Le Caveau is Filling Customers' Bellies and Annapolis Valley Farmers' Wallets

By Jessica Blackmore, Mandy Norris, Joshua Tucker, and Lauren Wiseman

At Le Caveau, the fresh and local menu items are truly hitting home.

It’s tough to make the best of what you’ve got sometimes but luckily that’s not the case for Le Caveau. The fine-dining establishment’s chef, Jason Lynch, feels what he works with happens to be the best. From hand-picked, fresh produce – sometimes even farmed to suit the restaurant’s needs – and meats and fish from local farms and fishermen.

Le Caveau is located at the Domaine de Grand Pré winery in the agriculturally rich Annapolis Valley. The winery itself has been winning awards and gaining significant praise for their top-notch wines and estate. With an emphasis on local food and a true culinary passion, Le Caveau is not riding along on the coattails of the highly publicized winery. Although the winery’s clientele has undoubtedly helped, Lynch says, “the restaurant is a completely different animal.”

Having grown up in the valley and working in the food industry in Wolfville since 1996, Jason took on the role of head chef at Le Caveau about two years ago. A firm believer in the benefit of using local products, Jason often handpicks his produce at the nearby farmers’ market. He says that this way he is able to ensure the highest food quality while eliminating significant waste associated with imported stock.

“That’s one of the reasons I left the city, you can’t handpick your product and here you can. That’s hard for me to do in downtown Toronto” he says.  

With over 80 percent of its product farmed locally in the province, Le Caveau is making a huge impact on the local economy. The restaurant, which is open seasonally, puts roughly $250 000 back into the local food market annually. Its filling neighborhood farmers’ pocketbooks as well as the public’s desire for fine dining. And their dedication to local food consumption couldn’t come at a better time; net income for farms in the Atlantic provinces has dropped to drastically low levels according to a 2007 Statistics Canada report.

One local supplier of Le Caveau is Oulton’s Farm, an Annapolis Valley business which supplies the restaurant with some of its premium meat and poultry. Located nearby in Windsor, Oulton’s farm raises the more unique meat and fowl that the chef uses in his restaurant.

One dish in particular, Le Caveau’s Elk Tartar, is a dish that requires “everything to be perfectly fresh,” Jason says. Although this dish “isn’t paying the bills” it is an item that is greatly appreciated by the restaurant’s regulars and uses Oulton’s free range elk meat and quail eggs. The well known free-range farm is one of the many local businesses who benefit from Le Caveau’s Nova Scotia first mentality.

Customers have been dining at Le Caveau for over eight years and the restaurant has built itself a large and loyal clientele. Only an hour outside of Halifax, many of its customers are from the city and are pleased to find a fine dining establishment on their way to the valley’s famous farm markets.

Meanwhile many of the local supporters are glad to enjoy their extensive wine list and five star meals while supporting their community’s economy. One customer said, “We’ve eaten here on numerous occasions, and every time it’s something new and exciting. It’s great to support the local farmers and to know where your food – and wine – comes from.”

As is the case with most restaurants, Le Caveau’s success is a product of their food. What sets this establishment above the rest is its passion and dedication to its cooking and menu. Unlike many restaurants, the menu changes with the seasons and is routinely updated to accommodate the readily available local produce.

“Why put on a mescaline salad that’s been imported from California when we have beautiful winter greens that last here?” Jason says.  For the fall they’ve added desserts like steamed pumpkin pudding and fresh baked apple cheesecake.

Although the benefits of using local foods may seem obvious, many restaurants still choose to buy from large-scale distributors. The chef says that there seems to be a select group of chefs in Nova Scotia who have similar practices. Many of these restaurants buy from 30 to 40 suppliers because they want to handpick their product and because that’s the norm. Many large scale restaurants can’t – and don’t – have this luxury because of prepackaging and menus that are rarely changed.

One thing is for certain, with the freshest products, a globally inspired menu (and wine list), and a menu that changes with the seasons, one visit to Le Caveau will convince you of the benefits of buying local food. Although it takes a significant amount of planning and consideration to run a restaurant this way, Jason’s efforts to stay local have made a significant contribution to Nova Scotia’s local food industry.

Visit Le Caveau online for menu details, directions and hours of operation