By Brooke Fader
In 2004, we planted a school garden at the high school in Sooke. We had help from our friends at Farm Folk/City Folk and the Feast of Fields fundraiser, along with local businesses and an army of local gardeners. Chef Pia Carroll ran the celebrated culinary arts programme at the high school, and introduced her students to Slow Food values and recipes. She was instrumental in the creation of this learning and growing space.
Currently, there are three different subjects with over a hundred students that use the garden for different culinary and environmental projects. When I visited in March, the cafeteria was serving sunchoke soup garnished with sunchoke chips, kale caesar salads, and their own smoked bacon to the students and faculty at EMCS from ingredients grown and prepared in the school garden.
We were heartbroken to say good bye to our dear friend and mentor Chef Pia Carroll this winter. A beautiful tribute to her from our local paper tells of her incredible influence on our community.
Her legacy carries on at the newly renamed Pia Carroll Cafeteria & Edible Schoolyard in Sooke and reminds us of the incredible impact of sharing our lives through food and education.