Carte

New food shop opens in Picton

Rachel Bies started cooking at the age of four and got her first job in the food industry when she was 12. “My first job was washing dishes. I was fired the next day and promoted to a hostess because I talked too much and I was terrible at washing dishes,” she says. She grew up in a family that had a very European flair, with vegetables grown in their garden, big family gatherings and parties, and celebrations that always involved lots of food. “Food was always a big social thing that brought people together. Everyone always ended up in the kitchen to talk and catch up with friends and family.” Ms. Bies obtained a degree in nutrition and then went back to school around 2008 at the Institute of Holistic Nutrition, where she graduated with honours. She considered attending the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York, but realized she had amassed a great deal of real-life education after being apprenticed to chefs, running restaurants and catering companies, and creating wine programs. In 2021, she decided to make the move to the County. At the time, she was living in a condo with her then twoyear- old son. The ongoing pandemic had left her feeling trapped in her small space and she was yearning for the freedom of being outdoors. She had regularly visited the County as a child, and several of her friends had already made the move, so she made the leap.

Moving to the County allowed her to follow her passion of providing farm-to-table meals and to support local farmers. “Food, markets and gardens have always been at the top of my mind. It’s fascinating to me that something simple, as in really good produce, can turn into a beautiful meal. I just find food fascinating, just playing with the flavours. There are endless dishes you can make,” she says. Ms. Bies’ experience include managing big events of up to 3,000 people when she was in the city, to catering weddings here in the County, organizing and preparing private dinners, as well has having weekly meal preparation clients. She felt that it was time to open up a storefront business in a higher visibility Picton Main Street location. “It will be everything in one shop,” she says. “I’ll be providing breakfast items and healthy lunches, or prepared foods like pasta sauce or a curry. There will be premade dinners like shepherd’s pies or stews that you can keep in the fridge or freezer and reheat when you don’t have time to make a full meal.”

As a nutritionist, Ms. Bies is familiar with food allergens and the need for special meals. “Ninety per cent of what I make is already gluten-free, and most of what I make will have a vegetarian, vegan or dairy-free option.”

Her new shop, Carte, located at 194 Main Street in Picton, is expected to be fully open around the first week in February. She is currently in the “soft-open” phase with limited offerings a few days a week. Some of the dishes so far include a jerk shrimp bowl, spicy trout with Asian greens and a burrito bowl with lots of vegetables. Ms. Bies says she’s had a lot of community support to get her to this stage, particularly when it comes to balancing life as a young solo mother with a nearly six-year-old son. “I’m really excited to open and have something for everyone in the community,” she says.