days, without giving away where Vancouver is ranked, is that we’re either the best place in the world or our city is dying and 99.8 per cent of cities are right in the middle,” he says. “They’re struggling, they’ve got clear issues, but also they’ve got a lot going for them. I think if we be more honest about these strengths and weaknesses, without freaking out about the weaknesses too much, or patting ourselves on the back too much for the strengths, we end up in a better place and a better opportunity to combat directly the things that need to be dealt with.” He adds: “Every place above Vancouver that I score, I could imagine living there.” So where did McElroy rank Vancouver? Well, you’ll have to read the book to find out.
Justin McElroy, author of the new book Searching for the Best Place on Earth, pauses along the Dallas Road waterfront trail, accompanied by a souvenir from his travels.
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How to
TRIM YOUR TREE Step-by-step advice from a holiday-decorating expert.
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By Joanne Sasvari
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eather Tomlin has been decorating Christmas trees for 50 years, and by “decorating” we don’t mean randomly flinging a few garlands and ornaments on the boughs. As the former display manager at Spirit of Christmas and, before that, a visual merchandiser at Eatons for 20 years, she goes all out. Each year, she turns her home and garden into an over-the-top Christmas extravaganza. So when we wanted some advice on the best way to decorate our own trees, we naturally turned to her. “I create a design for a tree,” Tomlin explains. Make that trees, plural. She has one in her den that she describes as “very whimsical and very Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,” and two in her living room along with a full-size golden reindeer or two. And then there’s the winter wonderland she creates in her garden. She devises themes for her trees, builds her own props and, starting around Halloween, when the holiday products start arriving in stores, sources ornaments, garlands and other festive things from go-to retailers like Home Sense. Then, once she starts decorating, it takes her a full 10 days to get all the trees, lights and other ornaments up. It is, she admits, a lot. “I do it because I know how to do it and I love it — and I really do it because my grandchildren love it.” Here’s Tomlin’s advice for decorating your own Christmas tree.
Step 2: Pick a Theme
The first thing to note is that Tomlin only decorates artificial trees. “A live tree is a beautiful thing on its own. You need to trim an artificial tree more fully than a live one,” she says. If you can’t resist the romance of a real tree, we get it. But decorating it is more about navigating its natural quirks than fulfilling a specific design vision. It not only demands a fair bit of maintenance, but you’ll have to string every strand of lights yourself, watch out for uneven or weak branches when hanging ornaments and take care to fill in any bare spots. Artificial trees, on the other hand, are a canvas for decoration. They have a uniform shape with sturdy, reinforced branches, and typically come pre-lit. Plus they require no maintenance and, at the end of the season, all you need to do is take them apart and put them away till next year. There are also myriad different types of artificial trees, some so realistic it’s hard to tell they’re faux and others, like the festive flocked ones, that are just a whole lot of fun. You can find them at any height and any width — there are even flatback trees that look like a full tree but fit neatly against a wall, taking up half the space.
Once you have your tree, pick your theme. Maybe it’s a colour. Maybe it’s a story or song or something sentimental. Or maybe it’s one of the hot trends of the moment. Look to the big global ornament brands and you’ll see celebrations of sports, food, pop culture and religious motifs. For more ideas, check out the timely trends on page 26.
Step 3: Fluff Your Tree When the tree is stowed in its box, it gets flattened to save as much space as possible. Before you decorate, you need to manually separate, bend and arrange the branches and tips to make it look full and natural. To do so, start at the bottom and work your way up. On each branch, starting at the trunk of the tree, fluff all the needles so they look as natural as possible. “You want it to look fully fluffed before you light it,” Tomlin says. “It takes me a full day to fluff and light these trees.”
URBAN BARN
A well-dressed Christmas tree is both balanced and beautiful. Here, a pre-lit artificial tree from Urban Barn glimmers with heirloom-inspired silver, white and gold ornaments for a romantic look that’s both nostalgic and contemporary.
Step 1: Choose Your Tree
YAM MAGAZINE NOV/DEC 2026 23
LIA CROWE, MODEL IS MARY RUBIN
Boutique Clothing Store
Step 4: Light It Up
BEAUTY LIGHTSY/STOCKSY
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Step 5: Drape the Garlands
SIBILA AND PAVEL/STOCKSY
Shop local boutiques, sip warm drinks, and discover thoughtful gifts as you stroll through The Shops at Mattick’s Farm this holiday season, surrounded by festive charm.
If your tree is pre-lit, you can skip this step. If not, you’ll have to add strings of lights, starting at the top and working your way down. Make sure both that the plugs are at the bottom and that you don’t have more extensions than the cord can bear. And, Tomlin says, “You light almost every one of the tips, going tight to the centre.” There is a wide range of lights to choose from: tiny, white micro-lights; almost every size and colour of bulb; whimsical shapes like candles or chili peppers. Note that LED lights use significantly less energy than incandescent bulbs, plus they stay cool and last much longer.
matticksfarm.com 5325 Cordova Bay Rd, Victoria, BC 24
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“Once the tree is lit and fluffed, I would install the garlands,” Tomlin says. These long, decorative strands not only add colour and texture, but reinforce your theme. For instance, raffia or burlap strips would suit a rustic theme, while tulle might work for a Nutcracker one. In any case, garlands can be anything from ribbons to tinsel to strands of popcorn to beads made of wood, glass, metal or plastic. To hang a garland, start at the top and work your way down, draping it elegantly from branch to branch, making wider swoops as you work your way down. And don’t skip the back of the tree — wrap it all the way around.
Once the garlands are on, add any “props.” These are the bigger pieces that firmly establish your theme and build the “form” of your tree. “You can do the form and work down to the ornaments,” Tomlin says. “You can’t put your We love the elegance and biggest props on drama of velvet, like this big later.” black bow from Simons. Props could be anything from picture frames to teddy bears to garden tools to really, really big candy canes or “picks,” decorative elements on wire stems that you can tuck into the branches of the tree, like velvety faux flowers or branches glittering with crystal and/or glitter. Tomlin herself has used Christmas presents, giant bows and stuffed penguins. “My penguins were big and they were all sitting on icebergs,” she recalls. “I’ll use a light fixture. I’ll use anything.”
Step 8:
STUDIO FIRMA/STOCKSY
Step 6: Pop in the Props
Finish with a Topper Finally, it’s time to top the tree. Tomlin likes to have long ribbons on picks that come out of the top of her tree, but she gets it if you don’t. “Some people like a traditional star or finial, but I have to incorporate all the elements of my tree,” she says, adding that the most important thing is to create “a beautiful, balanced portrait of a tree.” As Tomlin says: “It’s really about creating whimsy and magic in your space.”
Step 7: Add the Ornaments Now you’re ready for the fun part: Hanging the ornaments. The key here is not to be shy. Load ’em up, and have multiples of each style of ornament. “I don’t have one of everything, I have at least six of every ornament,” Tomlin says. At the same time, those ornaments should have a unifying theme or at least a cohesive colour story. “You don’t want to have 10 million ornaments in 10 million colours.”
SIBILA AND PAVEL/STOCKSY
Flora and Faunain Collection Celebrate style with an exquisite, handmade ring from the idar Arabesque collection
Start by distributing the biggest ornaments evenly throughout the tree. “I always go in sequence of size,” Tomlin says. “You work down to your smallest feature on the tree.” And don’t forget the back, even if it’s against a wall. Tomlin actually puts a mirror behind her trees so people can see the ornaments there as well as at the front. But what, you might be wondering, if you have a sentimental favourite, or your children do? Go ahead, add it to the tree even if it isn’t part of the theme. “You can do both,” Tomlin says. “You integrate what works for you and what gives you joy. You have to love your tree.”
Internationally award-winning jewellery designers and makers since 1972 950 Fort Street Victoria BC | 250-383-3414 | www.idar.com | @idarjewellers Jewellery Designs © 1972 - 2026 IDAR
YAM MAGAZINE NOV/DEC 2026 25
5 FESTIVE TREE TRENDS
Not sure how to decorate your tree? Consider one of these timely trends.
1 Back to nature
Start with earthy hues of ochre, terracotta, clay and cream, then add natural elements like pine cones, mushrooms, acorns, burlap and raffia, as well as gold accents for just enough sparkle.
2 Canadiana
Elbows up! We’re all leaning into all things Canuck these days, so look for ornaments depicting loons, beavers, moose, Mounties, hockey sticks, jugs of maple syrup and butter tarts, along with plenty of red and white. Show your love for Canada with a handcarved wooden loon ornament by Aviologie, available locally at the RBCM and AGGV.
3 Romantasy
Create an enchanted forest filled with fairies, elves and woodland creatures, as well as clip-on candle lights and velvet ribbons in moodily romantic hues like midnight blue and dusty rose.
Left: Add a romantic note with clip-on LED candles from Simons. Below: For drama, colour-drench your tree in ruby red.
FIND YOUR SANCTUARY
A Gathering Place to Practice Land Care Go trad with plaid from Pottery Barn.
3873 Swan Lake Rd. Victoria, BC V8X 3W1 Get Social: @swanlake Phone: (250) 479-0211
swanlake.bc.ca
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4 Home for the holidays
Get cozy with tradition. Think red and green, tartan plaids, colourful lights, dried citrus slices, strings of cranberries, sugared berries and oldfashioned, sentimental ornaments.
5 Colour drenching
Just as we’re going all in on one hue in our rooms these days, so it is with Christmas trees. Apply a jewel tone like sapphire, emerald, ruby or gold to everything from lights to garlands to ornaments.
ALSU VERSHININA/UNSPLASH
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AROGA LIFESTYLE MEDICINE What will your health look like 10 years from now?
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ince 2018, Aroga Lifestyle Medicine has been helping Victoria residents think differently about their health. For many of us, healthcare begins when something goes wrong: a new symptom, an abnormal test, a diagnosis. But most chronic disease develops over years, shaped by genetics, environment and factors that can often be changed. What happens in those years matters. Aroga Lifestyle Medicine was founded in Victoria on the belief that medicine should do more than manage disease. Its physicians use lifestyle medicine alongside conventional medical care to treat illness, pursue reversal of chronic disease and help prevent future disease where possible. Nutrition, physical activity, sleep, mental well-being, social connection and purpose are not wellness trends at Aroga. They are part of an evidence-based medical approach that recognizes something equally important: lasting change requires the right tools, guidance and support. More than 85,000 patients have been cared for since Aroga opened its doors. Publicly funded physician care is at its foundation. Patients are referred to Aroga specialists by family physicians and primary care providers for chronic and complex conditions, while publicly funded group medical visits provide education, medical guidance and practical tools patients can use in their daily lives. For those seeking more individualized
support, optional private programs provide one-to-one access to Aroga’s allied health team. Areas of care include women’s health, restorative sleep, pelvic health and physiotherapy, dietetics, iron infusions and mental health care including psychology, counselling and transcranial magnetic stimulation. Aroga’s Optimize Longevity program extends the same philosophy to people who want to understand their health and risks before significant problems develop. Medical assessment, diagnostics and lifestyle support focus on preserving metabolic health, strength, function and independence over time. Aroga is also a teaching environment, welcoming medical residents from universities across Canada to train alongside its physicians. Underlying it all is a belief that better
From the left: Co-founder Amar S. Magon, Dr. Jasdeep Saluja and Dr. Jesse Pewarchuk health can reach beyond one person. When people have the care, knowledge and support to improve their health, those changes can influence families, communities and generations to come. The next 10 years are coming. How would you like to live them?
140-29 Helmcken Road 250-590-8344 | aroga.com
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TOP DOG DAYCARE & SPA 20 years of care, connection and community
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ince opening its doors in 2005, Top Dog Daycare & Spa has built its reputation around something simple: treating every dog as an individual. Founded by a sister-and-brother team with a deep knowledge of and passion for dogs, Top Dog was born out of a desire to fill a need they saw in their own Vic West community — a warm, welcoming, pet-focused space where owners could feel completely confident leaving their dogs for grooming and daycare. More than two decades later, that original vision continues to guide the business. For co-owner Trish Sales, the difference is in the relationships Top Dog builds with both dogs and their people. “We want to make a connection with each dog and their owner, so that when they spend the day with us, they are experiencing an extension of the care they receive at home,” she says. That relationship-first philosophy is reflected in everything Top Dog does. The team maintains a clean, calm and structured
environment where dogs can enjoy the exercise, socialization and individual attention they need while their owners are busy with work and daily life. A big part of that consistency comes from the Top Dog team itself. Many staff members have been working together for more than 15 years, bringing years of experience, familiarity and a shared commitment to quality care. Now, Top Dog is bringing that same approach to a new Victoria neighbourhood. In September, the company expanded with a second location, Top Dog Playcare, at 727 Queens Avenue. The new location offers the same emphasis on individualized care, along with a calm, clean and structured environment designed to give owners peace of mind that their dogs’ unique needs will be understood and met. For Top Dog, the expansion is about more than opening another location. It’s an opportunity to become part of another community and build the same kind of
lasting relationships that have been at the heart of the business since 2005. “We are excited by what we can bring to this neighbourhood and all the new dogs and their owners we will meet,” says Trish. After 20 years of caring for Victoria’s dogs, Top Dog is continuing to grow — while staying true to what started it all: knowledgeable people, happy dogs and a genuine connection with the families who trust them.
602 Esquimalt Road | 250-920-3647
727 Queens Avenue | 778-440-2904
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ROYAL BC MUSEUM Last chance to discover ancient Egypt
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ourney through thousands of years of history before Ancient Egypt: Obsessed with Life closes January 3, 2027. What did the ancient Egyptians believe happened after death? How did they prepare for eternity? And what can their remarkable traditions tell us about the way they lived? This winter, visitors to the Royal BC Museum have one final opportunity to explore these fascinating questions in Ancient Egypt: Obsessed with Life, an immersive exhibition that brings the beliefs, rituals and artistry of one of the world’s most captivating civilizations to life. The exhibition invites visitors on an extraordinary journey through ancient Egypt, revealing a culture whose fascination with the afterlife was deeply connected to its celebration of life. Featuring approximately 250 original objects, the exhibition offers a rare opportunity to encounter intricately decorated coffins, beautiful jewelry, ceremonial objects and everyday belongings that illuminate the lives of people who lived thousands of years ago.
But this is far more than a traditional display of ancient artifacts. Across 9,000 square feet of atmospheric exhibition space, visitors are immersed in an ancient world through evocative lighting, films, ambient sounds and even scientifically reconstructed scents. Together, these sensory elements create a captivating experience that explores the Egyptian understanding of death, rebirth and the journey into the afterlife. From elaborate burial practices to the deeply personal objects placed alongside the deceased, each artifact reveals something about the hopes, values and relationships of the people who created and treasured them. While the exhibition explores ancient beliefs about eternity, its stories are strikingly human. Love, family, identity and the desire to be remembered are themes that continue to resonate with audiences today. Whether you’re a lifelong history enthusiast, curious about ancient civilizations or simply looking for something memorable to experience with family and friends, Ancient
Egypt: Obsessed with Life offers a fascinating opportunity to discover a distant world in an entirely new way. With the holiday season approaching, it’s the perfect time to plan a visit to the Royal BC Museum. Take a break from the winter weather, explore thousands of years of history and share an experience that will spark curiosity and conversation long after you leave. But don’t wait too long. Ancient Egypt: Obsessed with Life will close on January 3, 2027. Make time to experience this extraordinary exhibition before it’s gone. Plan your visit at rbcm.ca.
675 Belleville Street Open daily from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
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COSMEDICA N CENTRE COSMEDICA –– THE THE SKIN SKIN CENTRE CENTRE
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he holiday season is here but your technologies to address different aspects skin may not have received the he holiday season is hereof but your skin quality over time. memo. Cooler temperatures, skin may not have received theindoor With the holidays bringing a calendar full can heating and lower humidity memo. Cooler temperatures, indoor of celebrations, gatherings and photographs, leave skin dry, dull depleted, making heating and lower humidity can November and December can an ideal this the perfect time tobe restore hydration, leave skin dry, dull and depleted, making time to consider treatments that focus on luminosity and glow. this the perfect time to restore hydration, hydration and radiance. But thedermatologists benefits of take At Cosmedica, their luminosity and glow. investingain skin quality extend well thoughtful approach skinbeyond rejuvenation, At Cosmedica, their to dermatologists take the season. focusing on the a thoughtful approach to skin rejuvenation, At Cosmedica, thethe approach qualities that give skin is rooted focusing on in dermatological expertise and a belief its healthy, youthfulqualities that give skin that effective rejuvenation should be looking appearance. its healthy, youthfulpersonalized andappearance. The goal isnatural-looking. not to looking Because when it change features, The goalyour is comes not to to beautiful skin, sometimes most butthe to enhance the skin difference is change yournoticeable features, simply looking like your most refreshed self. you already have. but to enhance the skin Skin boosters are you already have. a modern injectable Skin boosters are treatment designed a modern injectable to support designed the appearance and quality of the treatment skin from within. Rather than to support the appearance andaltering quality facial of the structure, they are focused onaltering enhancing skin from within. Rather than facial radiance for a Fort subtle, refreshed result. #207-1990 Street structure, they are focused on enhancing
Two of their most popular skin boosters areTwo SkinVive and BabyGLOW, eachboosters offering of their most popular skin a distinct approach to skin rejuvenation. are SkinVive and BabyGLOW, each offering SkinVive hyaluronic to improve skin a distinctuses approach to skinacid rejuvenation. smoothness and hydration, while BabyGLOW SkinVive uses hyaluronic acid to improve skin uses a formulation enrichedwhile with amino acids, smoothness and hydration, BabyGLOW antioxidants, minerals and vitamin B6 toacids, uses a formulation enriched with amino improve elasticity and luminosity. antioxidants, minerals and vitamin B6 to For many patients, appeal of skin improve elasticity andthe luminosity. boosters liesofinskin their For many patients, the appeal subtlety. The goal is not boosters lies in their to look different, to subtlety. The goalbut is not look refreshed with skin to look different, but to that appears healthier look refreshed with skin and while that smoother appears healthier maintaining the natural and smoother while character of the maintaining the face. natural Skin boosters can character of the face. also form part ofcan a Skin boosters broader also formapproach part of a to skin health. Depending on your individual broader approach to concerns and goals, theyon may beindividual paired skin health. Depending your with medical-grade concerns and goals, skincare, they may other be paired injectables, laser treatments energy-based with medical-grade skincare,or other
BabyGLOW uses a BabyGLOW uses awith formulation enriched formulation with amino acids,enriched antioxidants, amino acids, minerals andantioxidants, vitamin B6 minerals and vitaminand B6 to improve elasticity to improve elasticity and luminosity. luminosity.
250-598-3300 | cosmedica.ca radiance for a subtle, refreshed result.
injectables, laser treatments or energy-based
technologies to address different aspects of skin quality over time. different aspects of technologies to address With the holidays bringing a calendar full skin quality over time. of celebrations, gatherings and photographs, With the holidays bringing a calendar full November and December can be an ideal of celebrations, gatherings and photographs, time to consider treatments that on November and December can be focus an ideal hydration and radiance. But that the benefits time to consider treatments focus onof investing in skin quality extend beyond hydration and radiance. But thewell benefits of the season. investing in skin quality extend well beyond Cosmedica, the approach is rooted theAtseason. in dermatological expertise andisarooted belief At Cosmedica, the approach that effective rejuvenation be in dermatological expertiseshould and a belief personalized and natural-looking. that effective rejuvenation should be Because when comes to beautiful skin, personalized anditnatural-looking. sometimes the most noticeable difference Because when it comes to beautiful skin,is simply looking like your most refreshed self. sometimes the most noticeable difference is simply looking like your most refreshed self.
#207-1990 Fort Street 250-598-3300 | cosmedica.ca #207-1990 Fort Street 250-598-3300 | cosmedica.ca
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HOUSE OF HATHOR Local clothing line finds a new home
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aige Faraci has always been a bit eccentric, living a life well off the beaten path. Her love for textiles and the stories they tell has been part of her language and expression for as long as she can remember. In 2010, she launched her ethical women’s clothing line, Priestess & Deer, which quickly became beloved by many. For many years she has championed buying locally, sustainably and from small businesses. Paige still creates the clothing in her home studio on Salt Spring Island with the help of two local sewers, and her signature remains hand-dyed shibori garments with beautiful shape and drape. Now, with the opening of her new brick-and-mortar shop, House of Hathor, Paige has given Priestess & Deer a home of its own, alongside the treasures that inspire her. Years ago, Paige started at the Salt Spring Saturday Market where the Priestess & Deer brand became well known and took on a life of its own. Paige’s love for dance and Earth-based traditions has been foundational to how she creates her work. You will feel the rhythm and the naturalness in her designs. She adores dressing women of all shapes and ages, celebrating the diversity of life. She believes in using natural fibres and timeless designs that bring out women’s natural beauty. You might call her clothing a dose of practical magic. Last October, Paige spread her wings and opened House of Hathor in Victoria. She wanted to bring to life her full vision of sharing handmade craft and all of the treasures that inspire her. You can expect to find a lot of Canadian
artists as well as beautiful pieces from around the world. House of Hathor is an homage to the Egyptian goddess Hathor who represents beauty, balance, healing and a world where everyone is respected. It is Paige’s hope that people find House of Hathor to be a place to shop where authenticity, fine craft, inspiration and interconnectedness are felt. Paige is excited to get to know the Victoria community better, as everyone has been so lovely. She welcomes the possibility of collaboration, as community and connection are at the heart of a very rich life.
House of Hathor is the home of
5325 Cordova Bay Road, Mattick’s Farm | 1-866-817-1973 houseofhathor.ca | priestessanddeer.com
A Global Gathering Three chefs from around the world share their tastiest Christmas traditions. By Joanne Sasvari | Photos by Jeffrey Bosdet Gather three chefs from three different continents to talk about the holidays, and one thing quickly becomes apparent. Whether you are in Ghana, Mexico, the Philippines or almost anywhere on the planet, Christmas isn’t about the gifts. It’s about getting together with the people you love, especially when there’s good food involved. It was late summer when we met at HOB Fine Foods in Langford with chef and proprietor Castro Boateng, as well as Israel Alvarez Molina, chef-owner of MAiiZ Nixtamal, and Leroy Borrega, the new executive chef at Sooke Harbour House. Each brought dishes from their homeland along with stories and Christmas traditions. It was, it’s fair to say, quite the party. More than that, though, it inspired us to think beyond our own holiday traditions — and we hope their delicious stories and recipes will give you some creative food for thought, too.
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Castro Boateng | Ghana “My mom said, ‘No way are you going to be able to make our food look pretty on camera.’ Thanks, mom,” Boateng says with a laugh. Castro was just nine years old when his family left their village near Kumasi, Ghana, for the much chillier climes of Toronto. He attended culinary school at Humber College and cooked in Scotland, Cayman Islands, Bermuda and Banff before landing on Vancouver Island in 2007. In 2018, he opened the popular and award-winning House of Boateng Café in Langford, followed by the special events/catering venue HOB Fine Foods. Still, all these years later, he manages to visit Ghana when he can, staying connected to his wider family. Back home, he says, “In my culture, when women marry, they have to live with their husband’s family. Christmas is the first time you get families back together. This is like everybody in the village. It is a big communal event. Everyone comes together to cook.”
ON THE MENU To drink: Sobolo, a spiced, tropical, infused drink that is served tall over ice and can be made even more festive with a shot of spirits. To start: Kosua ne Meko, boiled eggs with spicy tomato relish. The main dish: Nkatie Kwan, a groundnut soup with poultry. “Birds are a sign of fertility, so eggs are important,” says Boateng. “This soup that I’ve made is typically a goat soup, but at Christmas time we substitute it with duck, we substitute it with turkey, we substitute with guinea fowl.” Dessert: “We’re not a very sweet type of people,” Boateng says. If they’re going to have something sweet, it will likely be something simple like condensed milk cooked down until it caramelizes, then poured over nuts. “My mom makes toffee and brittles so we eat that,” he adds. In fact, he says, they’re more likely to enjoy savoury quick breads like beef patties and tea bread than something sweet. “They all have elements of sweetness, but they are not sweet.” RECIPES Nkatie Kwan p. 36 Sobolo p. 37 Kosua ne Meko yammagazine.com/ kosua-ne-meko-recipe
“[Christmas] is a big communal event. Everyone comes together to cook.” And, of course, to eat. The big celebration is on December 26, but the cooking starts the day before. Recipes are passed down from generation to generation. Everyone has a role to play: The men take care of the music (which is nearly as important as the food), the boys oversee the activities, “and the moms and the aunties do all the food.” The meal itself is a potluck, with everyone contributing something to it. There’s always some sort of smoked fish and pineapple, typical to this region on Ghana’s central coast. Often, people who
have moved away bring the foods they’ve discovered in their new homes, too. “So you get a lot of stuff you normally wouldn’t get,” he says. “You have all the ingredients coming together from different places to build the meal.” On the 26th, Boateng says, “Eating starts late afternoon and into dinnertime and then there’s a party that starts and goes until — it doesn’t end, really. Anyone who’s passed away, we’re remembering their memories and sharing their stories with younger generations.” And, he adds, “Gifts are not important. It’s all about family coming together.”
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Israel Alvarez Molina Mexico As chef Molina talks about the holidays he spent while growing up in Mexico City, he suddenly exclaims: “Now I’m beginning to remember — it’s been a long time!” In fact, it’s been nearly 20 years since he came to Canada. He grew up learning about food while visiting markets with his mother and grandmother. At 19, he studied at Mexico City’s Centro Universitario de Artes Culinarias, then continued his training in Spain at the Centro Superior de Hosteleria de Galicia. When he returned to Mexico City, he became chef de cuisine at Pujol, the country’s most renowned fine-dining restaurant, famous for its mole madre and taco omakase. But in 2008, life brought Molina to Victoria, where he found himself craving a connection to the food back home, specifically, the texture, flavour and complexity of nixtamalized corn. (Nixtamalization is a traditional Mesoamerican process where corn is soaked and cooked in an alkaline solution before being ground into flour called masa.) So he started making his own. In 2020, he opened MAiiZ Nixtamal, where he combines a full-service restaurant with making a range of products including tortillas, chips, salsas and more, which are now available at grocers around Victoria. In Mexico, he says, the big celebration is on December 24, known as Noche Buena. “Most families get together and bring dishes,” he says. “It’s loud. It’s music. It’s when the children break piñatas, which are usually filled with candies and fruit. It’s a lot of fun.” He adds: “Dinner starts around six and goes on until midnight or 1 a.m. It’s late. It’s like a buffet and everyone is roaming around. It’s all about good times.” Many families attend midnight mass after dinner, which makes Christmas Day a relaxed and lazy one.
“There’s food for the night and food for the hangover the next day.”
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ON THE MENU To drink: Cidra (cider), hot chocolate (“It’s super, super Christmas,” Molina says) and ponche Navideño, a warm punch made with guava, oranges and other fruit, as well as cane sugar, spices, hibiscus and, for the grownups, an optional shot of rum or tequila. “You drink that a lot.” The main dishes: There will be a selection of things to eat, often including tamales, chips and salsa. “The food for the night could be pozole. It’s a very traditional dish to celebrate Christmas,” he says. Or it could be turkey served with a “grandma mole,” a rich, traditional Mexican sauce made from chili peppers, spices, nuts, seeds and fruit. Some moles take two to three days to prepare; black mole, which includes cacao among as many as 65 ingredients, is especially popular at Christmas. “It’s very complex. The one I do here in Victoria is 45 ingredients,” he says. “Pozole is less complicated and it’s famous in Mexico City because [the weather is] cold and it’s refreshing.” Dessert: “There’s always cake,” Molina says. There are also colaciones, traditional small candies or sugar-coated pastries given out during holidays. Dulce de leche, a sweet caramel made from condensed milk, features heavily. The next morning (Navidad): “There’s food for the night and food for the hangover the next day,” Molina says. On Christmas Day, that might mean chilaquiles, crisp tortilla chips in salsa, which are both easy to make and comforting to eat. RECIPES Chicken Pozole Rojo p. 38 Chilaquiles Verdes yammagazine.com/chilaquiles-verdes-recipe
Leroy Borrega | Philippines “Our Christmas starts in September,” says Borrega. “You go into a Filipino community and there’s already Christmas decorations and Christmas lights.” In fact, the Philippines is famous for having the longest Christmas season in the world; the early start is a sort of spiritual runway to Simbang Gabi, the nine days of masses leading up to Christmas. Borrega has been cooking since he was seven years old, and learned by watching his mom in the kitchen. “My first dish was cooking eggs in hot sauce for my sister,” he recalls. He went on to earn a culinary arts degree from Lyceum of the Philippines University, then cooked in China, Hong
Kong, Singapore, Australia and the U.S., often alongside Michelin-starred chefs, before coming to Canada. In January 2022, he became head chef at Calgary’s highly lauded Shokunin for nearly three years, before moving on to Maven, where he introduced a Filipino omakase experience, then to Cowtown’s new Dorian Hotel as executive chef. This past summer, Borrega became executive chef at Sooke Harbour House, where he’s eagerly exploring all the exciting flavours and ingredients of the Island. Of course, he already knows islands well — the Philippines comprises some 7,000 of them.
There, the big holiday celebration is on Christmas Eve, Noche Buena. “Our holiday tradition — it’s like a family gathering. All the family members, grandparents, come to one place and reflect on what we’ve been doing the past year,” he says. “It’s really fun.” The party gets going after a late-night church service. “We wait until 12 midnight — we wait until the birth of Christ,” he says. “There’s always one person assigned to host the games and let the children play. We do a potluck of gifts. We display them and they are the prize for the games.” And, of course, there is a massive feast, with the host family cooking for all the guests.
ON THE MENU To drink: Tsokolate, a rich, thick hot cocoa; buko (coconut) or calamansi juice; rum punch or rum cocktails. “The uncles are drinking; they will never sleep for sure,” Borrega says. To start: “Sinuglaw is our beer food,” Borrega says. It combines hot grilled pork belly (sinugba) with a sort of raw fish ceviche (kinilaw) and is flavoured with vinegar, a popular ingredient in Filipino cooking. There might also be spring rolls and pancit, a dish of stir-fried noodles with pork and vegetables. The main dish: Lechon, roast suckling pig, is usually the star of the meal, but for Borrega’s family, it’s kare-kare, a stew that’s traditionally made with oxtail. His family, though, makes it with seafood. “It’s our curry,” Borrega explains. “The difference is instead of using strong spices like turmeric, we use achiote, which is more umami. For us, that’s like being warm. December is cooler, around 24 degrees with that breeze, perfect for us.” Dessert: Rice cakes, cooked in coconut cream. “If you think of mango sticky rice, this is a caramelized version.” The leftovers: “Dinner ends around 2 a.m. and everyone gets leftovers.” As they wrap the leftovers, they’ll sing the chorus from a famous Filipino pop song that goes “balutin mo ako,” which translates to “wrap me up.” “That food will feed each family for two more days,” Borrega says. RECIPES Sinuglaw p. 40 Seafood Kare-Kare yammagazine.com/ seafood-kare-kare-recipe
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Recipes • 6 to 8 turkey thighs or drumsticks or duck legs or a mix of both • 1 Tbsp cayenne • Salt and pepper to taste • 2 large onions, peeled and thinly sliced, divided • 4 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced, divided • ¼ cup thinly sliced peeled fresh ginger, divided • 1 to 4 Scotch bonnet or habanero peppers (see note) • 2 cups canned tomatoes • 1 cup groundnut or peanut butter • 16 cups chicken stock or water, divided, additional as needed • ½ lb oyster, king oyster or button mushrooms, sliced or quartered as you prefer • Optional garnish: fresh parsley or cilantro leaves
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NKATIE KWAN For the festive season, Castro Boateng has adapted this traditional African groundnut soup to be made with poultry. It’s best served with steamed rice and braised beans. Serves 6 to 8. Season meat with cayenne, salt and pepper. Place a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed soup pot on medium heat. Once it’s hot, add the meat and 1 cup of water to begin steaming it. Add half the onions, half the garlic and half the ginger to the meat. Cover pot and steam for 10 minutes. Place the remaining onions, garlic and ginger into a blender or food processor, and pulse briefly, then add the tomatoes, chili, peanut butter and 8 cups of the stock or water (or as much as will fit in your machine). Process until smooth. Add peanut butter mixture to the soup pot. Top with the remaining stock or water. Bring to a low boil, then turn the heat to low and simmer for 1 to 1½ hours. If the soup is too thick, you can thin it with ½ cup to 1 cup more water, or as needed. Add mushrooms and continue to simmer for 15 minutes. Taste the soup and season with salt and pepper if needed. Divide soup, poultry and mushrooms among soup bowls, adding a generous serving of steamed rice formed into a ball and, if you like, braised beans. Note: Although Scotch bonnet and habanero peppers have a similar heat level, there are key differences between them. Scotch bonnets are squat (like a tam o’shanter), with a candylike sweetness and delayed punch of heat; they are essential in Caribbean cooking. Habaneros are longer and more lantern-shaped, with citrus, floral and smoky flavours and an upfront burn that makes them a popular ingredient in Mexican cooking. Both are widely available at local grocers.
SOBOLO This tall, refreshing Ghanaian drink from chef Castro Boateng hits the sweet spot between a tropical punch and a mulled wine, only without the alcohol. If you like, though, you can always add a shot of something strong to make it merrier. Serves 6 to 8. • 1 large pineapple • 2 cups dried hibiscus flowers • 2 large oranges, sliced • 2 large thumbs of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced • 8 grains of selim (see note) • 4 African nutmeg or 1 ½ tsp ground nutmeg • 6 African long pepper or 10 black peppercorns • 1 tsp whole cloves • 3 cinnamon sticks • 12 cups water • Sugar to taste • Optional: Palm wine, rum or whisky to taste • Garnish: Pineapple chunks, citrus slices, pineapple leaves and mint sprigs Thoroughly wash pineapple, then cut off the top, peel the pineapple, core it and cut the flesh into chunks and set them aside. Combine the pineapple tops, core and peel in a large pot. Add hibiscus flowers, sliced
oranges, ginger and spices, then add the water and place on the stove. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low heat and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, skimming off foam as needed. Set aside a few pineapple chunks for garnish, then place the rest of the pineapple in a blender or food processor. Blend to a thick liquid, then strain through fine mesh. Set aside the fresh pineapple juice, keeping it cool in the fridge until ready to use, and add the pulp to the simmering liquid. Add sugar to your taste, stirring until it is dissolved, then remove from heat and let everything continue to steep as it cools. When the infusion is fully cooled to room temperature, strain the mixture and transfer to a clean pitcher or large Mason jar. Add the fresh, strained pineapple juice. To serve: Pour the sobolo into tall, chilled glasses filled with ice. If you like, add a shot of spirits for the grownups. Garnish with small skewers of mint, pineapple and orange slices. Note: Selim is a slightly bitter, aromatic spice from Africa. The grains or seeds have a pungent, musky flavour and are used in food similarly to black pepper — indeed, selim is also known as Senegal or Ethiopian pepper. Find it at Island Afrikan Supermarket on Quadra Street.
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CHICKEN POZOLE ROJO This warming pozole by MAiiZ chef Israel Alvarez Molina combines tender hominy and shredded chicken in a rich red broth. Blended nixtamal tortilla chips add body and extra corn flavour. Serve the garnishes alongside so everyone can finish their own bowl. Best of all, the whole thing can be prepared in under an hour. Serves 6. For the pozole: •1 bag (180 g) MAiiZ or other tortilla chips, divided (see note) •6 cups chicken stock, preferably lowsodium, plus extra as needed, divided •1 cups MAiiZ Salsa Roja or other smoky red salsa •½ tsp ground dried oregano •3 cups cooked organic hominy (see note) •4 ¼ cups cooked shredded chicken, loosely packed •S alt, to taste
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Suggested garnishes: •2 cups finely shredded green cabbage •6 radishes, thinly sliced •½ cup finely chopped white onion •3 limes, cut into wedges •D ried oregano, to taste •R eserved tortilla chips
Our signature 1h 45 min Ærth Cycle starts every 30 minutes, giving you full access to our beautiful space minutes and regular programming. Blend the chips. Place two-thirds of the tortilla chips (120 g, or about 3½ to 4 cups) in a blender or food processor along with 2 cups of the chicken stock. (Set the remaining chips aside for garnish.) Let stand for a few minutes to soften, then blend until smooth. Build the broth. Pour the remaining 4 cups of stock into a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Add the salsa, oregano and blended chip mixture. Stir to combine. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Stir regularly, scraping the bottom of the pot to prevent sticking. The broth should be lightly thickened and easy to ladle; add extra stock if needed. Stir in the hominy and shredded chicken. Simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes, until heated through. Taste before seasoning with salt, as the stock, salsa and chips are already seasoned. Serve. Divide the pozole among six warm bowls, distributing the chicken and hominy evenly. Garnish with the cabbage, radishes, onion, lime wedges, oregano and reserved chips. Notes: Corn matters. At MAiiZ, chef Molina uses a traditional Mesoamerican process known as nixtamalization, in which corn kernels (in his case, organic and B.C. grown) are soaked and cooked in an alkaline solution before being ground into a flour called masa, known for its distinctive flavour and texture. That makes his tortillas, chips and canned hominy unique. While you can use other tortilla chips in these recipes, they won’t have the same density or flavour. Similarly, hominy is a nixtamalized corn that is not interchangeable with sweet corn. He advises using fully cooked hominy, which is available in cans, and making sure to drain and rinse it before using. You can find the tortilla chips, salsas, canned hominy and other products at the MAiiZ restaurant on Fisgard Street, as well as at grocers around Victoria such as The Root Cellar.
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SINUGLAW This popular Filipino drinking food is actually two dishes in one name. It’s all about the contrast of hot, smoky sinugba (grilled pork belly) against cold, acid-firm kinilaw (cured raw fish). Chef Leroy Borrega gives it a modern turn with cashew vinegar, which lends body without dairy or coconut. Note that this recipe will need to be started the day before you plan to serve it. Serves 4 to 6. Cashew vinegar: • ¾ cup roasted cashews • ¾ cup plus 2 Tbsp water • ¾ cup plus 2 Tbsp cane vinegar • Salt to taste Kombu-cured tuna: • ¾ cup cane vinegar • 1 sheet kombu (a type of dried sea kelp), about 4 × 6 inches • 9 oz albacore tuna loin, in one piece (see note) Grilled pork belly: • cup plus 1 Tbsp dark soy sauce • ¼ cup demerara sugar • cup plus 1 Tbsp calamansi or lime juice • 4 garlic cloves, minced (about 1 Tbsp) • 2 Tbsp black peppercorns, cracked • 9 oz pork belly, skin off, cut into ½-inch-thick strips
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Fresh salsa: • 2 Tbsp minced fresh ginger • 3 Tbsp minced red onion • 2 seeded and minced Thai chillies (about 1 tsp) • Juice of 2 calamansi or ½ lime (about 2 Tbsp), plus additional as needed The night before you plan to serve this: Prepare the kombu-cured tuna. Pour the cane vinegar into a shallow, non-reactive dish and soak the kombu in it until it is pliable, 10 to 15 minutes. Lift the kombu out of the dish, shake off the excess and wrap it snugly around the tuna loin. Wrap the parcel in cling film, set on a tray and refrigerate overnight. Meanwhile, mix the cashews with the water and soak overnight in the refrigerator. The next day: About 4 hours before you plan to serve this, marinate the pork. In a large, nonreactive bowl, whisk together the soy, sugar, citrus juice, garlic and pepper until the sugar dissolves. Add the pork, turn to coat and refrigerate 3 to 4 hours. Unwrap the tuna, discard the kombu and cut the loin into ½-inch dice. Cover and keep cold until ready to serve. Finish the cashew vinegar: Drain the cashews, then place them in a blender or food processor along with the cane vinegar and blend until completely smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Season lightly with salt. Light a charcoal grill or heat a dry castiron skillet over medium-high heat. Drain the pork well and grill, turning every 2 to 3 minutes, until cooked through, lacquered and charred at the edges. This should take 12 to 15 minutes in total. Remove from heat, rest 5 minutes, then cut into ½-inch cubes. Meanwhile, make the fresh salsa: Combine fresh ginger, red onion, Thai chillies and calamansi or lime juice in a small, non-reactive bowl and let stand for 10 minutes.
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Assembly: In a chilled serving bowl, fold the tuna and the still-warm pork together with the fresh salsa. Dress with the cashew vinegar — enough to coat, about cup — and turn through once. Sharpen with a final squeeze of calamansi and season with salt and cracked pepper. Serve straight away, with cold beer. Note: If possible, buy the albacore tuna the day you cure it and keep it cold throughout. Any cashew vinegar left over holds a week in the fridge and is excellent on grilled vegetables.
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Snuggle Up How to make your home a cozy refuge.
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LIFE AT HOME By YAM Staff
B
aby, it’s cold outside. Inside, though, your home should be warm, welcoming and, most of all, cozy, what the Danes call hygge and the Germans gemütlich. A cozy home is not just one where the thermostat is set at an agreeable temperature. It’s a place that feels comfortable. Safe. Snug. Functional. Happy. And it takes more than just adding a few cushions and throws (though that certainly helps). Here’s how to make your home a cozy one.
Function First A show home is not a cozy home. Instead, a cozy home is one that works for the people who live in it. So look at your space. What’s working — and what isn’t? Does coming home make you feel happy or stressed? What’s missing? Do you need a bigger dining table or more chairs for your friends? A comfy reading nook where you can escape at the end of the day? A softer sofa where people will want to linger? A chair on the landing where an older person can rest, or a less cluttered hallway so your dogs can run to greet you when you come home? You may be surprised by the difference just a few small tweaks can make.
ANNE DEN HANN/LIVING4MEDIA
Layer the Lighting Nothing harshes the vibe of a room quite like a really, really bright, white overhead light. What you want is a warm glow, not the ambience of an operating theatre, especially in the rooms where you spend time relaxing and socializing. Lighting at eye level is both more flattering and easier on the, well, eyes, so consider a mix of floor and table lamps, sconces, candles, a fire in the fireplace (if you have one), even twinkly fairy lights. While recessed ceiling lights are important in functional spaces like kitchens and bathrooms, even there they should always be paired with mid-height lighting such as pendants and under-cabinet LED strips. Sometimes, though, it’s not just the type of lighting you choose, but the lights themselves. Rather than cool white light, choose warm whites, with their lower temperature of 2,700 to 3,000 Kelvin.
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Colour Your World The coziest spaces generally follow a simple, soothing colour theme throughout — for instance, variations of coffee and cream — punctuated with interesting but complementary accent hues, such as clay, sage or mahogany. In general, soft, warm, flatteringly neutral or nature-inspired colours are more welcoming than harsh, cold or dramatic ones, as are matte or eggshell finishes rather than high gloss. Dark colours like plum, chocolate or hunter green can also feel like a warm hug, especially in small spaces where the walls, trim and ceiling are drenched in the same or similar hue.
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Control the Clutter
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While a stark, minimalistic space rarely has a cozy vibe, neither does one that is filled with too much junk. Our homes should make us feel as comfortable emotionally as they do physically, but clutter can make us anxious, distracted, stressed and too ashamed to invite people over. So one of the best things you can do is to find a way to control all your stuff. If the idea of a major clear-out is too overwhelming, we get it. Why not start with smaller spaces that you see every day, like the entryway to your home? You can, for instance, install hooks for your coats, a bench for putting on shoes, a basket for dog leashes, a table with a bowl for keys and a rug for easing the transition from outside to in. Then take an inventory of other spaces where clutter gathers, such as your kitchen counters, coffee table, bathroom vanity and mudroom. Rather than set an impossible standard for keeping them clear, use decorative baskets, boxes, ginger jars, floating shelves and trays to keep the Control clutter with pretty baskets like mess to a minimum. this water hyacinth one from Simons.
Textures and Textiles Think “cozy” and you most likely think of a squashy sofa or armchair layered with cushions and throws — and for good reason. When it’s miserable out, nothing warms body and soul like snuggling up in a nest of sumptuously textured fabrics. Happily, adding a few of these is the easiest way to make your place feel snug and homey. Nubbly knits, faux fur, mohair, cashmere and tweedy weaves all exude both physical and visual warmth. If you can, choose natural fibres and warm accent colours that complement your furnishings. (If you have pets or small children, though, you may prefer something you can toss in the washing machine.) This might also be a good opportunity to update your sofa, armchairs and ottomans. It’s time for a refresh if they are soiled beyond repair, showing signs of age or are just plain uncomfortable. Today’s most stylish furniture is softer and more curved than the pieces we were buying just a few years ago, so the coziness is built right in. And don’t forget the rugs and curtains, too.
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There is a huge global industry known as scent marketing or scentscaping, which uses diffusion technology to add customized aromas to retail, hospitality and other spaces. Sometimes scent is used to cover up less appealing aromas — like the eucalyptus that hides the funky sweat at your gym — but more often it’s designed to create a mood, build brand recognition and make visitors feel welcome. Why not apply that idea at home, too? The best way to make your house smell good is to keep it clean (don’t let trash, unwashed linens or dirty dishes linger), open your windows once in a while and let potted plants do their thing. But if you like, you can also add a signature fragrance of your own through diffusers and/or scented candles, preferably ones made from non-toxic soy or beeswax. The best scents are the ones that smell clean and natural, like flowers, herbs, spices, fruit or pine trees. (Note that some commercial products contain ingredients that can cause respiratory and other physical reactions in some people. They also don’t smell very nice.) Then again, home baking is the most welcoming scent of all, so your holiday treats can do double duty.
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Take Your Time The coziest spaces are not copied from the Restoration Hardware catalogue or filled with the latest trends. They evolve over time, and are rich with memories and love. Add a few houseplants. Incorporate other natural elements, too, like wooden furniture, grasscloth wallpaper or ceramic ornaments. If you have a fireplace, light the flames or fill an empty grate with candles, and decorate the mantelpiece. Hang some pictures on the wall. Swap your impersonal blinds for curtains in a textured weave or brocade. Display your family heirlooms or mementoes from your travels. Leave a few books around. Make your place your very own. Most of all, invite others to share it with you. Because the very best way of all to make your home cozy is to share it with others.
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L.A. Limousines — It’s how you get there! We’re a local business supporting other local businesses and community groups. Book your next trip, special event or wine tour with our YAM/TLF 15% discount! L.A. LIMOUSINES
250-391-9000 | info@lalimo.ca
Hydrate with Spinnakers beverages made with natural mineralized water from an ancient aquifer 225’ deep under the Spinnakers brewhouse, located on the tip of beautiful Vancouver Island. Let NO BODY Thirst. SPINNAKERS BREWPUB
308 Catherine St. 250-386-2739 spinnakers.com
Since 1956 the Schaddelee family at the Dutch Bakery and Diner has crafted authentic Dutch pastries, handmade chocolates, and classic diner eats. Taste the legacy of Victoria’s favourite sweet spot. DUTCH BAKERY AND DINER
718 Fort St. | 250-385-1012 | thedutchbakery.com
STYLE WATCH Fashion Stylist: Janine Metcalfe Photographer: Jeffrey Bosdet
Wintry Warmth Holiday dressing is all about luxe materials and just enough sparkle to keep things bright and fun.
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Cozy Cocoon Left: Pleated plaid bouclé wide-leg trousers, faux fur cocoon coat in almond
and metallic camisole in elderberry, all by Joseph Ribkoff, all available at Adventure Clothing. Silver ring and bracelets by Flux and Stone Jewelry.
In the Clutch Above: Beaded poodle clutch by Mary Frances, available at Adventure Clothing.
Dancing Shoes
Strappy silver block-heeled sandals by Aldo, available at Aldo Mayfair Shopping Centre. Silver jewelry by Flux and Stone Jewelry.
Festive Floral
Sage green sleeveless dress with floral appliqués by Mac Duggal, available at Bernstein & Gold. Silver earrings and bracelets by Flux and Stone Jewelry.
Make it Mocha
Copper stretch silk blouse and black knit skirt, both by REPEAT, mocha knit coat with faux fur collar by Joseph Ribkoff and black necklace, all available at Good Bones Clothing Company.
Heads Up Wide-brimmed wool felt cloche by Canadian Hat Company, available at Roberta’s Hats.
Hair and makeup: Melanie Neufeld/Lizbell Agency | Model: Savannah Sibson/Lizbell Agency
Whether you’re looking for something delicious, adventurous, useful or simply beautiful, if you’re searching for a special gift, these local independent businesses are sure to have what you’re craving. Happy shopping!
Holiday
VICTORIA’S LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE
GIFT GUIDE
Give the gift of a beautiful, quality umbrella — for those rainy or sunny days. Or choose from our unique selection of canes, shoehorns and fans. THE UMBRELLATORIUM & CANERY 4 Fan Tan Alley | 778-265-6771 theumbrellatorium.com
The Macaron Kit holds everything your favourite home baker needs to craft perfect macarons! Includes high-quality ingredients and tools handpicked by our pastry chefs. Shipping available. BON MACARON 1012 Broad Street | 778-265-0850 vic@bonmacaronpatisserie.com
It’s cranberry season! Our Cranberry Orange Wash gently cleanses, leaving skin soft and silky smooth. Use at the sink, in the shower or in a soothing, moisturizing bubble bath. SALTSPRING SOAPWORKS 8 Fan Tan Alley, Victoria 102 Craig Street, Duncan saltspringsoapworks.com
Spice up your life! Designed in Denmark, made in Sweden, these cast iron spice grinders from Skeppshult combine style with function and make a great gift. MUFFET & LOUISA #107-2360 Beacon Avenue, Sidney 250-656-0011 | muffetandlouisa.com
Theatre tickets make a great gift. Gift certificates are available in any denomination from our website or box office, redeemable for our season’s shows. LANGHAM COURT THEATRE 805 Langham Court 250-384-2142 | langhamtheatre.ca
The safest start for every new driver is the perfect gift. This Christmas, give your loved one the confidence, skills and freedom to drive safely wherever the road takes them! DRIVEWISE 250-475-0666 | drivewisebc.com
For the person who’d rather make memories than unwrap things: gift a little time together. Stay, eat, spa, explore and reconnect at Black Rock. BLACK ROCK OCEANFRONT RESORT 596 Marine Drive, Ucluelet 1-877-266-2559 | blackrockresort.com
The Butchart Gardens 12 Month Pass The perfect holiday gift for the whole family! Looking for a gift to be enjoyed year round? Give a five-season experience from The Butchart Gardens with an Adult, Youth or Child 12 Month Pass. Adult Pass $91.20 THE BUTCHART GARDENS 250-652-4422 | butchartgardens.com
Some gifts are best enjoyed together. Give an AURA gift card and make room for good food, great company and harbour views. AURA WATERFRONT RESTAURANT + PATIO 680 Montreal Street | Inn at Laurel Point 250-414-6739 | info@aurarestaurant.ca aurarestaurant.ca
The trouble with people who have good taste? They’re hard to surprise. Find something they haven’t discovered yet. Remarkable non-alcoholic wines, cocktails and spirits, thoughtfully curated at FIZZ. FIZZ 569 Johnson Street | 1-877-748-4980 fizzbottleshop.com
One card, endless experiences A Tigh-Na-Mara gift card makes holiday giving easy. It’s a perfect gift for spa days, oceanside getaways, West Coast dining, shopping and more, for everyone to enjoy. TIGH-NA-MARA SEASIDE SPA RESORT & CONFERENCE CENTRE 1155 Resort Drive, Parksville | 1-800-663-7373 | tigh-na-mara.com
Bellroy’s Hide & Seek wallet combines classic leather styling, RFID protection and discreet storage for everyday essentials — around the world or around the block. ADVENTURE CLOTHING 560 Yates Street, 250-590-6381 2227 Oak Bay Avenue, 250-363-9500 adventureclothing.ca
Who needs more stuff? Give the gift of pure relaxation with floats, massage, private sauna and cold plunge experiences. Our biggest sale of the year goes until December 31! FLOAT HOUSE WESTSHORE 106-2871 Jacklin Road | 778-433-6655
FLOAT HOUSE VICTORIA 662 Herald Street | 778-433-3166 floathousevictoria.com
Winter Bazaar features 120+ designers, artists and food and drink creatives from across B.C., the Gulf Islands and beyond. Get your VIP advance tickets for opening night and be first in line all weekend long. WINTER BAZAAR Opening Night Friday, November 27, 5-9pm Saturday, November 28, 10am-6pm Sunday, November 29, 10am-5pm Gorge Park Pavilion, 1070 Tillicum Road @thefernwoodmakersparty | winterbazaar.org
We make luxurious yet affordable, handcrafted natural skincare and pain relief products. We use only high-quality, organic, locally sourced ingredients. Buy B.C.! Buy Canada! TARTAN HEALTH NATURALS Purchase online: tartanhealthnaturals.ca Instagram: @tartanhealthnaturals
From Saturna Island to their holiday table Choose a two- or six-bottle holiday wine box, complete with a complimentary goat pour and corkscrew. Shipping available across Canada. SAGE HAYWARD VINEYARDS 32 Trueworthy Road, Saturna info@sagehaywardvineyards.com | sagehaywardvineyards.com
Gift your garden! Open your gates for the Victoria Conservatory of Music’s 2027 Mother’s Day Musical Garden Tour and support music education. VICTORIA CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC vcm.bc.ca/support/garden-tour
Support 200+ local and handmade artisans. Experience the warmth and magic of our curated collection, celebrating creativity and community. Find meaningful gifts for everyone on your list! MARKET COLLECTIVE Looking to gift something unique? Our housewares and giftware departments always have unexpected treasures and décor at affordable prices. (Like these charming pear candles!)
The Bay Centre | 1-778-406-1150 Mattick’s Farm | 1-778-433-5325 Westshore Town Centre | 1-778-430-2945 victoriamarketcollective.com
PHARMASAVE BROADMEAD 777 Royal Oak Drive | 250-727-3505 pharmasavebroadmead.com
Give the gift of opera this festive season! Share the unforgettable experience of live opera with tickets to Pacific Opera Victoria. Starting at just $37.50, tickets are a gift that promise a little magic long after the holidays are over. Hansel & Gretel (Humperdinck) February 19–27, Royal Theatre The Magic Flute (Mozart) April 2–10, Royal Theatre PACIFIC OPERA
HUMPERDINCK
HANSEL &GRETEL FEB RUA RY 19-2
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250-385-0222 | pacificopera.ca
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Gifts that truly give back This Giving Tuesday, December 1, 2026, help us build friendship, support and community for people with disabilities. Your generosity creates inclusion and belonging for everyone at Lifetime Networks. LIFETIME NETWORKS 2553 Quadra Street | 250-477-4112 lifetimenetworks.org | canadahelps.org/en/dn/137146
Gift connection, laughter and stories over food and drinks. Discover new tastes and support local restaurants on a walking tour with Victoria’s original food tour company. Buy online, delivered instantly. OFF THE EATEN TRACK 470 Belleville Street | 778-918-4584 offtheeatentracktours.ca
Authentic. Rustic. Italian. Discover handcrafted artisan pasta and Italian specialty foods alongside a beautifully curated selection of truly exceptional panettone, premium oils and balsamic vinegars, gluten-free favourites and exquisite gourmet gifts for the holidays. THE ITALIAN PANTRY 3826 Cadboro Bay Road
TRIESTINA PASTA & PROVISIONS 107-1753 Sean Heights, Saanichton lapastatriestina.com
Give the gift of adventure this holiday season! Perfect for any age or occasion, our gift certificates make it easy to share memories that will last forever. PRINCE OF WHALES princeofwhales.com/gift-certificates
A great gift for local history lovers
Offer the rare gift of oceanfront serenity.
Vic High @150! chronicles the iconic Fernwood school’s last 50 years, combining its history with personal stories and memories from alumni who experienced it firsthand.
The Oak Bay Beach Hotel gift cards inspire lasting well-being — restorative spa rituals, soothing mineral pools, coastal dining and boutique stays.
BY HELEN EDWARDS
1175 Beach Drive 250-598-4556 | oakbaybeachhotel.com
helenedwards.ca | 250-686-0788
THE OAK BAY BEACH HOTEL
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AT REMOTE, HISTORIC TELEGRAPH COVE, A COMMUNITY REBUILDS AFTER A DEVASTATING FIRE. By Linda Barnard | Photos by Rob Hilts
Two years after a fire destroyed much of historic Telegraph Cove — including the world-renowned Whale Interpretive Centre — the pier has been rebuilt and a chapter of Vancouver Island history brought back to life.
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W
hat does somebody think about as they watch years of their life burn? It was yellow cedar for Gordie Graham, cofounder and owner with his wife, Marilyn, of Telegraph Cove Resort on Northern Vancouver Island. Gordie knows wood. Now 81, he spent 40 years in the North Island logging industry as feller and bucker, a highly skilled job cutting down and segmenting trees. He prizes yellow cedar for its durability and he’d need it to rebuild the Cove and his life’s work. “I’m looking at that fire burning. You know what’s going through my mind? Where are we going to get yellow cedar? Because yellow cedar grows up high and so it’s logged in the summertime, and this was New Year’s,” Gordie says. It was, as it turns out, just the beginning of a remarkable story of resilience and recovery.
UP IN FLAMES Early in the morning of December 31, 2024, fire broke out in a corner of the Old Saltery Pub on the Telegraph Cove wharf, caused, Gordie suspects, by rodents gnawing through an electrical wire. The fire began just beyond the stretch of the marina-fronting boardwalk that figures in so many tourists’ photos, where the story of the Cove and its early residents is told on info plaques posted outside colourful houses and cabins.
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The fire consumed the pub, Killer Whale Café and the Tide Rip Grizzly Tours office. It destroyed the Prince of Whales whale-watching booking office. And it engulfed the Whale Interpretive Centre (WIC), which drew more than 12,000 visitors each year to see its famed collection of marine mammal skeletons. Everything inside the centre was lost, including Finny, the 20-metre immature fin whale skeleton that was suspended near the entrance, where it seemed to swim in mid-air. Volunteer fire crews from Port McNeill, Port Hardy, Hyde Creek, Sointula and Alert Bay battled the flames from the water and shore, containing the fire and saving the rest of the resort.
Left: Volunteer fire crews from Port Hardy, Alert Bay and other communities fought the fire from land and water. Rebuilding the wharf, docks, pilings, understructure and buildings continued through 2025 and ’26, all adhering to new building codes while recreating the resort’s original character.
Mary and Jim Borrowman live across the marina from the Grahams. Their dog Buddy started acting up well before dawn that morning. Mary, a WIC director and treasurer, woke and looked out the window. “The sky was just orange. I knew the Cove was on fire,” she says. Jim, a conservationist and WIC chair, has been a part of the Telegraph Cove community since the 1970s, when he started work at the Cove sawmill. In 1980, he began Stubbs Island Whale Watching, the first whale watching company in British Columbia. His rich collection of marine mammal skeletons, laboriously collected over decades, formed the initial exhibits when the non-profit WIC opened in 2002. “Jim’s lived here for over 50 years. He basically watched his whole life go up in flames,” says Mary. After the fire, locals mourned the loss and offered help. So did visitors who had been coming to Telegraph Cove from all over the world for years. The WIC, which is operated by registered charitable organization the Johnstone Strait Killer Whale Interpretive Centre Society, started a $1-million fundraising campaign to help rebuild its collection. As 2025 began, despair gave way to optimism. The Grahams and Borrowmans decided to rebuild. Everything would look the same from the outside, but be even better within. “We believe it’s our responsibility for the North Island, where we lived for 40-plus years,” Gordie says. “Without Telegraph Cove, there’s no tourism up here.”
A COMMUNITY COMES TOGETHER Change was coming to Telegraph Cove even before the fire. The Grahams were feeling their years and were about to sell the resort, with a special lease arrangement for the WIC. The buyer was expected to sign the papers just days into the New Year. After the fire, Gordie and Marilyn cancelled the sale. They wanted Telegraph Cove rebuilt as it was and to be at the helm to see the project through, with as many North Islanders as possible on the job. “We’re completely focused on the rebuild and looking after our guests,” Gordie says. As for the sale, that will come in its own time. Meanwhile, the massive environmental cleanup started in March 2025. Stuart Abernethy, owner of Abernethy Contracting in Port McNeill, and members of the Indigenous-owned K’awat’si Construction Company in Port Hardy continued working through the summer, fall and winter of 2025-26 to rebuild the wharf, docks, pilings, understructure and buildings, adding a larger sewage treatment facility and ensuring everything met new building code requirements. Five months after the fire, while construction was still underway, Telegraph Cove opened for the 2025 summer season.
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Unwind in the heart
of Oak Bay Beach Hotel. Settle into the warmth of our Lobby Lounge, where sweeping ocean views, a cozy fireplace and inviting seating create the perfect setting to relax and reconnect. Sip, savour and enjoy good company in an atmosphere of understated elegance, complemented by live music every Wednesday through Sunday evening.
They had to do things differently. The café was closed. Sally’s Snack Shack, named for the Grahams’ brave little dog who was killed while chasing a bear out of the Cove, became the prep kitchen. An outdoor grill was used for mains like cheeseburgers and souvlaki. Grab-and-go breakfasts, snacks and hot drinks were served in the general store, which had a covered eating area outside. The WIC operated from a temporary Whale Shed on the rebuilt part of the boardwalk. With the wharf under repair, Prince of Whales tours were restricted to Zodiacs. Tide Rip Grizzly tours went ahead. By early July 2026, around the time the Graham’s celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary, the Killer Whale Café and Old Saltery Pub reopened.
FROM TELEGRAPH TO ECO-TOURISM Ask Gordie whose idea it was to start a business in Telegraph Cove and he smiles at Marilyn. “I blame my wife.” Marilyn, a former public health nurse, wanted him to quit dangerous logging work to pursue another of his passions: fishing. “She said, ‘We should build a small fishing resort. It’d be a nice semi-retirement.’ Well, now we have 75 people working for us,” Gordie says. Although the land where Telegraph Cove is located has been part of the traditional territory of the Kwakwaka’wakw First Nations for at least 12,000 years, it was only in 1912 that it became a one-man telegraph station, the northern terminus of a wire from Campbell River. In the 1920s, the village grew with the addition of a sawmill and salmon saltery; during the Second World War, it became a military relay and logistics station. Still, it was accessible only by boat until a rugged road was built in 1956. Then, in September 1979, the last stretch of Highway 19 to Port Hardy was completed and Marilyn saw the tourism potential of the area, with its stunning natural beauty and the rich marine wildlife of the Johnstone Strait and Broughton Archipelago.
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Above: By July 2026, operations such as local eco-tours were slowly resuming at the resort. Right: The Killer Whale Cafe and Old Saltery Pub have been rebuilt, now with a convenient passage between the two and a modern, West Coast vibe.
That same year, the Grahams started leasing land in Telegraph Cove for a campground and sport fishing marina. They bought the property and rundown boardwalk buildings in 1988 and embarked on a continuing renovation and rebuilding project, much of the work done by Gordie himself. He even milled the logs at the village sawmill. The pub and restaurant opened in 1998. Everything was made from yellow cedar.
A couple of years later, Jim Borrowman asked Gordie for some space in an old freight shed to open the WIC. The footprint expanded as the collection grew. Over the years, Telegraph Cove became one of North Vancouver Island’s top tourist attractions. It drew summer visitors from B.C. and beyond, from weekenders to international tour groups. Gordie figures that what’s most telling about how much the Cove means to
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YAM MAGAZINE NOV/DEC 2026 67
presents the first shows of our 2026/27 Season
A comedic thriller that will have you screaming with laughter and terror.
November 19 – December 6, 2026 PREVIEW November 18
“WE HAVE FAMILIES THAT HAVE COME HERE FOR 30 YEARS, EVERY YEAR.” visitors is the number of people who have spread their loved ones’ ashes here. “We have families that have come here for 30 years, every year,” he says. “There’s something special about it, and I try and figure it out. I have ideas, but it’s funny, this little place up in the middle of nowhere.”
Gilbert & Sullivan’s swashbuckling musical.
February 18 – March 7, 2027 PREVIEW February 17
Check out the rest of our 2026/27 Season, featuring award-winning plays and musicals by local and international playwrights.
GIFT CERTIFICATES MAKE A GREAT GIFT! For information about our plays, auditions, tickets, and more, please visit our website at
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THE WOW MOMENT This past summer, Gordie and his canine sidekick, Penny, took me on a tour of the newly finished wharf buildings. As the Grahams wanted, the pub and restaurant look the same as before from the outside, with brick red-painted cladding and whitetrimmed mullioned windows. Inside, the rooms have the doughy smell of yellow cedar. An open passage links the pub and cafe. Gordie chose the modernist glass light fixtures that hang from the restaurant ceiling. Lifelike bird carvings by former biologist Barry Saunders of Parksville, including pileated woodpeckers, swallows and crows, seem poised to fly. Osoyoos stained glass artist Neil Relkie came out of retirement to replicate the lost stained-glass double
Above: The Whale Interpretive Centre was the last building to be completed. A major fundraising campaign and donations from the Royal BC Museum have helped to replace artifacts and specimens lost in the fire.
doors on the café and pub, one a pair of killer whales, the other, a replacement of an anniversary gift from their daughters, shows realistic fish. A new four-bedroom guest suite with kitchen was added at the end of the wharf. Mary McFarland painted the new Telegraph Cove sign to replace the one lost in the fire. Her mother Margaret Fleming (Griffiths) designed and painted the original Telegraph Cove, Broughton Lumber and Trading and Telegraph Cove Mills sign in 1946. She was the Telegraph Cove schoolteacher. Her schoolhouse is the Grahams’ home. The WIC was the last structure finished. Now weatherproofed, it opened for August and September with the interior partially finished. Fortunately, three skeletons were offsite during the fire: a Dall’s porpoise, a Risso’s
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dolphin and the only pygmy sperm whale ever recorded in B.C. They spent 2025 and much of 2026 hanging in the Borrowmans’ expansive great room overlooking Johnstone Strait, where one side of the room was filled with specimens, from a walrus skull to whale vertebrae, waiting for their new permanent home. The Royal BC Museum has donated display cases for the new WIC, along with a pair of four-metre blue whale jawbones. A Bryde’s whale skeleton will also be part of the WIC’s rebirth story, reconstructed by Mike deRoos and his partner Michi Main of Cetacea on Salt Spring Island. DeRoos was the WIC’s first employee in 2002. Finny was his first skeleton articulation. The wow moment, as Mary calls it, will come in May 2027, when the transformation is complete for the start of Telegraph Cove’s tourism season. It will have the same footprint, but look very different inside. The Borrowmans say when the WIC doors open, guests should expect a big surprise. It’s a pleasant thing to anticipate. Telegraph Cove began as a one-person telegraph station in 1912. Today, it’s famous for wilderness, eco-tourism, outdoor adventure and especially whales. But the mythic phoenix may also be in residence in this tiny tourist community, a symbol of the time Telegraph Cove faced a devastating fire and rose stronger from the ashes.
430 Campbell Street, Tofino (behind Rhino Coffee) www.TofinoBeachCollective.com Instagram @TofinoBeachCollective PHOTO: OSPREY BEACH HOUSE
Contemporary Canadian Art Painting | Sculpture | Photography
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430 Campbell Street, Tofino (behind Rhino Coffee) TofinoGalleryofContemporaryArt.com Insta@TofinoGalleryofContemporaryArt
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Happier HAVE A
HOLIDAY
Your seasonal care plan to make it to the New Year without losing your temper — or your marbles. By YAM Staff
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T
he holiday season is the most wonderful time of the year — except when it’s not. You may have visions of sugar plums dancing in your head, but it’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the shopping, cooking, cleaning, decorating, socializing and pressure to get everything right. You may not even notice the signs of holiday burnout creeping up on you. But if you’re snapping at your spouse, dreading the office party and feeling bone tired all the time, both physically and emotionally, you may be among the estimated 89 per cent of adults who feel holiday overwhelm each year. If you don’t want to find yourself sobbing into the eggnog, you need a care plan — for yourself and the people around you. Here’s how to build one.
Make a Plan Nothing causes stress quite like feeling like you have no control over your circumstances, and a good way to wrest that control back is to make a really, really solid plan. Start with creating a schedule for all your holiday activities, from the kids’ school concert to your office party to shopping, decorating, baking, cleaning, gift-wrapping, mailing parcels and socializing. Definitely work rest and relaxation into your schedule, and build in enough time for everything so you are not scrambling at the last minute. If you find your schedule is too crammed, that’s your cue to either drop a few things or outsource them to someone else. Once you’ve nailed down your schedule, plan the menus for any meals you’re hosting as well as shopping lists for gifts, groceries, decorations and any household things you may need if you’re expecting overnight guests. Anything you can do ahead, like freezing meals or canning jams for gifts, will be a godsend at crunch time. A good plan will not only reduce last-minute stress and help with the overwhelm, it will give you a road map through the season even on days when you might be feeling a bit lost.
Make a Budget — and Stick to It Part of the fun of the holiday season is splashing out on gifts and party clothes and theatre tickets and fancy dinners out. But if you’re not careful, you can easily spend way more than you’re comfortable with, and who wants to begin the New Year with a giant, unexpected Visa bill — or even worse, arguing about it with your spouse? So set a budget. Make sure to allocate enough money for the things that really matter to you. Include all the things you will need to purchase, from groceries to gift wrap. And be realistic, not optimistic, about prices. Most of all, remember that when it comes to gifts, it’s not how much money you spend that counts, but how much care and thought you put into them.
Set Realistic Expectations Between romanticizing what the holidays should be and putting pressure on ourselves to attain some idealized Hallmark-meets-Martha-Stewart level of perfection, it’s no wonder some of us end up crushed by disappointment when things don’t go according to plan. The key is to manage your own expectations and those of the people around you, too. Remember: Nothing — not the tree, not your turkey dinner and definitely not you — needs to be perfect. Focus on what really matters and give yourself a break on everything else.
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Learn to Say No With so many exciting events going on, FOMO (fear of missing out) is real at this time of year. So are the requests: for your time, your money, your cookies, your attention, your presence. It’s hard to say no, but if you don’t, you may end up feeling overwhelmed and resentful. Setting boundaries is good for both your mental health and your relationships. If your instinct is to say “yes” to everything, make a habit of taking a 24-hour pause before agreeing to a new request. That will give you time to think about whether you really have time to take it on, and if it is something you really want to do. Be prepared to decline invitations that are just too much. And, if you feel you must attend an event, consider leaving early to preserve your energy. There’s nothing wrong with turning FOMO into JOMO — the joy of missing out.
Share the Workload We get it: Sometimes it feels easier to do everything yourself. Don’t. Delegating tasks doesn’t just share the workload, it brings people closer by making them feel like part of the festivities. Ask your friends to bring a dish to a dinner party. Split the hosting duties with your siblings. Get your kids to run errands or help decorate the Christmas tree. Put your brother-in-law to work manning the bar. Also consider outsourcing tasks you don’t
particularly enjoy. It’s perfectly OK to hire someone to clean your home, hang your Christmas lights or cater the big dinner.
Maintain Healthy Habits The party spirit of the season coincides neatly with its stresses and a sharp peak in cold, flu and gastrointestinal bugs. Stress also leads many of us to neglect our own needs, especially when it comes to sleep, exercise and nutrition. All of that is a perfect recipe for getting sick. And that means you need a strategy for staying well. Do celebrate in moderation. Don’t self-medicate with alcohol when you’re feeling stressed — it can leave you feeling much worse, even without a hangover. Do take short breaks on even the busiest of days. Don’t forget to breathe deeply — it will lower stress and anxiety while improving focus and mental clarity. Do keep (as much as possible) a regular sleep schedule. Don’t drink coffee, eat heavy meals or look at your phone just before bed — these can all disrupt your sleep patterns. Do have a healthy snack before holiday parties so you’re less likely to overindulge. Don’t skip one meal with the intention of overeating at the next one.
Do make room for nourishing foods on your plate. Don’t get all your calories from potato chips, cookies and eggnog. Do stay active. Even a short walk will boost your mood and your energy. Don’t feel you need to commit to an intense fitness regimen. Do have fun! Don’t take anything too seriously.
Set Boundaries with Loved Ones Even the happiest of family gatherings can end in tears and bickering. After all, who among us hasn’t reverted to destructive childhood patterns when we’re with our family of origin? Who among us hasn’t been hurt by well-meaning comments about our appearance, job prospects or marital status? And who among us hasn’t been outraged by an offensive comment someone felt was OK to say out loud? You can’t change others, but you can change how you respond to them. So, rather than storming out or giving your family the silent treatment, protect yourself and your relationships by setting healthy boundaries. • Plan in advance how long you will stay at a family event, and have an exit strategy in mind should things get messy.
Sunday, December 6 Tickets on sale now at Presenting sponsor
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islandkidsfirst.com
• Make a habit of taking a deep breath before responding to something upsetting.
DECEMBER 2 – 20, 2026
• Establish rules (even in your own mind) about what topics are off limits. • Keep a mental list of topics that are comfortable for everyone so you can easily change the subject if needed. • Have short, firm, but polite responses at the ready, such as, “I’d rather not talk about that now.” • Instead of arguing and escalating the conflict, ask open-ended questions to learn more about why someone feels a certain way. • Don’t be part of the problem: Try to set aside differences and grievances and be understanding (within reason) if others are short-tempered. After all, they’re likely under the same seasonal pressures you are.
A SPONTANEOUS THEATRE CREATION
★★★★ “Funny and spontaneous, but also genuinely adorable… Mimi’s definitely a keeper.” —Globe & Mail
STARRING
LILI BEAUDOIN, TESS DEGENSTEIN & ALI FROGGATT “...a flight of theatrical fancy that is absolutely magical. Four stars out of four.” —Toronto Star
Most of all, remember what the holidays really mean to you, your friends and family. Often, the simplest pleasures of the season are the best. And instead of wearing yourself out trying to achieve unattainable perfection, you may come back to joy.
SERIOUSLY, THOUGH …
Pay-What-You-Want Tickets 250-385-6815 | belfry.bc.ca
For the most part, holiday burnout is something we bring on ourselves and, with a little care and attention, can control. But the holidays can also trigger more serious mental health issues, too. Loss can feel so much deeper at this time of year, conflict more upsetting, loneliness more painful. Family gatherings can surprise us with a whole Santa sack full of unwelcome emotions. Money worries can dim the brightest Christmas lights. And everything feels just a little bit worse when you’re getting too little sleep and drinking just a little too much. If you are really struggling, or know someone who is, there is help out there. These services are available 24 hours a day, every day of the year: Vancouver Island Crisis Line: 1-888-494-3888 Mental Health Support Line: Call 310-6789 (no area code needed) BC Suicide Line: Call 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433) Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call or text 988 KUU-US Crisis Line (Indigenousspecific): Call 1-800-588-8717 And, of course, in a life-threatening situation, call emergency services at 911.
Every season is tea party season! Find treasures like these and so much more in our giftware department.
PHARMASAVE BROADMEAD Broadmead Village Shopping Centre 310-777 Royal Oak Drive 250-727-3505 pharmasavebroadmead.com
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An Homage to the Holiday Sweater By Eva Rachert
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Dreaming of an LED Christmas Christmas sweaters first appeared on the scene in the 1950s, the decade that delivered most of our modern holiday traditions and introduced mass-market synthetic knitwear. What were then known as “Jingle Bell sweaters” evolved from classic sporty styles, especially the Nordic and alpine pullovers popularized by Olympic athletes and Hollywood stars during the post-war ski boom. These sweaters weren’t gaudy or The Jingle Bell sweater “ugly”; rather, they emerged in the 1950s, symbolized luxury inspired by traditional and romance. Nordic and alpine knits. The festive knitwear they inspired became something of a feel-good seasonal uniform for comedians and late-night television stars. Wholesome crooner Andy Williams, who dominated the Christmas radio charts with tunes like “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” and appeared on network television throughout the 1960s and ’70s, kept the Jingle Bell sweater in the spotlight. On his long-running NBC Christmas variety show, for instance, he and his family would perform in matching (and occasionally sequinned) holiday sweaters. The Jingle Bell sweater, like the Christmas parade, the NORAD Santa Tracker and other Christmas traditions of the 1950s, stayed mostly unchanged over the decades that followed. Even the irreverent cast members of Saturday Night Live wore Norwegian “lusekofte” pullovers for their 1979 Christmas special — festive knits that would have looked right at home at a Winter Olympics 20 years prior.
Styling the Holiday Sweater If you’re comfortable in your ugly sweater, it takes the stress out of dressing for a holiday party: Your outfit can’t fail because the tastelessness is the point. But the ugly sweater isn’t for everyone. Luckily, there are classic, even beautiful, winter sweaters that are. If you want to look merry without wearing a screen-printed Santa Claus or sparkly pompoms, consider the Fair Isle sweater. Beloved by royals from Edward VIII (later the Duke of Windsor) in the 1920s to Princess Catherine and
her daughter Charlotte today, this classic, multicoloured geometric knit from Scotland’s most remote inhabited island is synonymous with Christmas cheer. Anything argyle (the Scottish pattern of overlapping diamonds, which dates back to the early 17th century) is also great for a more versatile daytime holiday outfit. Argyle looks subtly wintry without offending the eye, and is easy to layer with a button-down or blazer. For a more sporty, aprés-ski look, consider
a traditional Nordic or alpine sweater. Anything patterned with the snowflake-like Selbu Rose — a Norwegian eight-pointed star often found in Scandinavian winterwear — will be particularly festive. Whatever you end up wearing this holiday season, remember: A sweater doesn’t need to be ugly to be jolly, and kitsch doesn’t need to be sardonic to be fun. When it comes to a holiday sweater, nothing will keep you warmer while still ensuring you look cool — or ironically uncool.
JEFFREY BOSDET/YAM MAGAZINE
T
ypically bright red and/or green, littered with yuletide graphics and adorned with tinsel, bells or batterypowered Christmas lights, the Ugly Christmas Sweater is an ironic statement piece that’s easy to spot at almost every holiday event. It’s a piece of deliberate holiday uncoolness in the tradition of the grandpa sweater or oversized cardigan. It’s gaudy and, come December, it’s everywhere. But where and when, we wondered, did the holiday sweater originate? How did it come to dominate our festive wardrobes? And is there a way to wear it that might actually be cool? Here’s what we found.
From left: Kate, Ellie and April, staffers at Victoria’s 120-year-old Beehive Wool Shop, show off the intricate festive sweaters they’ve knitted themselves. Inspired by Fair Isle patterns, they incorporate elements of alpine and Nordic design, and prove that a holiday sweater can be both fun and beautiful.
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By the time Chevy Chase donned his nowiconic red jacquard crewneck for the 1989 comedy National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, the holiday sweater had rocketed to widespread commercial success. These sweaters — earnest and family-friendly — were never really cool. But they weren’t “ugly sweaters” and they weren’t ironic. Their busy patterns and loud colours fit in comfortably with 1980s fashion, which might be why they all but disappeared in the minimalist ’90s, a decade when gaudy, wearable merriment was totally iced out.
The Modern Ugly Sweater In the early 2000s, the Christmas sweater came in from the cold courtesy of a big-screen
comedy — specifically, the 2001 rom-com Bridget Jones’s Diary — and a certain dark green intarsia turtleneck worn by discourteous love interest Mark Darcy, played by Colin Firth. Perhaps it was so influential because of its deceptive introduction: When Darcy turns to face the camera at that infamous turkey curry buffet, what initially appears to be an inoffensive pullover from behind is revealed to have a giant red-nosed moose on the chest. The sweater is designed to be laughed at; at the same time, his choice to wear something so embarrassing — “that my mother had given me the day before,” as he humbly admits later — goes a long way toward redeeming Darcy for his unmerry behaviour. That mortifying moose turtleneck precipitated
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an explosion of tacky vintage knitwear. When old trends cycle back in, they often return with an ironic, referential twist — like today’s revitalization of the scrunchie, mom jeans or pretty much anything indie. That was definitely the case for the festive sweater, which was wryly embraced by partygoing college students and trendy hipsters in the early 2000s. Y2K fashion was overrun with ironic subcultural styles (think preppy business casual or sportswear as clubwear), so the ugly sweater fit right in. But while subcultural style was exclusive, almost everyone was in on the joke of the Christmas sweater. In fact, just a year after Bridget Jones was released, the festive sweater was commonplace enough to become a party theme. Although it’s hard to know for sure, Greater Vancouver lays claim to hosting the first Ugly Christmas Sweater party. It started as a house party in Coquitlam, held by then-students Chris Boyd and Jordan Birch, who cleverly trademarked the phrases “Ugly Christmas Sweater” and “Ugly Christmas Sweater Party” in Canada. By 2002, the party was a big enough deal to move to the Commodore Ballroom. Until COVID came along, the annual bash, a fundraiser for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, sold out year after year and inspired similar events all over the world. It wasn’t long before high fashion joined the movement. In 2007, Stella McCartney’s fall show incorporated a cheeky Christmas theme, as did Dolce & Gabbana’s entire 2010 fall readyto-wear collection. Since then, festive sweaters have been adopted by designer labels including Givenchy, Jean Paul Gaultier and Chanel. Today the sweaters that ’90s parents had donated to thrift stores or packed away in boxes are officially back and worse than ever. Now the looks once worn for irony express a genuinely unironic joy for Christmas: The more garish your sweater, the more obvious your holiday spirit.
Food+Drink 78
The Dish
Local chefs take the national stage — and other hot things happening around Victoria.
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Holiday Heroes
Holiday squares and bars are the easy, versatile treats you need for all your seasonal entertaining.
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Beyond the Shaft
Craving a wintry wake-me-up? You need a coffee cocktail. RECIPES
83 Peppermint Brownies 84 Butter Tart Bars 86 Cran-Apple Crumble Bars 89 Seafta Irish Coffee 91 Irish Coffee
IN SEASON
Tart and Tempting
CRISSY MITCHEL/STOCKSY
In the dark, dull days of winter, we crave bright colours and vivid flavours. Tart, red, glossy cranberries deliver on all counts. Like other holiday staples such as pumpkins and turkeys, cranberries originated in the Americas, where they grow on low bushes in cool, boggy places. Indigenous people used them both as a food source and natural dye long before settlers adapted them to the dinner table and started stringing them into decorative garlands. Today, most cranberries grow on family farms like Yellow Point Cranberries outside Ladysmith and are harvested in fall, when bogs are flooded and the buoyant berries rise to the surface. They are considered a superfood, but we love them best for their flavour and versatility. Enjoy them fresh, dried, frozen, juiced or canned, tucked into baked goods, scattered over a salad or served as a sauce for your turkey. Whichever you prefer, they add the bright note your holiday table needs. See recipe for Cran-Apple Crumble Bars on page 86.
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Food+Drink
THE DISH
By Joanne Sasvari
A TASTE OF WHAT’S HAPPENING AROUND VICTORIA RECOGNITION
Now that was a kitchen party!
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From left: Silver medallist Paul Moran, gold medallist Corbin Mathany and Chef of Distinction Milton Rebello.
has appointed a Chef of Distinction who will partner with the winner of the regional competition in the nationals. In Victoria, the Chef of Distinction is Milton Rebello, chef and co-owner of Liv Cafe, and the competitors were: Sam Harris (Cafe Brio), Corbin Mathany (Ugly Duckling Dining & Provisions), Castro Boateng (House of Boateng Cafe), Paul Moran (Sixty Forty) and Israel Alvarez Molina (MAiiZ Nixtamal). If there was a thread running through each chef’s dish, it was a passion for local ingredients, from sablefish to spot prawns to seaweed to the last of the summer corn. Once the final dish was whisked away, we tallied up our votes, judging each dish on everything from appearance to technical difficulty to overall deliciousness, then submitted our ballots. Only then did we learn who had prepared each dish. And finally, sworn to secrecy, we were set free to join the party, where Canadian rock icon Tom Cochrane belted out “Life Is a Highway” and
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merrymakers were bidding on trips, dinners and other auction items. But who, you may be asking, actually won? Well, in a rare show of consensus, not only were the judges in agreement, but so were the attendees who voted for the People’s Choice prize. The runner-up was Paul Moran of Sixty Forty, for his dish of sablefish with a pool of crème fraîche marbled with a swirl of bright local wasabi. And the gold medal winner was Corbin Mathany of Ugly Duckling, for his dish of lightly cured and torched steelhead salmon served with preserved Mason Street Farms cherry tomatoes and spot prawn vinaigrette. Congratulations to all the participants. And best of luck to Mathany and Rebello, who will be competing against some of Canada’s most celebrated chefs next January in Ottawa. For info about the Canadian Culinary Championship, and tickets to the final, visit greatkitchenparty.com/ca.
JEFFREY BOSDET/YAM MAGAZINE
On September 29, the Oak Bay Beach Hotel ballroom was loud and lively and fragrant with the aromas of fine cuisine. But in the judging room, it was a different story. Seven of us gathered in a hushed space far from the action, seated politely around a table as servers brought each course and poured the wine that paired with it. We were judging blind — as in, we had no idea which chef cooked what dish — and in virtual silence, too, as we weren’t allowed to make any comments that might influence any of the other judges. It was, let’s just say, a slightly strange way to enjoy some delicious food. The event was Canada’s Great Kitchen Party, formerly known as Gold Medal Plates, back in Victoria for the first time in a decade. It’s one of 10 similar regional events leading up to the Canadian Culinary Championship in Ottawa next January — a culinary competition, rock concert and fundraiser that has raised over $19 million for youth in sports and music, with a stated mission “to build a more inclusive Canada.” This year, being the event’s 20th, is a little different than most. Each participating city
CANADA’S GREAT KITCHEN PARTY
Chefs Corbin Mathany and Milton Rebello head to the Canadian Culinary Championship.
We’re thrilled to see Lumache, the pastaforward restaurant named YAM’s Best New Restaurant earlier this year, among the 30 finalists of Air Canada’s prestigious Best New Restaurants awards. At just 16 seats, this intimate restaurant is the tiny but perfect stage for chef James Frost’s meticulously handmade pasta creations and sommelier Heather Dosman’s carefully hand-chosen wines. The top 10 restaurants will be announced on November 16. enroute. aircanada.com/best-new-restaurants/finalists/
At Lumache, chef James Frost prepares the giant ravioli the Air Canada judges described as “technically precise but fundamentally generous.”
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Victoria can’t get enough of handhelds like the overstuffed porchetta at the newly opened Meat & Bread.
Shawn Soole is not just a local hospitality leader, educator, co-owner of Cafe Mexico and host of The Post Shift Podcast, he’s now the BC Restaurant Hall of Fame’s 2026 Rising Star. He’s recognized for the way he “amplifies voices from across the industry and creates space for conversations around mentorship, workplace culture and sustainable leadership.” Learn more about this year’s inductees at bcrfahalloffame.com.
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On Broad Street, Kyoto Garden Japanese Tea House is a soothing new spot for
WINTER ON THE TERRACE IS BACK AT FATHOM
Japanese desserts and teas, including matcha and hojicha. Right across the street, Meat & Bread is finally open, serving up sandwiches (the porchetta with salsa verde is legendary) and locally roasted Fernwood coffee. Look for Lee’s Donuts and Ayoubs Dried Fruits & Nuts to open any day now. Joining an already excellent selection of places for coffee in Victoria are Forecast Coffee in Cadboro Bay, Crow’s Coffee in the Burnside Gorge neighbourhood, Blue House in Oak Bay and, opening in January, Hey Happy on Cook Street. Soul’s Toast, the cute little Korean joint on the Malahat Highway that Maclean’s magazine called Canada’s “Best Lunchtime Pit Stop,” has brought its messy but delicious street-food-style sandwiches and potato puff fries to the Royal BC Museum. Meanwhile, Hero Sandwich Bar has opened in the former Gigi’s spot at Quadra and Hillside; pop in for generous hero sandwiches, traditional Italian panini, cannoli, Italian grocery staples and more delicious things. And, at Hillside and Cedar Hill, there’s a new specialty grocer called Beauty For Ashes, specializing in African food products and ingredients, as well as health and beauty items.
NOVEMBER 19 - JANUARY 21
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Cookbooks to Crave A decade ago, the Food Network crowned Victoria the “Brunch Capital of Canada” and it’s true — in this city we love our bennies, waffles and a Shaft to go with. Now local cookbook author Rebecca Wellman has just released At the Brunch Table (TouchWood Editions), part guidebook to local brunch hot spots and part collection of recipes from our favourites. Wellman is not just a writer, she is also a food stylist, photographer and recipe developer, who has written, cooked for and photographed several cookbooks, including the Outlander Kitchen series, based on the bestselling novels by Diana Gabaldon, as well as First, We Brunch (2017), Bisous and Brioche (2019) and Crust (Appetite, 2024). In her latest book, she shares brunch secrets, recipes and photos from 29 local restaurants including Blue Fox, Fathom, Pagliacci’s, Jam Café and Fox & Monocle. Among them: Shuck Taylor’s West Coast eggs benedict, Duo’s cheddar dill drop scones and The Courtney Room’s chocolate sourdough French toast. Looking for more? Try these other Canadian cookbooks:
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Fraiche and Simple by Tori Weiszer (Penguin Canada) More than 100 nourishing recipes and even more handy tips from the bestselling Kelownabased cookbook author and registered dietitian.
Gyetk: Coastal Fusion and Ancestral Knowledge from a Ts’msyen Kitchen by Rachel Greening and Spencer Greening (WellFleet Press) Through 60 beautifully photographed recipes, Gyetk (meaning “to feed the people”) explores the rich food traditions of the Ts’msyen (Tsimshian) people of the Pacific Northwest Coast.
Cookie Box by Miranda
Diane with Banksy
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Keyes and Michelle Lucas Larving (Hardie Grant — Chronicle Books) These two Ontario-based writers, recipe developers, writers and food stylists have whipped up a book packed with cookie recipes for every possible occasion.
Hey, Santa! Around this time of year we know we should be shopping for others, but keep spotting things we love for ourselves along the way. Here’s what we’re hoping to find under the tree this holiday.
Morning Light At West Coast Trail acrylic on canvas 40 x 60
It’s not just that a nakiri knife looks so cool (though that sure doesn’t hurt). We love this traditional Japanese vegetable knife for the way its rectangular blade can slice through a mountain of onions or celery cleanly, precisely and without that annoying accordion effect. Available from Knifewear. knifewear.com
Haruyuki Goma Nakiri
Everything is better with butter, especially when it’s better butter. Terroir Artisan Butter is made in Calgary from Alberta A2 cream, which is naturally cultured for 48 hours before being slow-churned, shaped by hand and finished with Salt Spring Sea Salt. The result is creamy, dreamy, high in milk fat (84 per cent, compared to the typical 80 per cent) and complexly flavourful, similar to European butters. Find it at Pepper’s Foods or through terroirbutter.com.
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Feel your best. Do we need a new toaster? No. Do we want a new toaster? When it’s as adorable as one of Salton’s NuRetro digital toasters, we absolutely do. The Canadian appliance maker offers two- and four-slice toasters with retro curves and modern tech in three chic colours (red, silver and black). While you’re at it, consider the matching kettle, coffee maker and toaster oven. salton.com
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HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
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Food+Drink By Joanne Sasvari | Photos by Jeffrey Bosdet
HOLIDAY HEROES Short on time, but still want to impress? Whether you’re the host or the guest, there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a dessert square. If you’re anything like me, you probably dream of doing some fancy baking at holiday time, of mastering the art of decorating with royal icing, say, or crafting a croquembouche that won’t topple over. And then suddenly you’re out of time, or energy, or patience, and you’ve got guests coming over and you have to feed them something. That’s when the dessert square comes to the rescue. In my house, squares and bars are the heroes of the dinner party as well as the unexpected drop-in, the last-minute host gift and nights in watching our favourite holiday movies. They are relatively easy to make, great for a crowd and easy to fancy up if you need to. Most of all, they are just so darn delicious, who can resist them? There are dozens and dozens of different types of squares and bars, from brownies and blondies to fruity crumble bars, lemon squares and cheesecake, caramel and no-bake versions like magic bars and Nanaimo bars. Your options are really only limited by your imagination and the contents of your pantry. Indeed, many rely on pantry staples — the easy Butter Tart Bars on page 84 are a great example. You probably already have everything you need to make them and could be enjoying them in an hour or so if you really wanted to. Most squares or bars have a cookie-like base, usually buttery shortbread, with a soft filling and crunchy top. They rarely require special equipment or sophisticated skills, though it is a good idea to use parchment paper, which not only keeps the squares from sticking to the pan but creates a sort of sling for lifting them out without disaster. Other handy tools include an electric mixer, sharp knife and baking pans. Recipes for squares and bars also tend to be both forgiving and flexible. If a recipe calls for an eight-inch square pan and you only have a nine-inch one, it doesn’t really matter; just bake them a little less or more, if you need to. You can add flavours or take ’em out, and if a recipe calls for a fancy glaze, you can probably skip it and still have a perfectly enjoyable treat. That said, I love taking a basic bar and dressing it up for a dinner party. A brownie is perfectly fine as is, but add a dollop of whipped cream, some chocolate shavings and a few perfect raspberries or a drizzle of raspberry coulis and that is a dish dressed to impress. Squares and bars also make great host gifts, bake sale items, shareables for the office and treats for when your kids’ friends all descend at once. They can often be baked ahead and frozen, but can also be whipped up at the last minute if needed. There’s almost nothing they can’t do — which is why they’re the heroes your holiday plans are looking for.
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PEPPERMINT BROWNIES These brownies are rich, fudgy, minty, decadent — and just what you’re craving on a cold wintry day. Makes one 8-inch pan of brownies, 16 bars. Brownies: • 1 cup unsalted butter, plus additional for greasing the pan • 4 oz dark chocolate, preferably semisweet, chopped into small, even pieces (see note) • cup Dutch process cocoa powder • 2 cups sugar • 3 large eggs • 1 Tbsp peppermint extract • 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour • ½ tsp salt Topping: • 6 oz dark chocolate, preferably semisweet, chopped (or semisweet chocolate chips) • ¼ cup heavy cream • 1 Tbsp unsalted butter • Pinch of salt • ½ cup crushed peppermints or candy canes Heat oven to 350ºF. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan, then line it with parchment paper, leaving an overhang so you can lift the brownies out later. If you like, you can also butter the parchment to make extra sure the brownies will release easily. Make the brownies: In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and 4 oz dark chocolate over medium-low heat, stirring, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in cocoa powder until smooth. Let cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Stir the sugar into the chocolate mixture until well combined. Stir in the eggs, one at a time, and mix until well combined. Stir in the peppermint extract, then the flour and salt, stirring gently until completely combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Tap the pan on the counter to release any air bubbles. Bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean, about 45 minutes, but take care not to overbake. Cool for about half an hour in the pan, then use the parchment to lift the brownies out. Transfer them to a cooling rack and cool completely, then chill in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. While the brownies chill, make the glaze: Place a medium heat-safe bowl
over a medium pot of simmering water. Place the chocolate, cream, butter and salt in the bowl. Heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture is evenly melted. (Alternatively, this can be done in the microwave, using a microwave-safe container and 15-second bursts.) Let the glaze cool for 5 minutes, then pour it over the chilled brownies and spread into an even layer. Sprinkle the crushed peppermints evenly over the surface. Return to the refrigerator to chill until the chocolate is fully set, about 45 minutes more. Use the parchment paper to lift the brownies out of the pan, then cut them into 16 squares. For the cleanest slices, use a very sharp knife, dipping it into warm water and drying with a clean towel in between each cut. Brownies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week. Note: Dark chocolate can be sweet and mild (containing 35 to 50 per cent cacao), semisweet (50 to 60 per cent), bittersweet (60 to 84 per cent) or extremely dark or pure (85 to 100 per cent). In this recipe, either semisweet or bittersweet chocolate will work, although semisweet will have a sweeter, smoother flavour and bittersweet a deeper, more chocolatey one.
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BUTTER TART BARS This classic recipe is much less hassle than making individual tarts, and just as satisfying. We know that people are fussy about raisins and nuts in their butter tarts, so you can add them or not, as you like. Don’t overbake these, especially if you prefer a gooey filling. Makes one 9-inch pan, 16 or more bars.
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Filling: • 2 large eggs, at room temperature • 1 cup packed brown sugar • ¼ cup flour • ¾ tsp baking powder • ½ tsp salt, preferably Diamond kosher salt • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract • 1 cup raisins and/or chopped walnuts (or neither!)
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Base: • ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature • cup packed brown sugar • 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
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Heat oven to 350°F. Butter and line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving enough overhang to lift the brownies out later. Cream the butter together with the cup brown sugar, then stir in the ¼ cup flour until fully blended. Press dough into the baking pan, working from the edges in, then place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes or lightly golden. Using an electric mixer, beat eggs and 1 cup brown sugar on medium-high until light and thick. Mix in flour, baking powder, salt and vanilla. If you’re using them, stir in the nuts and/or raisins, then spread the filling over the base layer. (You don’t need to cool the base before adding the filling.) Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the centre is almost firm. Cool to room temperature and cut into squares. Keep chilled until ready to serve.
A BETTER BAKING PAN You can bake squares in everything from glass to ceramic to flimsy, disposable tin foil, but for better results, you need a better pan. The best ones are light-coloured metal with some heft to them. Lighter colours are less likely to burn the bottom of your bakes while heavy-gauge metal not only conducts heat more evenly than flimsier materials, it won’t bend or warp. Also look for: sides that are at least two inches high (for a more even bake and defined edges), rolled edges (for easier grip) and smooth corners (for easier cleaning). Note that most high-quality pans are either made of aluminum or aluminized steel, and are not dishwasher safe.
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These fruity dessert bars are easier than pie and make the perfect ending to a holiday dinner or any other occasion. Makes one 9-x-13-inch pan, 24 to 36 bars. Fruit filling: • 3 cups ripe but firm apples such as Pink Lady, Granny Smith or Golden Delicious, peeled, cored and cut into ¼- to ½-inch dice (about 3 medium apples) • 3 cups fresh or frozen (not thawed) cranberries • ¾ cup granulated sugar • Juice and finely grated zest of 1 orange (about ¼ cup juice, 1½ tsp zest) • 1 tsp vanilla extract
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Crust and topping: • 1 cup unsalted butter • 2 cups all-purpose flour • 1 cup light brown sugar, packed • 1 cup almond flour • 1 ½ cups rolled oats • 1 tsp salt, preferably Diamond kosher salt Heat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-x-13-inch baking pan and line with parchment paper, making sure you have enough overhang to be able to lift the bars out later.
Prepare filling: Place diced apples, cranberries, sugar and orange juice in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over mediumhigh heat. Bring fruit mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally, and continue cooking until apples are soft, cranberries burst and juices are thick and jammy, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in orange zest and vanilla, then remove from heat and cool while preparing the crust. Prepare crust and crumble: In a small saucepan, melt the butter and allow to cool slightly — it should be just a little warmer than room temperature. In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, almond flour, oats and salt, and mix well. Stir in melted butter until you have a well-distributed, crumbly mixture. Set aside about 2 cups for the topping. Pour remaining crumbs into the prepared baking pan and press them into an even layer. Bake the crust until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Spoon filling evenly over the hot crust. Top with reserved crumbs, sprinkling them loosely but evenly, then return pan to oven. Bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Let the bars cool slightly before cutting and serving. Keep chilled until ready to serve.
THE COURTNEY ROOM: DRESSED UP FOR THE SEASON Unforgettable Dining | Gift Giving Made Easy HOLIDAY RESERVATIONS & GIFT CARD PURCHASES
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Food+Drink
By Christine Sismondo
BEYOND THE SHAFT
These coffee cocktails will make you wake up and take notice.
ANDRÉA CONFORTI
At Bartholomew’s Public House, the Seafta Irish Coffee takes a whiskey-based spin on an Espresso Martini.
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OCTOBER 27—NOVEMBER 22, 2026
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ove a rich and lightly bitter boozy coffee drink? If so, well, you’re living in the right era — not to mention the right city. Victoria’s pubs, cocktail bars and restaurants have gone all-in on espresso and coffee cocktails, from endless takes on Victoria’s own Shaft to the stunning Samuel L. Jackson (Forty Creek Cream and Hey Happy Coffee Amaro) at Clive’s Classic Lounge. Not to mention Marilena Cafe & Raw Bar’s Revolver, a riff on a classic coffee cocktail made with two types of rum, Cynar, cinnamon and espresso. Tapa Bar even has an entire evening devoted to caffeinated cocktails: Espresso Thursdays. And, while this isn’t exactly news, no specialty coffee story would be complete without a mention of the offerings at the Irish Times, notably the Hot Nutty Irishman. According to Brant Porter, beverage director at both Humboldt Bar and Bartholomew’s Public House (the latter of which is home to two different specialty coffee drinks), it’s hardly surprising that the city excels at these perky beverages. “Victoria has an affinity for coffee of all types,” Porter says. “And, kind of in the same way it’s hard to find one of the big macro beer companies on draft at most restaurants and bars in Victoria, the coffee consumed by the majority of people here is from these really high-quality, third-wave coffee houses like Hey Happy and Discovery.”
BY HAROLD PINTER
“a marvellous, multi-layered play… his most accessible and arguably his best.” —British Theatre Guide
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SEAFTA IRISH COFFEE
This Irish coffee cocktail is a house favourite at Bartholomew’s Public House. • 1½ oz Roe & Co Irish Whiskey • 1 oz Guinness Nitro Cold Brew Coffee Beer • ½ oz 2:1 demerara syrup (see note) • 1 dash Angostura bitters Chill a small cocktail coupe with ice or in the freezer for 10 minutes. Add all ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake until cold, 10 to 15 seconds. Strain into chilled coupe. Serves 1. Note: To make 2:1 demerara syrup, bring ½ cup water to a boil. Place 1 cup of demerara sugar in a small saucepan, add the boiled water and stir over low heat until the sugar has completely dissolved, making sure the mixture does not boil. Let cool, then store in the fridge for up to a month.
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The classic Irish coffee is the quintessential winter warmer, and a steady favourite at Bartholomew’s.
ANDRÉA CONFORTI
“Coffee itself is filled with fats and oils that create foam and a matrix, or web, to hold air in the same way that an egg white or pineapple juice would, so you get this really lovely texture when you shake coffee and spirits together.”
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The coffee cocktail revolution may seem like a new trend, but spiking coffee is a timehonoured tradition dating at least as far back as the mid-1700s, when European apothecaries began crafting “Crème de Moka” — the first known coffee liqueur. Some say that Italy’s café corretto (“corrected coffee”) and the Carajillo (a mix of espresso and vanilla-forward Licor 43 that originated in either Cuba or Spain, depending on who you believe) are from the 1930s. Some say they’re older. Perhaps the most important thing to know, though, is that you can find delicious versions of both in Victoria — Boom + Batten has a classic Carajillo and Zambri’s makes a lovely café corretto with Sheringham’s Coffee Liqueur. So, what is it about the allure of mixing coffee and spirits? Porter says it’s just basic chemistry. “Coffee itself is filled with fats and oils that create foam and a matrix, or web, to hold air in the same way that an egg white or pineapple
juice would, so you get this really lovely texture when you shake coffee and spirits together,” he says. “That trapped air makes a fluffier cocktail that’s more interesting on the palate.” People seem to have really caught on to this molecular magic in the 20th century, which saw a number of inventions and launches, including Kahlúa (1936), Irish coffee (1943), the Black Russian (1949) and, of course, the Espresso Martini. That modern classic, invented in London, England, back in 1983, has fuelled a wave of icy-cold shaken espresso drinks that are still trending. There are also plenty of temperance options to be found, thanks to espresso tonics at spots
like Duo Café Bakery and Saint Cecila, Pagliacci’s inspired alcohol-free Espresso Martini and Cenote’s seasonally available A Hoplite Salary (cold brew, coffee syrup, Fee Brothers Turkish Tobacco Bitters and salt). Will the Espresso Martini nudge those classic specialty coffees out? Porter doesn’t think so. He thinks they’re timeless. “Even when cocktails fell out of fashion in the 1970s and ’80s, you could still get a Monte Cristo at the end of a meal,” says Porter. “One of my earliest memories was watching my mom order a Spanish coffee at a restaurant and the waiter would come and light it on fire. It was this great ritual.”
IRISH COFFEE
What sets this traditional Irish coffee apart is attention to detail, notably the cream, which should be hand-whipped to a soft froth, not the crunchy peaks you get with an electric mixer. • 3.5 oz freshly brewed coffee • 1 oz Teeling Small Batch Irish Whiskey • ½ oz 2:1 demerara syrup (see note on page 89) • 1 oz heavy cream (36% butterfat; Brant prefers Avalon) • Garnish: freshly grated nutmeg Brew coffee in your preferred way (at home, Porter uses a French press and Habit’s Hathaway Blend). While the coffee brews, warm a traditional 6 oz Irish coffee mug with hot water and make the whipped cream: Fill a small Mason jar halfway up. Seal the jar and shake for 10 to 15 seconds, until the cream’s volume has increased by half. (You can also use a whisk to beat the cream by hand in a metal bowl to get that thick, soft, velvety texture.) Once the coffee has brewed, remove the warming water from the glass, add the whiskey, syrup and coffee, and stir gently to combine. Then, hold a spoon just above the surface of the Irish coffee, backside up, and gently pour the whipped cream over the back of the spoon and onto the coffee, allowing the cream to float on top. Once the cream reaches the top of the glass, garnish with freshly grated nutmeg. Drink immediately. Serves 1.
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DESTINATION: Antarctica By Lucas Aykroyd
PENGUINS, GLACIERS AND THE OPEN SEA How getting away from it all on a luxury South Polar cruise became the escape our writer needed most.
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CARLOS MAUER/AURORA EXPEDITIONS
T
housands of gentoo penguins await as I clamber out of my kayak in Yankee Harbour and wade to the rock-strewn, snowy shore of Greenwich Island. The penguins — vocalizing, picking up pebbles to build nests and mating with charming awkwardness — wander amid my fellow Aurora Expeditions passengers, who maintain a respectful distance in their waterproof jackets and muck boots. The Antarctic spring is a magical season in the world’s southernmost continent. In the harshest environment on Earth, I feel absolutely alive. After braving a turbulent two-day Drake Passage crossing, the thrill of arriving in a new world — the South Shetland Islands, just north of the Antarctic peninsula — is hitting me full force. Blue-white icebergs drift offshore. A dramatic snow-covered peak towers at the far end of the beach. The 4°C wind is brisk rather than bone-chilling. Polar travel is a bucket-list item that meets different psychological needs than, say, Paris or Disneyland. Before this trip, I spent nearly a year cleaning out and selling my old family home, which was an emotional and physical grind. Antarctica, it turns out, offered the transcendent, cathartic escape I needed.
A VULNERABLE ENVIRONMENT Last November I embarked on a threeweek Aurora Expeditions cruise entitled “In Shackleton’s Footsteps.” Sailing to Antarctica and South Georgia on the M/V Sylvia Earle — a luxurious, state-of-the-art, 130-passenger expedition ship — was very different from the hardships experienced by Anglo-Irish adventurer Sir Ernest Shackleton’s 1914-16 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. After their ship, the Endurance, was trapped and eventually crushed by pack ice, Shackleton and his crew were stranded on the Weddell Sea, where they camped for months on ice floes before sailing their remaining lifeboats to remote Elephant Island. Twenty-two crew members remained there while Shackleton and five others made a desperate 1,300-kilometre open-boat journey to South Georgia for help. In contrast, if I’m not diving into books like The Last Viking: The Life of Roald Amundsen in the on-board library, with ocean views beyond its floor-to-ceiling windows, I’m sweating it out in the sauna or on the rowing machine in the airy fitness centre, or enjoying braised lamb shanks, chocolate soufflé and free-flowing Argentinean wine in the spacious Gentoo Restaurant. There’s also the stylish lecture theatre for educational presentations. I soak up expedition leader Ashley Perrin’s daily briefings about the progress of our voyage as well as on-board historian Kelsey Camacho’s talks about 19thcentury Antarctic sealing, which saw fur seals nearly driven to extinction. Happily, they have rebounded. Today, 95 per cent of the world’s fur seal population — about five million seals — inhabits the region. Conservation is an ever-present theme in this fragile ecosystem. From Aurora’s professional guides, I absorb lessons about not crouching to photograph wildlife (because it scares the animals) or placing bags on Antarctic soil (to protect it from foreign contaminants).
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Above: The gentoo penguins that call this chilly place home extend a cheery welcome to visitors. Left: Passengers on this Aurora Expeditions journey gather for a group photo on the Antarctic ice.
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CARLOS MAUER/AURORA EXPEDITIONS
JUST KEEP GOING Our ship arrives at Elephant Island, an isolated outpost in the South Shetland Island where a gigantic tabular glacier looms in the distance. I ride in a Zodiac to grim Point Wild where, back in 1916, Shackleton’s expedition found refuge and a bronze bust commemorates Luis Pardo, the Chilean
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Above: Antarctica’s frozen landscape is harsh but beautiful, with glacial mountains towering above icy plains and treacherous waters. Below: Although the continent is too cold to support human life outside, it is rich with wildlife, including penguins, orcas and the massive elephant seal, which was hunted to near-extinction in the late 19th century.
CARLOS MAUER/AURORA EXPEDITIONS
In this vulnerable environment, meticulous disinfection protocols accompany land-based outings to avoid the spread of avian flu. Even at sea, it’s always worth staying on high alert for wildlife sightings. One day, while I’m making an americano at the sleek windowside coffee machine, five orcas of varying sizes surface like dolphins in spellbinding unison — something I never witnessed growing up on Vancouver Island. Shackleton’s adventures could easily have ended when the Endurance ultimately sank in the Weddell Sea. When the Sylvia Earle halts in ice-laden Herbert Sound, I get the exhilarating opportunity to disembark and walk (carefully!) on a vast expanse of ice 176 metres above the sea floor. While I’m admiring what could be the venue for the world’s largest pond hockey tournament, an industrious Emperor penguin dives behind the ship to feed on lanternfish. His long neck bobs out of the water as he comes up. It’s my first sighting of the world’s largest penguin species, whose males grow up to four feet tall.
CARLOS MAUER/AURORA EXPEDITIONS
MAY 23 - JUNE 3, 2027
Ancient Wonders of China WITH RONNIE LEE
YOUR HOST RONNIE LEE Join Ronnie on an immersive small-group journey through China, from Shanghai’s glittering skyline and the tranquil heritage villages of Huizhou to the karst landscapes of Yangshuo, ancient Xi’an, and imperial Beijing.
IF YOU GO
who piloted the ship that rescued Shackleton’s men here later that year. It stands illuminated by an otherworldly sunset and surrounded by chinstrap penguins. There’s something moving about this touch of human artistry in a bleak, rocky landscape. The stupendous abundance and diversity of wildlife only increases after we cross the Scotia Sea and arrive at South Georgia, a British overseas territory. This mountainous, 170-kilometre-long island is where Shackleton’s improbable journey culminated after 17 days in an open lifeboat, when he finally reached a human settlement: the whaling station of Stromness. Focused on survival, Shackleton did not have time to soak up living tapestries like Peggotty Bay, where I head out with the kayaking group on a shockingly brilliant morning. Elephant seals — some weighing more than 8,000 pounds — surface like benign primordial monsters. On shore, king penguins strut around like 19thcentury Prussian aristocrats. Nearby fur seals grunt and belch in a manner that would make any Grade 4 boy envious. I can’t stop marvelling — and smiling. That feeling of nature’s transformational power just keeps on growing. A dawn hike at Salisbury Plain the following day yields the spectacle of giant petrels “sprinting” over the water’s surface and a king penguin colony where an estimated 60,000 penguins come to breed. Running the gauntlet between lines of mockcharging male fur seals as we march back to the Zodiac heightens the adrenalin. When the Aurora Expeditions group gathers around Shackleton’s grave in the then-whaling station of Grytviken — he was buried here in 1922 after a heart attack at age 47 — it could simply be a solemn commemoration of a fallen hero. Yet after all I’ve experienced down here on a voyage that covers more than 3,200 nautical miles, it feels more like motivation to keep on going.
Enjoy home-cooked meals with local families, tea tastings, a hands-on cooking class, and bustling markets, plus iconic sights like the Terracotta Warriors, the Forbidden City, and the Great Wall.
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Cabins on the “In Shackleton’s Footsteps” cruise with Aurora Expeditions cost about $60,000 based on double occupancy. Trips depart from Ushuaia, Argentina, in early November. Ginger tablets, Gravol and scopolamine patches can help combat seasickness on the Drake Passage. aurora-expeditions.com/ca
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SCENE
Victoria Symphony’s Christmas Presence
With four festive concerts (and multiple performances) in just three weeks, conductor “Joey” Pietraroia sets the season’s tune.
“It seems like December in the last couple of seasons is the Month of Joey.” This from Giuseppe “Joey” Pietraroia, conductor of four of Victoria Symphony’s five festive concerts shoehorned into a few weeks this holiday season. He’ll be assuming the role of maestro for an incredibly varied series of shows — from everyone’s favourite classic, The Messiah, to everyone’s other favourite classic, a live accompaniment to the film Home Alone. There’s a pops concert nestled between, as well as a New Year’s Day finale combining opera, classical music and ballet. (Pietraroia, who was previously the symphony’s associate conductor, is also principal conductor for Pacific Opera Victoria.) The December repertoire might not test one’s mettle as do classical heavyweights like Stravinsky or Mahler, but the jam-packed schedule is not without its own complexities. “It’s not like I’m learning a different symphony every week and having to perform that, but a piece like Messiah has its own challenges,” Pietraroia says. “It’s a piece that people know very well so you want to present it in the right character.” At the other end of complexity is Home Alone, which has Pietraroia monitoring monitors like he’s an air traffic controller. Playing live to a movie in real time is a feat
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KEVIN LIGHT
By David Lennam
requiring ample preparation. Pietraroia watches the film with something he calls a click track. An earpiece feeds him the changing tempo of the score with a tick, tick, tick. “But while I’m doing it in concert, I’m also watching a computer screen and on the computer screen there’s a little number in the top corner that says 1 slash 1, 2, 3, 4. The 1 tells you you’re in measure one, then the changing number 1, 2, 3, 4 tells you what beat you’re on, while the click is in your ear.” That’s not all. Every so often he says you get what’s known as pops and ribbons — a white line across the screen that cues up a vital spot to hit with the music in time to the visual. “You have to practise that part ahead of time so you almost know the movie by heart and know where the quick transitions in tempo are, so you can anticipate them.” Then there’s the New Year’s Day concert, which always comes right down to the wire. Lots of stress. Two rehearsals. “One in the morning to get through all the music, work it out with the [soloist] singer, whom you just met that day, and then in the afternoon a dress rehearsal where we run it in order to get all the lighting and other stuff figured out.” The rest of the Christmas fare on the bill for December — carols, Yuletide faves — might be, Pietraroia suggests, easy. Sort of. “The challenge
is also making these concerts exciting and fun for the audience,” he says. “You can’t come at it with the idea of, omigod we’re playing ‘Sleigh Ride’ for the umpteenth time.” So does a guy this embedded in Christmas music loathe any particular festive tune? “The one that drives me nuts is Mariah Carey’s … no, I’m just kidding,” he laughs. “Because the music comes around once a year, I think you look forward to it.” He pauses, then laughs again. “Maybe ‘Little Drummer Boy.’ ”
VICTORIA SYMPHONY’S FESTIVE CALENDAR ✴C hristmas Pops with Steven Page Dec. 5 and 6, Royal Theatre ✴M essiah by Candlelight Dec. 11, 12 and 13, Christ Church Cathedral ✴C hristmas Pops December 16, Mary Winspear Centre December 17, Qualicum Beach Civic Centre ✴H ome Alone in Concert December 19 and 20, Royal Theatre ✴N ew Year’s Day Celebration January 1, Royal Theatre
CULTURE CALENDAR
Get in the festive spirit with these jolly holiday events. Compiled by Julien Johnston-Brew
Christos Papadopoulos / The Lion and the Wolf presents My Fierce Ignorant Step November 6 and 7, Royal Theatre The Lion and the Wolf dance company’s debut Canadian tour, My Fierce Ignorant Step, features 10 dancers building a soundscape of voice and movement inspired by the renowned artistic director and choreographer Christos Papadopoulos’s childhood in Greece. dancevictoria.com
Gingerbread Showcase
November 20 to January 3, Hotel Grand Pacific Bakers of all backgrounds bring gingerbread creations to life using edible materials of all kinds, following this year’s theme of “Where Dreams Come True,” a magical and safe haven for dreams to become reality. habitatvictoria.com
Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s Nutcracker
November 7 to April 25, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria Explore selections from the extensive collection of Yosef Wosk, a passionate collector whose interests span a variety of visual art, literature, sculptures, furniture and cultural objects. aggv.ca
November 27 to 29, Royal Theatre Presented by Dance Victoria and joined by the Victoria Symphony, RWB puts an all-Canadian pirouette on Tchaikovsky’s classic tale, including a hockey game, Mounties and a battle on Parliament Hill. Nearly 100 dancers, including more than 70 local youth, hit the stage in what has been called “the stuff of wonder and dreams.” rmts.bc.ca
The Cherry Orchard
Into the Woods
Jimbo Ruins XXXmas
Incoming Festival
Peninsula Co-op Santa Claus Parade
Jann Arden and Her Holiday Orchestra
Spontaneous Theatre Presents Blind Date
George Canyon & Aaron Pritchett: A Coast-to-Coast Cowboy Christmas
Yellowpoint Christmas Spectacular
Gift of the Nutcracker
Into the Wosk Collection
November 12 to 21, Phoenix Theatre Anton Chekhov’s final major work focuses on an indebted family struggling to reconcile their loss of fortune and traditions as society changes around them. This translation by Michael Frayn captures Chekhov’s sharp wit with lively modern language, making this classic as relevant today as it was in 1903. finearts.uvic.ca/theatre
November 17 to 22, Intrepid Theatre See the absolute freshest, daring, most thought-provoking and engaging works from artists from Victoria and across the country in this fourth returning showcase of eclectic and electric programming. intrepidtheatre.com
I’ll Be Back Before Midnight
November 19 to December 6, Langham Court Theatre In this haunting murder mystery written by Peter Colley and directed by Wendy Merk, a couple rents an isolated farmhouse only to experience strange sounds in the night, mysterious heartbeats, blood on the floor… langhamtheatre.ca
Amanda Marshall: The Dirty Thirty Tour
November 20, Royal Theatre A 14-time Juno Award nominee, Diamondcertified singer-songwriter and one of Canada’s most powerful voices, Amanda Marshall performs both her enduring hits (“Birmingham,” “Believe In You,” “Dark Horse,” “Let It Rain”) and new songs from her 2024 studio album. rmts.bc.ca
November 27 to December 6, McPherson Playhouse Victoria On Stage Musical Theatre presents Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s beloved — and multiple Tony Award-winning — musical, which asks: What happens after the storybook ending? Filled with enchanting music, humour and your favourite fairy-tale characters, it truly captures the magic of this or any season. rmts.bc.ca
November 28, downtown Victoria Kick off the holiday season with the 44th annual parade through downtown, which sees a festive lineup of lit-up and decked-out floats. The parade supports the Mustard Seed Street Church food bank; you can help by dropping off non-perishable food and/or cash donations at the Tourism Victoria Visitor Centre on Wharf Street. gvfs.ca
December 2 to 20, Belfry Theatre From the mind of Canadian award-winning comedy legend Rebecca Northan, this fly-bythe-seat-of-your-pants adventure pulls one lucky audience member onstage for a blind date with Mimi, a saucy French clown. What happens next is anybody’s guess. belfry.bc.ca
December 12 and 13, McPherson Playhouse For nearly two decades, audiences across the Island have made this all-out celebration part of their holiday traditions. Gather your friends and family and enjoy the musical tributes, heartwarming stories and dazzling choreography. rmts.bc.ca
December 15, Royal Theatre Get ready to chortle hard enough to give Santa a run for his money when Jimbo, Victoria’s drag sweetheart and Season 8 winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, lands home for a raunchy holiday experience chock-full of twisted takes on festive classics. rmts.bc.ca
December 16, Royal Theatre The multi-platinum-selling, multi-awardwinning singer, songwriter, actor and bestselling author returns to Victoria for an elegant evening of holiday music, beautiful moments and a little Christmas magic. rmts.bc.ca
December 22, Mary Winspear Centre These two multi-award-winning Canadian country music superstars join forces once again to spread festive cheer across the nation with timeless Christmas classics, holiday favourites and some of their biggest chart-topping hits. marywinspear.ca
December 27 to 29, Royal Theatre Ballet Victoria’s much-loved holiday tradition brings together Tchaikovsky’s timeless music, lavish costumes and joyful storytelling, breathing new life into a story that captures the joy, wonder and magic of the festive season. rmts.bc.ca
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PERSPECTIVE
Storm waves crash on the rocky shore near Tofino’s Pacific Sands Beach Resort.
Weather the Storm When the West Coast winter arrives in all its damp glory, it’s tempting to head to sunnier, drier, warmer places. But admit it: Isn’t there something exhilarating about facing the elements straight on, to gaze bravely into the eye of the storm? This winter is likely to be a good one for storm watchers, though it is not without serious risks for many others. It’s an El Niño year, when sea surface temperatures rise in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, trade winds shift direction and the ocean releases extra heat into the atmosphere. This is a natural pattern that happens every few years, but climate
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change has intensified those temperature swings, resulting in severe droughts in some places, heavy flooding in others and higher temperatures everywhere. And this year’s El Niño — make that a Super El Niño — is expected to be among the most extreme on record. As UN Secretary-General António Guterres has said, the planet is in “uncharted waters, and those waters are heating up.” He made the comments earlier this fall when the World Meteorological Organization released a report predicting that, among other things, El Niño will strengthen over the coming weeks before
peaking at the end of the year, and that it “will deliver a major blow to communities, economies and supply chains across the globe.” Here on the Island, though, we’ll mostly just get warmer, wetter weather. Bigger waves. Higher tides. More wind gusts. Major downpours. It’s wise to take care when conditions are so unpredictable, but it’s also thrilling to watch, especially if you are in Tofino, on the Island’s West Coast, as weather patterns move across the Pacific Ocean. We hope they bring with them a much less stormy new year.
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Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s Nutcracker. Photo: Michelle Blais
NOV 27–29 Royal Theatre