Episode 5 Transcript
I really took some time to decide what I wanted to chat to Emily about today as she is a wealth of knowledge,but I had to narrow it down.We start by talking about how Olive oil found Emily and turned her world upside down.Emily shares some MythBusters around olive oil.Some that I know will surprise you.We then travel to Atlantic Canada,where she spent many months researching her latest cookbook,A Rising Tide coauthored with Danielle Acken.Emily introduces me to the people and culture of the area and the innovative food scene that is quietly emerging out of the steadfast roots and traditions of Atlantic Canada.A vibrant scene and where restaurants in chef's homes,sell out one year in advance in one day,Emily shares with me some detailed tips for traveling this area,which I can't wait to do.This episode is so packed full with relevant info that you're going to use it right away either cooking or planning your next trip So let's dive in and get going
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:Hi,Emily.Welcome to the show.
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:Thank you so much,Paula.It's a pleasure to be here.
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:Emily has accomplished a lot in a short time and is still taking the culinary and olive oil world by storm.,we could spend hours talking about olive oil.
All of Educator and author of eight cookbooks,Emily Lycopolous is the olive oil critic with a degree in life sciences from Queens university and an MA in cultural anthropology.Her love of science and discovery has blended with her deep love of food and flavor.Her kitchen is a lab for discovery and learning.Since being introduced to olive oil at an olive grove owned by her husband's family she has dedicated her life to the ingredient
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:It has been awesome for me to have Emily on the In My Kitchen team as an In My Kitchen host.Together we have done,well,we've done cooking classes spanning Greece,Italy,Spain,Syria,and they all come with this amazing olive oil theme,which you impart so much knowledge to our guests.So Emily,just to get us started,can you take us back to the beginning and how did your curiosity and love of mixing ingredients and creating dishes start?
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:Oh,that's a great question.I I've always loved to play with food.I think that was always my medium,even as a kid.I was like,on the kitchen counter experimenting and playing.I always say that I grew up on the kitchen counter.That was very much my,like,home base as a child.But I also was the kid who wouldn't just paint but would mix every color together in the pot to kind of see what they would come out as,and I was really creative that way.And so,um,I think that that's Kind of where it all started and then that combined with the love of feeding people.I just love the joy that,that feeding people brought and how satisfying it was to see people just smiley,happy,satisfied faces,um,just brought so much joy that combining that love of,of play and creativity and food and mixing that with,with the joy that Yeah,it infuses into people just really kind of made it all come alive.
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:Well,you,I mean,your cooking is amazing.You're so talented.So anybody eating your food is going to leave with a smile for sure.Now just for our listeners,um,did you grow up on the west coast of Canada
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:So I grew up actually in Ontario.So I grew up in a,uh,an overgrown farming community in Ontario.My dad worked in the farming industry and so food was always very,very close to our,our home and our table.My mom is from the West Coast.She was born and raised on Vancouver Island.And I would spend my summers on the West Coast and I was.Picking blackberries with my grandparents on,you know,the side of Butterfield Road and Mill Bay,and,um,there was just so much of the West Coast that,was infused into my childhood,even though I was,you know,mostly living in Ontario,that the moment that I got the chance to come back and live on the West Coast,I did.It was,it was...An easy decision.I wanted trees,oceans,mountains,good food,all in one place.
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:And now that we've kind of know how you got your love of cooking and experimenting with food,how did,how did you get into this world of olive oil?And,and like for our listeners,I mean,Emily,this is your life now.I mean,you've really dedicated your life to olive oil.How did that start?
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:Yeah,I feel like the olive pick to me,it wasn't intentional.And I also really love that about it.That it,it did pick me in a way.But my husband's family own an olive grove in Italy.And so that's where I really fell in love with food in many ways,quality food.Um,you know,just the elegance of food in Europe.It's so different than North America and my family,you know,our roots are from the UK.And so our food was quite bland,very normal,if that makes sense.And I feel like that gave me a really good angle on,you know,carrots taste like carrots and broccoli tastes like broccoli.And then I landed in Europe and I'm,you know,introduced to just this array of flavor.And of course,olive oil was a part of that.But I moved back to North America after.You know,getting to know a lot of the ingredients there and realize that the,bottle that I bought off the grocery store shelf was absolutely nothing like what I was used to in Europe and thought I was just spoiled for one more thing.It's like cheese and bread,wine and all the things and quickly realized that no olive oil was different.And,you know.I was buying60,70bottles looking for something that was similar to what I had found in Europe and couldn't find it,but found that the60bottle and the6bottle tasted the same.And so because of that,my spidey senses and my background in chemistry kind of all came alive and I dove in and I am still,still swimming.
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:And you are a level two olive oil sommelier,is that correct?
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:That is correct.Yes.
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:How do you get that title just briefly for our listeners?
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:Yeah,it's,it's a lot of tasting bad oil,I always say,but,uh,no,I received that specific title through the International Culinary Center in New York.And so that's where the programs are in North America.And then I've also studied and I'm a member of the Register of International Olive Oil Tasters in Italy.
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:Wow.Busy,busy woman.And your husband's parents,they are from Italy and Greece.Is that right?
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:That's correct.Yeah.So my husband's father is Greek and his mother is Italian,so it makes for very fattening Christmases.
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:And can you share with us a story of,some of your first,uh,get togethers with your husband's family?
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:Oh my goodness,like,I,I was,I actually made my parents sit down and watch my big fat Greek wedding before we got married,just so that they would have context.My mother literally arrived with a Bundt cake and I was spat on and Windex was all over.There are many,many times where I would arrive at,you know,my husband's family and there'd be50people,you know,around a table and we'd all be sharing and people would be eating off each other's plates and it was boisterous and it was loud and,you know,I just loved the love that went into everything that they did and how they cared for each other and there was just plentiful food,plentiful,um,wine,plentiful,you know,love for each other and just the community that they formed was really,really special.
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:Well,that's beautiful.And you,do you go back to Italy quite often now?
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:I do.Yeah,I usually go back at least once a year.
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:Right.And you were just,Emily was just telling me before we recorded this,that you actually have not been to Greece yet.
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:I haven't,which is crazy.But I have not actually set foot in Greece yet.Um,but that,that's on the roster.I'm hoping to go this November for harvest,so.
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:Oh,how nice.Talking about olive oils,can you tell us I mean,we could do a whole podcast on talking about olive oil and I'll put in the show notes later,some information on how you can learn more about it through Emily's website.Just quickly,like maybe some myth busters,some things that people might believe about olive oil,and you can quickly dispel those myths for us right now.
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:absolutely.So always make sure that your olive oil is as fresh as possible.It's a fresh fruit juice,so you want to make sure that you know the harvest date.The expiry date on the bottle is based on when it was bottled,not based on when it was actually harvested.So the fresher the better.Um,rancid olive oil is a known carcinogen,so let's not consume bad,old,you know,rancid oil.It,it is not good for you,and it doesn't offer the health benefits that we associate with olive oil.Um,cooking with olive oil,everyone says,don't cook with olive oil,please,please,please do.Actually,most of the health benefits associated with olive oil are augmented by cooking,and so cooking makes olive oil healthier,which is very cool,and most people don't realize,and there's actually scientific research and studies to back that up now,which is very interesting.Um,make sure that,you always buy in dark colored glass,because light,heat,and oxygen are the three things that make your oil go rancid quickly.Um,so always purchase in stainless steel or dark colored glass.Those are really big essentials when it comes to purchasing.
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:And when we first had this conversation years ago,I quickly went and grabbed my bottle of oil and asked Emily,how do I tell if it's rancid or not?So could you share that with us?Because I'm sure people are going to go do this
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:Yeah,exactly.So,um,it should always smell like a fresh fruit juice.So it should never smell like old walnuts or,you know,fresh Crayola crayons.It should never be slippery.It's one of the ironies of olive oil is that oil should never be oily.It should always leave your mouth feeling clean.It should never leave it kind of feeling greasy and oily and slippery.If it leaves a coating on your lips,that's one of your cues to know that the oil is rancid.
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:Emily in most of your cookbooks that I'm thinking of right now.Um,perhaps not a rising tide and cedar and salt,but the previous ones,you work with a lot of,infused olive oils and vinegars.What would you say to people who do,their own infused olive oils?
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:Be very,very careful.Um,home infused olive oil is the number one form of botulism in North America today,so please,please be careful,uh,when you're home infusing olive oil,I,I encourage people not to do it,um,just because natural bacteria that,uh...Still live on sprig of rosemary,clove of garlic,and olive oil is so nutritious that the bacteria just have a heyday,and they replicate very,very quickly,and part of the replication process is to give off the toxin that causes botulism.
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:Okay,there we go from the
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:please don't,it's one of those,please don't try this at home,disclaimers.
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:but what's great now is,it's amazing to me how olive oils become so popular and being able to find these,you know,chili infused olive oils,or you've introduced me to,that black cherry infused.Fused vinegar is delicious,but it's quite available to us now.What do you attribute this growth in this market?
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:I just see it as educate like education and consumer knowledge.We didn't know what we needed to ask for.And you know,even10years ago,almost15now when I got started and was hunting for that quality olive oil,it didn't exist because there was just this nostalgia with labels and we,we didn't know,in2012.In2011,actually,um,Tom Muller's book came out,and then a few years later,so that's the Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil,Extra Virginity by Tom Muller,so he was an investigative reporter,he,you know,he was on,22Minutes,I think,and he was on,like,quite a few different,like,big public,media,you know,he did a big media circuit In America.So like that created awareness.Um,I think just consumer knowledge,understanding the health benefits.Yale recently opened their,olive center just purely for health benefits research.They're working on a lot of dementia and Alzheimer's research right now.And so I think it's just awareness and consumer knowledge are working together to actually create,you know,a demand desire for it.
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:That's so interesting.And I don't know if you forwarded me the article or if I read it somewhere else,but that link between olive oil and Alzheimer's,are you able,are you able to elaborate on that a little bit?Don't want to put you on the spot,but I think that's so interesting.
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:it is.It's fascinating.So,olive oil has a lot of micronutrients within the oil itself and they can cross the blood brain barrier and it's very,very rare to find anything that will naturally cross the blood brain barrier,but olive oil is one of the Few things that will actually nourish our minds.And because of that,they're working on using it as a carrier for pharmaceuticals,as well as using it as,you know,a pharmaceutical or,you know,uh,in and of itself,or like,how do we concentrate those micronutrients to be able to,to continue to,to prevent,dementia and Alzheimer's,yeah,it's fascinating.The research that's going on in that field,and it's all because of the natural micronutrients that,that live in olive oil.
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:So interesting.So then my next,you know,what.Comes to mind is if your olive oil is rancid and it has that ability,that's got to have some
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:Exactly.And that's the thing that we don't really realize is that,you know,the free radicals that are present in a rancid oil that's fully oxidized.It's not helping us.And so,you know,the naturopath says,you know,go home and,and drink two tablespoons of olive oil a day.It'll really help your cholesterol and it'll help,you know,all these things.And you pick up a bottle of,you know,whatever,a tin off the shelf that you're drinking.You don't know what it is and you're consuming that two tablespoons a day and it's hurting you.Like it's,it's actually not helping and,and that's the hard part.Yeah.So the European,um,food and safety authority,the EFSA,they have determined,and there's been enough studies that they've actually created a nutraceutical category or designation for olive oil.As long as it has,um,20milligrams of hydroxy two of the main antioxidants found in olive oil.As a component of the oil.And so there's testing that goes on in Europe to actually show this is the the amount of antioxidants and the amount of nutrients in this oil.This is what is considered a nutraceutical and you can get that designation where that doesn't exist yet in North America.And I'm hoping that that will change.But right now you can buy.EFSA certified nutraceutical olive oil,um,but there isn't a,a separate designation,but it's the only food to actually have that,that designation on it right now,which is really fascinating.There's lots of other herbs and supplements that do,but just as a regular product,they have to have significant,scientific backing research to actual double blind studies done,um,to prove the effect before they'll be able to qualify or even apply to get a designation like that.So,
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:That's so interesting.So it's not even about the organic label is
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:oh no.Yeah,organic really.Yeah,organic really is quite meaningless,but the,it's the antioxidant content that really does matter.
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:I think we'll have to do another,podcast and just talk more,more about olive oil because then we get into like the whole,you know,olive oils from different parts of the world,which then can lead into travel and chit chat.And anyway,we'll park that for now.Uh,but it's a perfect time to talk about the dish that you're sharing with our listeners.And this recipe will be.in the show notes.This is one of my favorite go to appetizers.So if you can just tell us a little bit about it.And also I always love finding out the story behind the recipe,if you have one,or why this is a favorite of yours.
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:Yeah,I love this baked feta.It's really simple and it turns into,yeah,like a perfect appetizer or even a lunch.You can serve it with a salad and You know,some bread and you have you have lunch.It's a great appetizer,especially for patio season.It's wonderful and warm in the wintertime,but it's essentially just a block of feta topped and buried in all sorts of delicious Mediterranean vegetables.They have cherry tomatoes,red onion.Um,there's garlic and some peppers and olives all.you know,piled on top of this block of feta.It's doused in olive oil,of course,lemon juice,and oregano,some salt,and pepper,and then it's baked in the oven for about15minutes at375.And it allows the feta to soften and soak up all of those juices.And of course,the,the vegetables start to char a little bit.They,you know,create their own juice and it,it,I,I love food that turns into a delicious mess,so that's exactly what it turns into.So you can mop it up with bread,you can,you know,spoon it on top of a salad if you want to,and yeah,but the,the cheese just softens,so it's not hard by any stretch,and I,I love it.
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:I just have to add,this is also a great appetizer to do at Christmas time because of the colors that come out in it.But also this is a recipe that's in Emily's,Greece Cookbook.So that was published many years ago,just so readers know this is not.Uh,take off of the tick
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:the TikTok.
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:spaghetti Feta toss,but you could,this is pretty much it.Um,but you can toss it in with some spaghetti if you want to afterwards
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:This recipe is pre,pre TikTok.
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:yeah.
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:Like,pre the app invention.
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:And I did have,somebody tell me once that they made this recipe of yours and they actually used halloumi cheese,which worked quite well as well.
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:Yeah.
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:Let's bring it back home to Canada now.And more specifically,and this is something I've been really keen to chat to you a lot about,is Atlantic Canada.So Emily,you wrote a,your last cookbook was A Rising Tide.You co wrote that and you did a lot of research.I know you were gone quite a bit to Atlantic Canada with Danielle Acken,who you wrote this with.Can you tell us a little bit about Atlantic Canada Why you chose to,to kind of delve into that side of Canada and about a rising tide.
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:Yeah,I had the pleasure of living in Halifax for a year and a half,and it was right after we came home from Europe,actually.And I really just fell in love with the coast,the people,the food.It was just so fascinating to me.And it also really reminded me that as we traveled throughout Nova Scotia,Prince of Edward Island and New Brunswick,um,just how rich the heritage was.found,especially,you know,knowing Ontario West quite well,that,you know,I loved the immigrant populations,I loved learning their stories,but it didn't really feel like Canada had a heritage.And when I was on the Atlantic coast,it really felt like,you know,there was just this amazing Canadian culture that we really didn't experience in the rest of Canada.And they had these roots that they loved and It was beautiful to,to hear their stories and the heritage and,and just all that was going on,but what I also experienced was this incredible innovation.It very much comes from,you know,the life on the sea and so many are still,you know,fisher people and they work hard to,They,they spend their,their winters lobster fishing,like that is not easy work at all.They might spend their summers on the golf course out of season,but you know,during that time,incredible innovation would happen.And I was seeing,you know,food companies and,and food innovation,like I hadn't seen in the rest of Canada either.And I just found it this fascinating contrast of like deep,deep heritage and this beautiful You know,rich,deep story compared to all of this innovative,beautiful innovation that was happening to keep that part of the country alive and humming and growing.And it was also something that most people in the rest of Canada didn't hear about.And even when we were,you know,I was West and still connected with friends on the,on the East coast.I thought this is so interesting.Like they have12seat restaurants in people's homes and they're.Like,fully legal,fully licensed,and you can just go and sit in someone's living room,and they will feed you,and you pay75,and you get a7course meal,bring a bottle of wine if you want to,and it's the best food I think I've ever had.And most of it's from their garden,like,why aren't we doing that here?Like,we're supposed to be the food place on the west coast.And,you know,we'd go and find these distilleries that were,taking all sorts of local foraged.Ingredients to make local gin and they would do it seasonally and had,a gin that was,you know,one was spring and one was summer.One was fall and each one was just created by things that they could literally see from their doorstep.That's not really,or at least it wasn't then happening here.And so that's what we went to the publishers with,was,whenever we're hearing things about Atlantic Canada,it's always about the nostalgia.It's always about their roots,which is beautiful and wonderful.But let's talk about what's actually happening on the East Coast.And when we talked to locals,especially,they didn't feel like they had permission to share it because they felt very tied to their roots and they didn't want to abandon their heritage to kind of showcase what was happening.And so that was the beautiful part of the book was to be able to,you know,literally share their story.Like this is what's actually happening on the ground and the privilege of learning and hearing and then,and retelling that story.Um,and to include their stories in the pages,there's20essays,each on a different ingredient.And all of them are from.You know,locals,them just telling us their story of what they're doing and,and connecting with chefs.We also have20chefs in the book that all contributed recipes and showed stories of their restaurants and what they're doing.And yeah,it was,it was fascinating,fascinating.
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:You know,Emily,that's the first time I think I've actually heard what the driving force was for you and Danielle for that book.And I love that it's that idea of providing a platform for people there to share their stories.And isn't that interesting how there's that nervousness around breaking away from tradition.And,you know,sometimes tradition is great,but it's also,we should,each generation,I think,should put their thumbprint on it,right?
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:Absolutely.Absolutely.And they are,and that's the beautiful part about what's happening in Atlantic Canada right now is that they really are showcasing.We met this one chef in New Brunswick and he's Acadian and I love the.The relationship between the Acadians and the indigenous peoples because the indigenous peoples hid the Acadians away from the English.So there's this beautiful connection between the Indigenous population and,and the Acadians,especially in Atlantic Canada.And so he was taught how to forage as a kid with the Indigenous peoples and started incorporating You know,goose grass and all these different ingredients into he's like,well,it tastes like spinach.Why wouldn't I use it in a salad?You know,he's just taking things that he learned and and incorporating that into a very avant garde restaurant in The middle of nowhere,really.
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:I just wanted to clarify,because not everyone who's listening may be from Canada.But the four provinces that make up Atlantic Canada are New Brunswick,Newfoundland and Labrador,Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.So just so people know what we're talking about.This is an area that I have wanted to go to,probably since the nineties.I often,like you were saying,I think lobster when I think Atlantic Canada.So throw out some dishes.So when you talk about innovation,what are some dishes that you can tell us about?And,some ingredients too,that are sort of indigenous to that area that really excited you when you were doing this book.
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:Yeah.Oh,that's a good question.Um,so one of the,one of the ingredients that is,you know,very foundational I would say is partridge berry that we don't really think about.Um,and it's it's very much like a cranberry but it grows wild on the ground and it's picked and they're making everything from like partridgeberry vodka to partridgeberry ice cream and sorbets.They're,you know,using it in so many different,so many different ways.Um,almost like a blueberry cranberry hybrid I would say is how you would use it in cooking.Um,but partridgeberries,I,I love it in pie,partridgeberry pie,partridgeberry galettes,those kinds of things.Another like I feel like we took a lot of the basic ingredients,but one of my favorite chefs that I met,of course,chicken and potatoes are very You know,that's Prince Edward Island potato country is P.E.I as much as as possible,and she had traveled a lot before she,um,settled down in in Prince Edward Island.Her name is Jane Crawford,and she came up with this recipe for fried chicken,but it's pad Thai styled fried chicken over.Fries.And so she took this,takes this pad thai sauce and tosses it in over french fries and has this beautiful fried chicken and makes like a basil aioli and you know,I think there's six sauces in the recipe.It's probably one of the longest in the whole book,but it is so,so good.And I just love that she's taking,you know,here's,I love pad thai.I love the flavors of pad thai.How can I put that in?You know,fried chicken and potatoes and make that interesting.There's another chef who does,um,like I said,he has a home restaurant.It's12to14seats and he only cooks from his garden and he only cooks for what's in season.So I was with him in,in March and we had seven courses of carrot.And he had carrot in every single course,and,you know,it wasn't just carrot soup,but he had actually taken a lime and separated the segments,uh,like the actual,like,he'd segmented it,and then he actually took apart the...the juice pods within the segment.So you had just these little tiny tiny juice pods and he set them in the bottom of the soup.So you have this beautiful creamy carrot soup and then all of a sudden you get this explosion of lime right in like the acid just brightens it.It was phenomenal but he used it carrot and mustard together as a marinade for brisket and there was a beautiful fish dish and again,like he made like a carrot sauce to go with it,um,it was infused into every single,every single dish,later in the summer he did a corn,seven courses of corn,um,you know,seven courses of peas,and so it just,It's like honing in on just this is what we have right now.How can we really showcase and exemplify the breadth of just this one,the simple carrot,the simple pea,the simpleness of corn,is really fascinating to me.
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:I have to ask you,what is a rolled jig?
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:Oh,a rolled jig.So,jig's dinner,uh,jig's dinner is a very traditional,Newfoundland dish,and in Newfoundland,they would take vegetables,root vegetables with them out onto the fishing boats,and then they would usually take corned beef,because,or salt beef,usually,because it would be preserved.And so that would be their protein other than eating cod that they caught and root veg.That was their dinner.And so they would literally take a bucket of salt water off of the boat,uh,off the side of the boat,bring it to a boil,add in all the root veg,sometimes some cabbage,and sometimes some peas.They'd take a,I'm trying to think,like cheesecloth,stick in some,some peas.And then would add in the salt beef and just make boiled dinner.So that's jigs dinner.And I don't,I did not speak to a Newfoundlander who did not have that on their Christmas dinner table.It is,you can only use savory as the spice.That's the only acceptable,acceptable seasoning.And that jigs dinner is it's at almost every family celebration.It is still very much a part of their culture.And.To be honest,like,boiled vegetables in salt water,boiled beef is not really appetizing.And so I thought,why don't we make all of this into a cabbage roll?And so I took the corns,the,the,the beef,and,and soaked in salt and chopped it,and then took all the vegetables,you know,sautéed them,and...and chopped them up,used the mushy peas as a binder,and then rolled that into a cabbage leaf and then made a mustard sauce.I thought that that would be a good way of,again,it's like an innovative way of showcasing this very traditional boiled dinner that is in every Newfoundlander cookbook you can find.It's a different way of enjoying it.Yeah,exactly,but I really felt like especially that was a good example of just what is going on there and what they're doing that's just Phenomenal.
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:I'm getting the sense of this innovation is coming from a lot of collaboration as well.Is it,is it like that?
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:Absolutely.Yeah.There's so much collaboration and a lot of freedom.New Foundland is one of the few places where you can serve wild game on a menu at a restaurant.And so there's a lot of freedom for the chefs there as well,but there is,there's so much collaboration and connection,um,between them.The community is beautiful and a lot of them are Like,a lot of them are coming home,let's put it that way.So they've been away,they've studied away,and all of a sudden they actually have the ability to open their dream restaurant.They have the ability to make a difference in their community and provide something that's really innovative and unique,and they have the freedom to make that happen.And they do!And that's the beauty of it,is that they do.
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:Emily,you got to help me plan my trip to Atlantic Canada.Many of our listeners have a passion for travel and discovering a place through food and discovering the culture.So just high level,when should I go?How do I get there?Do I have to plan far in advance?And what are some of the things I need to experience?
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:Yeah,so I would encourage you to go in August or September,August or September are beautiful months.July is extremely hot,especially in Prince Edward Island.It's very,very hot.So August,September are beautiful months.Early October as well,is just a beautiful time of year,To travel to Atlantic Canada,fly to Halifax or fly to St.John.I would encourage you to fly to Halifax.That's a good hub.Or Moncton if you want to include New Brunswick.And Moncton,great airport.Rent a car.I do encourage you to rent a car.And take the bridge across to Prince Edward Island.From Monkton and then you can take the ferry from Prince Edward Island to Nova Scotia,and so that's a good way of getting a couple of days on Prince Edward Island.Definitely go through the national park.You can have sticky toffee pudding at,at the hotel there.That is absolutely beautiful.The name,Oh,Dalvay by the sea,it's the name of the hotel.Um,sticky toffee pudding on their front porch is definitely a must do.And there's just.So much to see in PEI,and the one thing that is our,and became our guiding principle whenever we were driving and,and going through the provinces,whenever you see more than three cars pulled over on the side of the road,you pull over too.
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:What is that?
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:It doesn't matter what,what you might be.One time we saw a moose.One time we found guys fly fishing,another time we realized that the tide was out and we needed to go clam digging,another time,like,literally every time you see a collection of cars for absolutely no reason on the side of the road,you pull over too,because something's happening,something is happening in the woods,and that's the beauty of Atlantic Canada is get off the main roads,don't be afraid to go it.I get lost.You are welcome to knock on almost anyone's door and say,Hello,I'm lost.This is where I am.We did that many times and everyone is just so welcoming.They're so excited that you're exploring their neck of the woods.And so there's lots of things to explore,whether it's just a beautiful sunset or whether it's,you know,seeing the tides.I love the Fundy tides.They're fascinating I ran as fast as I could and was chasing the tide
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:Wow.
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:one foot after another,which also gives your perspective.Don't get caught out there when the tide changes because it comes in quick,but it was just fascinating.Like the Fundy tides are so beautiful.If you started in Moncton,did a loop around Prince Edward Island,and then you could definitely head through,Nova Scotia.Stop in Halifax,see the Annapolis Valley,go over to Luneburg as well as,um,beautiful along the South Shore,Mahone Bay is beautiful as well,and just so much to do,and then I would encourage you to take the ferry to Newfoundland instead of flying,and so it is an8hour ferry,it's overnight,get a room,but renting a car on Newfoundland is so expensive.And so taking the ferry is much more economical and then you actually get to see the province you land at the north and so you could go up to Gros Morne if you wanted to through the national parks.You can stop in Gander you can you can stop in Twilling Gate if you wanted to,and then drive south.Bonavista is a really good spot to stop if you're in Newfoundland,it's a little community,about four hours it's.Basically,in between Gander and St.John's,it's about4hours,between the two,and They have it's like a picture perfect community.It's this little,little fishing village that someone,the mayor and an investor,no one knows who it is,um,worked really hard at making,a touristy spot.But what they did is,you know,you have Newfoundland salt company there.And when you harvest sea salt,well,there's a whole lot of other salts and minerals that come off.As well.So Newfoundland sea salt not only makes wonderful sea salt,but they provide all of the road salt.And they provide and they provide all of the salt needed for the bath salts for the Bonavista,you know,soap company and everybody has a connection there and it's just beautiful to see all of these different,um,businesses coming alive and collaborating together and you have art galleries and you have,like I said,all these different companies and it's like,oh,my byproduct goes to this person or like,I support this person in this way.There's a culinary school actually there in Bonavista as well,and we met some of the chefs that were working there,and,Katie is,I'm trying to remember her last name,Katie Hayes,is her name,and she owns a restaurant in,in Bonavista,and again,beautiful,like,she was teaching us how to butcher a lamb,all of their meat they get in whole,and so,she not only is an instructor at the culinary school,but she,She does a wonderful job of,you know,here's the sheep and,you know,and here's the sheep on our menu and just,they started the restaurant just by providing bread in the community and it grew from there.So
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:Wow.A few years ago,it must've been just before the pandemic.I was planning to go out there and I don't know if it was you or somebody else had said to me,you have to book your rental car way far in advance.Is that still true?
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:For Newfoundland,absolutely.I'm not sure about the rest of Nova Scotia,like the rest of the Maritimes,but Newfoundland for sure.And we paid more like our rental car price for,I think,a week in Newfoundland was the same as.Like six weeks and the rest of,like,is significantly more because it's,everything has to get there by ferry and it's not just a hop like Vancouver Island is from Vancouver.It's,it's eight hours.It's,it's a far go.
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:Right.Well,just in this interview alone,we've gone to Greece and Italy,a little bit of the West Coast of Canada.I want to come back and chat about that another time more.And I've really enjoyed chatting to you about Atlantic Canada.Emily,what is next for you?Emily is supported by her husband,her parents,and a toddler.And they also need her support.And how she does,or how you do everything that you do,I don't know.but what's next for you?What do you have up your sleeve?Is there another cookbook,another olive oil title?What's coming up?
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:well,I leave on Thursday to go to Israel to taste in Terra Olivo,which is one of the oldest olive oil competitions.And so it'll be my first time to the Middle East and I am so excited to be able to go and And taste.And so that's,that's what's up next is,uh,yeah,is to,to start tasting in more competitions.And I'm really looking forward to that.And then I'm doing a Japanese olive oil tasting at,George Brown College in Toronto as kind of an,on my layover,actually,on my way home from Terra Olivo.So,um.Yeah,
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:a Japanese olive oil tasting?
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:correct.Yes,Japan is making some incredible olive oils right now.Actually,a lot of the Spaniards and the Italians like to turn up their noses,but they're doing a really good job at making quality olive oil right now.It's small production,of course,but yeah,Japan is,is making olive oil.
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:That is so interesting.And you just mentioned George Brown,school.So you have created with them,I'm going to get this wrong,but one of the first olive oil curriculum courses,is that right?
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:Yeah,I developed a micro credential for them.So it's an,it's an intensive micro credential,that's all focused on olive oil.And yes,at the it's the first undergraduate level study on olive oil in North America
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:Wow.And a micro credential means like,uh,um,is it like a continuing ed course or this is for going towards degrees.
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:Both.Yeah,so it's fully accredited and goes towards degrees,but you can take it as a continuing ed if you want to,but it comes with basically like a badge that you can put on LinkedIn and your resume to say like,hey,I've got this.micro credential,they're actually a pretty big deal now,through continuing education as well as you can kind of collect them and then that would work towards a credit.
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:Great.I'll put that in the show notes as well.Some information about that.Emily,it has been great having you on the show today.You can actually cook with Emily through our online cooking classes.And we also do in person,which,we're slowly getting back up again.It was interesting when you talked about those restaurants in home restaurants in Atlantic Canada.It's something similar to our in person cooking classes
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:very much so.
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:which I would love to chat more about that at another time.I'll put a link in our show notes to Emily's next class,but Emily,where can listeners learn more about olive oil through you and maybe follow what you're doing?
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:Yeah,my handles are OliveOilCritic,so Instagram,Facebook,all of,all the same,it's just at OliveOilCritic and you'll find me.
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:And Emily,your website has a wealth of information on it,about olive oils for people who might want to go a little bit further than what we did on this podcast.So I recommend visiting that too.
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:Thank you.Yeah,
audioPaulaMohammed21965522275:Thank you,Emily.It was so great to see you today and chat with you.
audioEmilyLycopolus11965522275:such a pleasure.Thank you so much.
audioPaulaMohammed11398793664:I hope you enjoyed this podcast interview as much as I did,if you'd like to join me on more culinary journeys,sign up for one of my virtual cooking classes,where I interview and cook with passionate and knowledgeable home cooks from diverse cultures.You'll learn about the recipes,culture,and people from the places you want to travel to.Just click the link in the show notes to see upcoming classes.Also,I'm excited to offer my free guide10unique travel and food tips.You won't find anywhere else.The link is in the show notes and there's some really great info in there.Thanks so much for tuning into this episode.If you have any questions,just ask me,I'll be happy to chat with you.In the meantime,take the first step on your next culinary adventure and sign up for my free guide.
