Hayley Rosenberg, the owner/operator of Nourish Kitchen and Café, wasn’t expecting to have her restaurant named one of Canada’s 100 best, but she wasn’t surprised by the honour.
To her reckoning, the café’s approach to food preparation represents the future of dining; a locally sourced, organic, seasonally sensitive selection of environmentally friendly foods.
“We try to support beautiful, environmentally-friendly agricultural practices, and that approach translates into what we put into our bodies and how we approach the world,” said Rosenberg.
The restaurant has been located at 225 Quebec St. for the past eight months but had occupied a much smaller space at the Saanich Horticultural Center for the previous six years.
Rosenberg said the inspiration for her unique approach to dining was inspired by her grandmother who always seemed to sense exactly how to prepare food for the family.
“Grandma knew…she believed that food, when it’s done well, brings people together — that it was the key to a healthy family and a healthy life.”
Nourish’s chef, Sergio Hernandez, is a believer in Rosenberg’s use of local produce and healthful menu creation.
“For us, it’s an art form. It’s how we express our creativity and our approach to life,” said Rosenburg.
The restaurant features a full dining room, counter service for those fast take away meals, and two “studies” on the upper level where patrons can lounge and enjoy their food or a mug of home made broth and meet friends or just relax during the day.
“Don’t get the wrong idea…this isn’t just some kind of hippie place,” added Rosenberg with a laugh. “We get all kinds of people in here. It’s all about the quality of the food and the way it makes you feel.”
A panel of judges, assembled by the accounting firm KPMG, compiles the Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list annually. Nourish was one of two restaurants on Vancouver Island and the only one in Victoria to be included on the list.