Farmer’s Apprentice: A Farm-To-Table Approach

Happy October! I am squeezing in a tad bit more of warm-ish weather and sunshine before I welcome Fall with open arms. One of the things I like to do during summer is dine at restaurants with open areas and patios, it’s just so inviting and relaxing to have a nice meal with the summer breeze surrounding me. Which is exactly what I did awhile ago. I also love farm-to-table restaurants, although there aren’t as many in Vancouver, when I do come across one I like, I most certainly will go back again and bring my family and friends! And of course review and share about this place on my blog 😉

Farmer’s Apprentice ‘s approach is a carefully curated tasting menu with seasonal fresh ingredients, all locally sourced in British Columbia, making it a farm-to-table concept. I went on a weekday evening with my mom and tried their 4 course tasting menu. There is also the 6 course menu, but we wanted to try the oysters, so we ordered the 4 course menu + oysters, so technically 5 courses. There is also a full vegetarian option as well.

What I really like about their setup is the intimate vibe of the overall layout. There is no closed door to enter, unlike the majority of restaurants. They designed it to have a small outdoor patio area (entrance) connecting to the inside of the restaurant. I felt like I was dining at a friend’s home because it was very personal and casual.

The first course: fresh oysters with vinaigrette and elderflower. I really like elderflower so I was pretty excited to see how this pairing would turn out. I found the vinaigrette to overpower the delicate fresh flavours of oysters, would have tasted better with just a dash of the vinaigrette.

Mixed vegetables starter. Very appetizing, you can taste that the ingredients are clearly fresh, and makes you excited for the other dishes to come!

My mom’s main entrée. Chicken from a local farm in Abbotsford. It was lightly grilled with a side of dashi to pour over. I personally prefered not to pour the dashi over as it takes away from the perfectly grilled chicken and crisp. This was my favourite dish from the entire menu! My mom preferred the fish though. If you order the 6 course menu, you get both chicken and fish, versus for the 4 course, you choose either one.

My main entrée. Pan-fried halibut with vegetable pairings. This dish was very flavorful and the fish is cooked perfectly, but I still prefer the chicken. My mom actually liked this one better, so we ended up trading our dishes hehe!

Mixed heirloom beans with vegetables with a light tomato broth.

This sourdough was SO GOOD. They make these fresh daily! Paired with the warm vegetable + broth was perfection to end off the last savory course.

Dessert! This dish was very interesting, they used corn to make 3 different components to this dessert pairing. Corn flakes, corn mousse-like sauce, and corn ice-cream. THIS WAS REALLY YUMMY. I hope they’ll have this on the menu frequently 🙂

The final treat.

I had an amazing evening at Farmer’s Apprentice and I highly recommend it to anyone that also enjoys farm-to-table restaurant dining. Farmer’s Apprentice reminds me of this restaurant I wanted to try in Amsterdam but didn’t have time, Restaurant De Kas, where there is literally a green house beside the restaurant, and all the ingredients for the dishes are grown inside, how amazing is that!? I will definitely make sure to go next time I’m in Amsterdam!

If you’re wondering about wine/drink pairings, my mom paired her dishes with white wines and I had their Elderflower Kombucha, a must try! Who else agrees that Elderflower tastes amazing?

Bon appetit!

♥Vuitton