Jennifer Cockrall-King is an accomplished food writer and mentor to many of Western Canada’s developing writers, bloggers and literary enthusiasts. She divides her life between homes in Edmonton, Alberta (where she’s been the director of Litfest for 5 years) and Naramata in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia (where she started the Okanagan Food and Wine Writers Workshop). Because of her frequent coming and going she has the perfect perspective to write about the Okanagan Valley because she is at once a local but also a visitor who notices the nuances of change and development.
I’ve had a sneak peak at her new book Food Artisans of the Okanagan – Your guide to the best local crafted fare and am longing to go west and thoroughly explore (read eat!) the Okanagan Valley anew. Cockrall-King has also included the Similkameen Valley which will be terra incognita for most. I cycled that valley in early May a few years ago and fell in love with its laid back vintners, rolling hills and hidden farms and restaurants.
My friend and colleague in Edmonton, Liane Faulder, has written more extensively about the book. You can read her recent interview with Cockrall-King and learn about the details of the Edmonton launch on April 13 here. The photo above has all the information you’ll need for the Calgary launch on April 21.
Cockrall-King’s in-depth research and innate good taste make her a very well-chosen curator for this national treasury of farms and food artisans. This book proves that people that dedicate their lives to creating beauty and appreciation for food are indeed artists. I’m confident it will help many people savour it all.
