On the foodie trail from Whistler to Pemberton Nicole Feenstra - August 18th, 2012 http://blogs.canoe.ca/travel/live-from-whistler/on-the-foodie-trail-from-whistler-to-pemberton/ (RePosted by Myson Effa Manager Pemberton Gateway Village Suites ) In British Columbia, the local, organic food movement is hugely popular. With its abundance of seafood, temperate climate for fruits in the Okanagan Valley and gourmet restaurants and food trucks, it's no wonder culinary tourism is a big draw in the province, especially so, as I discovered today, in Pemberton. Scenery at Pemberton Meadows Natural Beef. A 20 minute drive from Whistler, Pemberton is a small town filled with big flavours and exciting developments in the organic industry. At Pemberton Meadows Natural Beef, Don Millerd raises cattle for natural meat products that are making big waves in the B.C. culinary world. Local beef wasn't as readily available in the area as locally sourced seafood, but that all changed after Millerd teamed up with his neighbours, Bob Mitchell and Roxy and Mark Kuurne, to raise about 60 cattle per year that roam free and are grass, then grain, fed. The meat produced is hormone and antibiotic free. It's made Pemberton synonymous with organic, free range products, says Millerd. After two years on Millerd's farm, the cattle are butchered and prepared at Two Rivers Specialty Meats, owned and operated by Millerd's daughter and son-in-law, and the meat is sold to consumers and restaurants. The free range cattle are healthy and happy at Pemberton Meadows Natural Beef. One of Pemberton's hottest eateries, Mile One Cafe, is one local restaurant that has put Pemberton Meadows beef on the menu in its signature burgers. Our group stopped by Mile One for lunch and were treated to a bevy of creative, gourmet dishes available at exceptionally fair prices. The roadside eatery is small and warmly decorated in art by local artists and its menu is displayed on chalkboards above the register. See you at Mile One! A number of local beers are also on the menu and the owners, Randy Jones and Cindy Yu, use locally sourced produce in their dishes whenever possible. Just that morning, Yu told our group, a regular customer brought in lobster mushrooms he had harvested that would be used in the resto's dishes that day. First was the Wild & Tame Mac n Cheese with Two Rivers' venison chorizo, mushrooms and grilled asparagus. Next was the Pemby Meadows burger with tomatoes and red onion. Having just seen the cattle at Pemberton Meadows that morning, eating a burger made with meat from the farm was a surreal experience, but the juicy, flavourful beef burger proved that locally sourced and hormone free products really can elevate even a classic meal to a gourmet one.