The inherent goodness of human nature is a belief I typically ascribe to, even though my philosophical viewpoints often lend toward that of a skeptic. In life, however, you can’t deny the sometimes surprising goodness of people.
So far, along my local-food journey I have encountered an extraordinary amount of kindness and support.
First, let me tell you about the woman who helped me at The Cheese Gallery in Thornbury. Barbara Trafford was patient and helpful as we tried to determine which cheeses were made within my geographic dietary restrictions. Oh, and we did, with the help of my Blackberry. I have Pine River cheddar from Ripley, and yogurt form Wooldrift Farm in Markdale. Not only was she kind when I was in the store, she emailed me later with a list of local producers she knows of and if that weren’t enough to demonstrate that Barbara Trafford is a thoughtful person, she dropped off some feta at the E-B from Wooldrift Farms.
The woman who owns the chipper with her husband, is always so kind. When I asked her where their potatoes came from she laughed and told me “from the ground.” After I explained what I was doing she was pleased to tell me they are local potatoes. And it didn’t seem like she was just happy to sell me some, it seemed as though she was happy for me because I could eat them and not have to sit silently while my family feasted on poutine and burgers.
Then there was the server at Three Guys and a Stove, who helped me determine which parts of the meal I could have and never showed any signs of irritation, even when I was irritating everyone else at the table.
I can’t forget the women who own and work at the Creemore 100 Mile Store, who organized the Local Food Challenge. They are intelligent, kind, caring people. I have spent little more than half an hour with them, but I walked away inspired, with a renewed sense of faith in humanity. Yup, I’m a bit of an idealist.
The young woman at Georgian Hills winery on Grey Road 2 busted out the new 2010 Marechal Foch for me to try, which was quite nice. If you like light whites and haven’t tried their Seyval Blanc, I recommend you do.
Most of the people selling at the farmers’ markets…nice, and they genuinely care about the food they are producing, which automatically makes me like them.
100 miles from the E-B 