The Whistler community cares deeply for the environment and acknowledges that we all have a role to play in preserving the area’s natural beauty. The Municipality’s Big Moves Strategy sets out a plan to act on climate change and reduce emissions by 50% below 2007 levels by 2030, and in the long term, reach net zero. To achieve this target, Whistler is collectively taking action to move beyond the car, reduce visitor travel emissions, decarbonize passenger and commercial vehicles, reduce building emissions, and shift towards lower carbon consumption.
We know that this kind of work is an ongoing journey as we all learn how we can contribute to a more sustainable future. Join our Changemaker host, Mike Douglas, a member-at-large of Protect Our Winters Canada, pro skier, enviro nerd and Whistler local, as he shines a light on what’s happening in Whistler to move the dial.
In video #6, we touch base with Eric Griffith, owner of Alta Bistro. He chatted with Mike about how connecting restaurants and local producers increases food security while decreasing carbon outlay, and how high-maintenance Italian beans can be.
Why is it important to cultivate relationships between restaurants and local producers?
The farm is where it all starts. We’ve been a buyer from Root Down Farms in Pemberton since we opened Alta Bistro in 2011. From its inception, Alta Bistro has been a farm-to-table dining experience in its truest sense. We know exactly where our produce comes from and have had an open door for producers to approach us with what they’re doing.
By sourcing locally, we can better understand farming techniques and support regenerative practices that help prevent things like land and soil degradation. Buying locally also simplifies the supply chain, making it more transparent, not to mention reducing travel time and carbon emissions.
We could choose cheaper options from further away, but not only is that not sustainable in the long run, it bypasses local growers and has to be preserved using chemicals or freezing, which affects quality and taste.
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How is buying from local producers linked to food security?
It’s important because local producers are intrinsically connected to our overall food security. Just twenty minutes north of Whistler are the lush farmlands of Pemberton, and on from that the drier areas of Lillooet and the Okanagan. Because we have a short growing cycle here in the Sea to Sky Corridor, our dependence on produce coming from further afield has become the norm. However, it’s not ideal to depend on other countries for our food as politics, war and environmental issues can very easily disrupt things.
If we can support our local growers and producers, we can improve our food security, which is an obvious pillar of a community’s success.
How do you maintain a relationship like this?
It’s all about trust. Root Down and Alta Bistro have both had their ups and downs, and we’ve stood by each other. It’s symbiotic, and we’ve grown together.
That level of trust means you can try new things too. We wanted to try this specific Italian bean, which Root Down grew at our request, but then we realized the shelling and drying process was so intensive it wasn’t worth it, even when we threw bean shelling parties!
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What does this all mean for your diners?
Again, it’s about trust. They trust us to serve fresh, flavourful, in-season produce, that’s what we’re known for, what we’ve won awards for.
The term farm-to-table has become a buzzword over the years, and there are no regulations making sure people are living up to those claims. Don’t be afraid to ask a server where something is from. If they are farm-to-table, they should know where every carrot, every potato has come from or find someone who does.
We work with over 35 local suppliers to make our experience an authentic one. Just last week, we were talking to a new honey provider out of Squamish.
Fresh produce makes for unique and flavourful food. It’s not come from halfway around the world, been sterilized or frozen, it’s at its peak, and it’s on your plate. We need to think about the true cost of food and how important food security is to our very survival. You can make a statement, a choice, by really thinking about where you’re getting your food.
How is technology affecting the industry?
We have a preservation program, but we can’t get around the fact that we have a very short growing cycle in the Sea to Sky due to our mountainous location. Technology is changing things. Our mushrooms are grown inside, and we get things like lettuce and cherry tomatoes year-round from a farm close by.
People are utilizing technology and using things like growing domes, aquaponic facilities and year-round greenhouses. I’d love to see Whistler increase its food security by supporting these initiatives; it’s something I am deeply passionate about.
In the kitchen, Marcus fosters an environment of high standards paired with a sense of energy and humour, where the work is precise, but the atmosphere remains lively. His approach is grounded in cooking food that people genuinely want to eat, familiar, satisfying, and executed with care.
The Alta Bistro video is the sixth in the Whistler Changemaker series. To view more, visit our sustainability page. To make a reservation at Alta Bistro, visit their website.
