Eatdrink #76 March/April 2019

30 | March/April 2019
Suzanne Steed
Steed & Co. Lavender,Central Elgin
Women in business, in three words: “Creative.
Determined. Confident.”
With a passion for gardening and landscape
design, I developed an agri-tourism business
where we provide visitors with an experience
for the senses. I have developed all of our
handcrafted products as well as our culinary
line of lavender inspired food products. I also
manage the day-to-day operations at our farm.
Operating a farm brings new challenges every
day and there is always something going on. I
enjoy these challenges, even though I sometimes
struggle through the difficult ones. But when
a visitor comes to me and says, “Thank you for
creating a beautiful place to visit,” it makes me
smile and feel very proud of what I do.
There is absolutely an element of artistry
in what I do! I take a lovely, fragrant herb
(lavender) and create many specialty culinary
products. For example using this herb in
our culinary products can be tricky as it can
overpower foods, so I’m always aiming to
achieve a balance that is both interesting and
enjoyable to the palate.
When you’re a business owner, you’re
always thinking about your business. I can’t
describe what it’s like to be in the zone,
because I’m never out of it. I’m always mulling
over different ideas, conducting research and
finding that inspiration comes to me at all
hours, including in the middle of the night.
Recently, I was thinking about our jams and
Suzanne Steed
eatdrink.ca |@eatdrinkmag
wondering about what a combination of
lavender and orange would be like. How would
the flavour interact with the citrus notes?
With our culinary products, I create the
recipes, and pass them along to production,
but with our soaps, I’m often creating them
— so I’m in a productive zone then too. Plus,
when I’m out in the community, I find that
my business has become part of my identity. I
was just in the grocery store and had someone
come up to me and ask, “Aren’t you the
lavender lady?” My business is always there.
It becomes a part of who you are, and I’m sure
any business owner could relate.
It always amazes me how people never think
to consider lavender as an edible herb. After
travelling through France, eating at French
restaurants and speaking to many people who
live there, I found that lavender is a popular
ingredient in many dishes — from desserts to
main courses featuring fish and chicken.
Lavender is the same family as mint. If you
look at a lavender spike, it’s square — and
if you look at a mint stem, it’s square also.
We’re familiar with mint’s strong flavour,
and lavender’s strength is similar. However,
lavender has the ability to really enhance
flavours. We have a raspberry-strawberry
preserve, and lavender picks up the raspberry
and helps it pop. It also enhances the flavour
of our dark chocolate, and the vanilla in our ice
cream. It’s remarkable in that way: it enhances
whatever you use it with, but adds a floral note.
I hope that our lavender farm offers visitors
an opportunity to escape from their hectic
lives, to a peaceful rural setting, where they
can stroll amongst the millions of beautiful
lavender flowers from mid-June to mid-July.
I encourage visitors to learn many of the great
attributes this herb has to offer, including;
growing, harvesting and cooking with lavender.
Lauren Vandixhoorn
SoLo on Main, Port Stanley
Women in Business, in three words:
“Empower. Inspire. Talent.”
Knowing that my work in any aspect of the
restaurant will result in a satisfied customer
is what lights my fire. That’s what my work
means to me too, that’s whole point: to make
people happy. The music, the ingredients,
drinks, the staff, decisions I make everyday
are all for the good of the customer. It’s
simple, and that’s what I like.
I also want people to find that when they