by Claudia Kwan, FoodConnect contributor
claudia@foodconnect.com

Much has been made of the concept of the ‘100 Mile Diet’, with Vancouverites Alisa Smith and JB McKinnon having documented their efforts to maintain the culinary philosophy for a year in a well-received book, and word now that a TV show for the Food Network will see if ordinary folk can do it for a hundred days.

The idea, in a nutshell, is to only eat food grown within 100 miles—160.93 kilometres in metric terms, which is decidedly less catchy—to decrease carbon footprint, to support the local farming community, and to increase awareness of eating seasonally.

It seems difficult enough to do for an individual household, but how to do it and remain profitable is the unique challenge Vancouver’s Raincity Grill restaurant has taken on—for two years and counting now. Why?

Partly for the sheer fun of it, says chef de cuisine Peter Robertson. “You can get practically anything from BC, but you take that to the next level. It’s a challenge and it’s been rewarding so far,” he says. “Pastry keeps coming up as some sort of honey derivative until I can perhaps get sugar out of beets or some way around that. Different textures of honey have been a lot of fun to play around with and just different ways of manipulating different vegetables and getting different flavours has been entertaining.”

While there is a fair amount of farming that occurs within 100 miles of Raincity, there are things that aren’t produced locally. In addition to sugar, “flour, salt, pepper, oil, and citrus are hurdles we just keep coming up against,” Robertson readily concedes. “Even canola oils come in off the prairies.” Because of the oil and salt factor, he believes the restaurant is about 98% of the way to offering all 100 Mile food.

Being 100% compliant is an admirable goal, but he says they’re not willing to sacrifice the level of cuisine they’re offering on the altar of philosophy. They’re more interested in the concept as a whole meshing with an interesting style of food, rather than offering the same meat and potatoes each night to guests.

In the meantime, Raincity is working on developing more local sources by improving the distribution ability of farms and demonstrating there is a market for what they’re selling. A local farm has recently agreed to grow wheat for the restaurant, which can be milled into flour to produce their own bread, and Robertson says they’re really looking forward to getting a small amount of citrus from Vancouver Island to add more variety to the menu.

While it may be a culinary challenge, seasonality is also a logistical headache. North Arm Farms has a wide range of produce and a large stockpile, and Robertson says they’ve basically seen the restaurant through the fall and winter. He says developing those strong supplier relationships is a bonus of the 100 Mile Diet, as well as being able to be a reference point for local diners who might want to do their own 100 Mile dinners or dinner parties.

Finding a restaurant that has substance behind its mantra is rare, but it’s even more rare to find a place that’s willing to commit long term to an idea others might term a trend. Raincity’s prices aren’t extraordinarily out of line relative to other fine dining establishments, so it’s not merely racking up the bills in the hopes eco-minded consumers will blindly pay. That having been said, you have to wonder how many other places will follow Raincity’s lead—sometimes the challenges and costs of philosophy may not seem as though it’s worth the risk.

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