Seedlings

New perspective given to a favourite local haunt

Three new restaurants will be opening their doors in the village of Bloomfield this year, and there is a common thread to all three that has nothing to with food, drink or ambiance. All three establishments are owned and operated by couples. The County is a hotbed of opportunity. It’s a place where if you work hard and strive for something, you can attain it. It’s not like an urban centre where to own and operate a restaurant you literally need a million dollars. Out here you can still find opportunities, diamonds in the rough that just need a little polishing. Sometimes spaces come available because people just need to move on and find their own way in life. Such is the case with Angeline’s Inn, former home of The Hub, and now new home to Seedlings. As the Hub, it was a place near and dear to a lot of hearts in the County. For Seedlings, it’s about giving those people a fresh perspective on dining and it’s something that they are anxious to share with everyone.

Chef Michael Portigal and his partner, Ashley O’Neil, signed the lease to the space in mid-January and hit the ground running from there. Renovations started in the first week of February and were finished just weeks ago. The name Seedlings is, for them, a representation of a new family and a new venture. It speaks to starting their new life in the County with a one-year old daughter named Lucille, but it also speaks to the way they are going about their business. This is their third year in the County. Seedlings will have an ever-changing menu that will see it shifting bi-weekly, having only four or five items in each category. The way the kitchen will be run is also unique, with three chefs all carrying equal weight in the kitchen. Chef Portigal is joined by Chef Brennan MacFarlane, formerly of Agrarian and Chef Marty Brzozowski Formerly of The Midtown Brewing Company. The menu is decided with discussions and ideas being brought to the table for conversation. The three-chef scenario is meant to give more of a life-balance to the chefs, ensuring that they all have two days off a week to enjoy the reasons they moved to the County in the first place.

Potted Rabbit with Mountain Oak Cheese and Boiled Eggs

“For the three of us in the kitchen, the constant menu flips keep us talking. It keeps ideas flowing and it will most definitely keep us on our toes. It’s a steep learning curve, but we have been super excited about the response so far,” says Portigal.

The three chefs haven’t just come together by happenstance. The three were together at the Drake Devonshire and made a good team working the line at the restaurant. After they split off to pursue other endeavours, they returned to each other when the concept of Seedlings was put forth to them by Portigal and they have never looked back.

The menu is ambitious and unlike any currently in the County. Appetizers like Potted Rabbit with Mountain Oak Cheese and Boiled Egg and mains like Lamb Neck with Celery Root and Chestnut Sage encourage the diner to come and be adventurous with their taste buds. The dishes are modern, and have urban influences spun onto County products. The tastes are from the city, but the meat and the veggies are from the County. A perfect example is the Shiso and Honey Glazed Carrots. Shiso is a perennial plant belonging to the mint family. The red variety of Shiso has a flavour akin to anise or liquorice, while the green sort is a little spicy and has a taste similar to cinnamon. Both are present and work perfectly in the dish.

The goal is to keep the menu as local as possible, with meat coming from Walt’s Sugar Shack here in the County and Tamarack Farms in Roseneath, Ontario. They are using shrimp from the First Ontario Shrimp Farm. The wine list is a welcome combination of county and international wines, and the cocktail list will include local spirit makers Kinsip, as well other non-local favourites.

The new space has been opened nicely to seat 35 people by removing the long bar that was once there and replacing it with cozy banquettes. Both Portigal and O’Neil hail from Ottawa and have brought influences from that city with them to accent the space. Artist Drew Mosley has painted a piece on the wall at the far end of the restaurant of a large rabbit in human form with a hobo stick over his shoulder and holding an armful of vegetables. It’s a striking piece and it speaks to their new direction out of the city and into the County. Mosley also did the cabinetry and the woodworking for the renovation. The room also features a live flower wall consisting of dried, foraged flora by another Ottawa-based artist named Leah Gibson of Homebody Floral Company. The wall adds depth to the room and emphasizes the country flair that the couple are going for. The couple are grateful to Alex Fida and family for helping them execute their vision and trusting them with their space. The Fidas have a busy hotel full of guests that need a place to dine, so it’s very important that they can get behind this concept. It’s a marriage that must be harmonious if either party is to succeed, and by all accounts everyone involved is pleased with how it has turned out.

To change the concept and identity of such a well-known location in the County is a hard road to travel, but Seedlings has done it by using influences from their hometown and challenging themselves with a menu that they can’t leave hanging. With so many places only changing their menu with the seasons, the staff have put their feet to the fire to bring the public an experience that is constantly evolving. It’s not the easy route for the customer or the creator, but it is certainly rewarding for those wanting to expand their horizons food-wise. Seedlings is now open for dinner seven days a week starting at 5 p.m. and will open at 8 a.m. daily for breakfast starting in the first week of May. As for Portigal and O’Neil, they are keeping up another tradition started by the previous tenants. The couple plan to get married this year on the property.

Seedlings is located at Angeline’s Inn, 433 Bloomfield Main Street, Bloomfield. They can be found online at seedlingspec. ca.