V I E W Sharing stories and recipes from the Valbella family
WHAT'S COOKING... 03 a new season. a new start. Can you smell that?
Order your favourite BBQ products at www.valbella.ca
05 home delivery Bow Valley, Cochrane & Calgary
06 the art of sausage making The secret behind our famous sausages
08 The smokers Where the magic happens
11 behind the scenes See the butchers and packaging in action
13 Pocket Meats Snack away my friend!
15 valbella gourmet foods A place that welcomes everyone
CAN YOU SMELL THAT? The much anticipated and welcoming smell of melting snow and springtime sun is in the air! The season of dressing too warm and then not warm enough is upon us, a confusing season indeed, but as mountain folk, we willingly pack our down jackets AND our shorts just in case spring decides to grace us with her presence for an afternoon patio session.
"Spring is always an exciting time for us at Valbella..." -Chantal von Rotz, Owner Page 3
home delivery made easy order online at www.valbella.ca BOW VALLEY, COCHRANE & CALGARY We deliver to Cochrane & Calgray, every Thursday, and we deliver to the Bow Valley, every Friday. Order before Wednesday 1:00pm, to be eligible for same-week delivery.
EUROPEAN STYLE GOURMET FOODS Find all your favourite Valbella & European products at WWW.VALBELLA.CA, and easily place your order on our website from the comfort of your home. Get free delivery on orders of $100 and more.
UNPACK YOUR VALBELLA BOX We guarantee the quality of all our foods, and deliver everything in a box that was carefully packaged by passionate people. Page 5
THE ART OF SAUSAGE MAKING The secret behind our famous Valbella Sausages
Adrian
Kim
Charcuterie is the art of making sausages and other cured, smoked, and preserved meats. The origin of meat processing began early in our civilization. It started when people learned about the effect of salt as an effective preservative. Over the ages, sausage making evolved as an effort to save and preserve meat that couldn’t be consumed fresh. Every culture used salt, brine and air to preserve food without refrigeration. Just like a wine maker pays close attention to the grapes he uses, we, at Valbella, always pay close attention to the quality of the meat that goes into our sausages. At the end of the day, the finished product is only as good as the ingredients it contains.
Sven
Photos by Alexis McKeown
Adrian
Selecting the right spices & seasonings, and combining them in proper amounts, is also a crucial part of the sausage making process. They must complement each other to create the delicious and satisfying products that you love. The process of stuffing meat into casings remains basically the same today, but our sausage recipes have been greatly refined over time, and sausage making has become a highly respected culinary art. Sausages are a very convenient type of food, and many varieties and flavours can be created. They’re also an excellent source of high-quality protein, containing all the essential amino acids necessary to grow, maintain, and repair body tissues. Let’s not forget that sausages also provide a significant amount of vitamins and minerals that are good for you. Page 7
THE SMOKERS Where all the magic happens
At Valbella, we smoke meats in different ways, and for different reasons. Although many believe smoke is simply for flavours, this is not true. Smoking meats originated not because someone believed it would taste good, but because of the magical effect it has on meat when combined with other preservation means such as salting and drying. Think of it as that extra step that can help inhibit unwanted bacterial growth. 100 years ago, someone couldn’t tell me the PH value and water activity level of a cured piece of meat but they knew that due to salting, smoking and drying, it was safe. Today we look at it a little more scientifically but that doesn’t mean the methods have changed. Page 8
"Smoking meats originated not because someone believed it would taste good, but because of the magical effect it has on meat ..." -Jeff von Rotz, Owner
Of all the fancy smokehouses that we have here at Valbella, its actually the oldest and simplest one that gets the most attention while doing a tour through the production area. It’s the smokehouse that has been a part of the Valbella operation from the beginning. In many ways, it’s a step back in time because of how basic the idea of cold smoke really is. It isn’t connected to a computer, doesn’t have any type of motor or fans and doesn’t run different programs. It’s the smokehouse that holds the secret to Valbella’s double-smoked bacon, the Rohess Speck. The sole purpose of this smokehouse is to slowly smoke our double smoked bacon to perfection. No amount of technology can speed up or change this process and it's noticeable in the flavour. Every week a new load of Rohess Speck makes its way into the old cold smoker and this has been happening this way, here at Valbella, for over 40 years. Technology has its place in the meat processing industry, but so do old traditional methods, and we will make sure that never changes.
THE SECRET TO VALBELLA’S ROHESS SPECK
Photos by Alexis McKeown
THE BUTCHERS Sven
Urs
Robert
Gail
Photos by Alexis McKeown
PACKAGING Markus Head of Production
Photo by Alexis McKeown
TRADITIONS
Pocket meats snack away!
Most members of the Valbella Team are outdoor enthusiasts that take every opportunity to get into the backcountry on their days off, and with that sense of adventure, comes so many amazing opportunities to make better and more portable meat snacks and meals for the ever-exploring Albertan. Endearingly named, pocket meats are among our customer favourites, easily packable products like our Chimney Sticks, Landjaegers and Beef Jerky are great for on-the-go.
Has it been in your pocket since that hike last weekend? That’s ok! Trust us... it’s still good, and we won’t judge. Snack away my friend! Page 13
Photo by Alexis McKeown
BERTHA - THE VENDING MACHINE A meat & grocery item vending machine, available 24/7. Come try Bertha now!
Photo by Alexis McKeown
THE VIEW
The large windows of our newly renovated deli are a feature that can't be ignored. Letting the sun come in all day, with a gorgeous view on the Three Sisters. What more can we ask for?
THE VALBELLA FOOD TRUCK Opening June 2nd
Don't miss the Valbella Food Truck! We'll be back June 2nd, with a brand new menu and the same excitement to serve you delicious meals! The food truck will be back on site, at Valbella, every Thursday and Friday. See you all very soon!
THE DELI COUNTER
Our newly built deli counter helps us better serve our lovely customers.
VALBELLA GOURMET FOODS Canmore, Alberta
With the warm, sunny months ahead of us, (and let’s be honest, the super busy months here in the valley), Valbella ramps up production like crazy, and with that, we are always in need of new motivated, fun, enthusiastic meat-lovers to join our team.
“We work hard at Valbella, but we also have a lot of fun...”
A PLACE THAT WELCOMES EVERYONE Whether you are looking for a long-term career or just something to pay your rent for the summer, shoot us over your resume so we can get in touch with you. We work hard at Valbella, but we also have a lot of fun, we strive to make everyday a good day, plus we have some pretty epic staff parties… just sayin’.
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our main goal at Valbella remains the same. to provide sustainable, ethically raised, nutrient dense food to Albertans while supporting Alberta ranchers and farmers. These goals seem even more important these days. As we continue to see engineered global supply shortages, we are confident that supporting our local farm industry and creating those strong relationships with our ranchers is the best thing we can do to continue to be able to supply our customers with high quality meat products.