Prairie Girl on an Oyster Boat: Surprising Lessons from Canada’s Food Island

I thought I knew something about Canadian food. Turns out, Prince Edward Island had a few surprises in store for this prairie girl!

When Canada’s Food Island and Food Bloggers of Canada invited me on a food tour of PEI, I was excited – who wouldn’t be, right? Well… maybe a prairie girl who doesn’t love seafood.

Here’s the thing: I don’t love seafood. But I do love fresh, local, seasonal food. So when I travel, I say yes to whatever’s on the table. September in PEI means oysters, mussels, potatoes, and beef — and I was ready to dive in.

Prince Edward Island may be Canada’s smallest province, but after a few days exploring its farms, fisheries, and kitchens, I understand why it’s proudly called Canada’s Food Island. Nestled in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, PEI is famous for its red soil, pristine bays, and some of the friendliest people you’ll ever meet. It’s also a place where food isn’t just a product, it’s a way of life.

5 Surprising Food Lessons I Learned on Canada’s Food Island (PEI)

1. Islanders Cook and Farm with Passion

From the chefs at the Culinary Institute of Canada, to Peter, a retired potato farmer who lovingly restores antique potato equipment, to multi-generational fishing families, and even the director of sales at the beef processing plant, one theme came up again and again: passion.

No matter what the product — potatoes, beef, oysters, or mussels — the people we met spoke with conviction about what they do, how they do it, and why it matters. You could hear the pride in their voices and see the care in their hands.

Can passion actually make food taste better? Maybe not in a chemical sense, but I believe it does. Passion shows up in the extra attention to detail, in the pride of serving something that’s the best it can be, and in the willingness to keep traditions alive while also innovating. At the very least, passion is contagious. Sitting across the table from someone who loves what they produce makes you taste it differently. It makes every bite feel more special, more connected, and more memorable.

Take Away for Us Home Cooks: When we cook like we give a damn – people notice!

2. Merroir is Every Bit as Important as Terroir for Flavour

You’ve likely heard the term “terroir” referring to how soil, climate, and geography affect the taste of wine, honey or even garden tomatoes. On PEI, they use terroir to describe their beef and potatoes and they use “merroir” (from the French word mer which means sea) to describe how the ocean environment shapes the flavour of seafood. Who knew?!

Chef Ilona Daniels explained how water temperature, depth, currents, plankton, minerals and aquatic life all impact the flavour of oysters, mussels, lobsters and other seafood. PEI’s bays, estuaries, mix of fresh and salt water, and even its famous red soil create growing conditions that make its oysters world-renowned — and the reason the island boasts over 90 branded varieties. Chef Ilona encouraged us to taste several varieties from around the island. The difference was indeed noticeable. Personally, I preferred the deeper-water oysters (like the Lucky Limes) with their clean, briny taste over the seaweed-flavoured shallow ones.

Take Away for Us Home Cooks: Know where your food comes from – the water, the soil, the climate and the surrounding environment make a difference.

3. Focus on What You Do Best

PEI is small. It can’t do everything, and it doesn’t try to. Instead, the island focuses on the foods it grows and produces best: potatoes, beef, mussels, oysters, and lobster. These are the stars of Canada’s Food Island, and they shine.

Potatoes: Over 200 years of history and 2.5 billion pounds produced annually in iron-rich red soil.
Lobster: A 150-year-old fishery with 1,200 fishers and 45 lobster ports.
Mussels: PEI supplies 80% of North America’s mussels.
Oysters: 30% of Canada’s oysters come from PEI, with 10 growing regions and iconic brands like Raspberry Point, Lucky Limes, and Shiny Sea.
Beef: Raised by multi-generational families. Atlantic Beef focuses on healthy, happy, humane cows.

This doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy other foods on the Island, far from it. The Island is bustling with restaurants, farmers’ markets and specialty shops like the PEI Preserve Company. But what stood out to me is how the island has chosen to focus on the five foods that grow best here, support the most jobs, and carry the most history. Those are the foods that best define PEI’s story — and the ones they’ve perfected.

Take PEI mussels for example. Did you know that PEI is the leader in mussel production for all of North America? How did this little island become the mussel champ of North America?

As Trevor from Prince Edward Aqua Farms explained, PEI mussels are rope-grown, not scooped off the sandy, gritty ocean bottom. They also have the advantage of growing in cold, pristine, nutrient-rich waters. In fact, it gets so cold that the bays freeze in winter. But that doesn’t stop PEI’s mussel farmers. When the boats can’t move, they head out with sleds and ice saws to harvest fresh mussels to meet consumer demand. That dedication and commitment to working with their environment, has earned PEI mussels their reputation as the gold standard.

Take Away for Us Home Cooks: We don’t need to master it all – focus on ingredients and cooking styles you do best.

4. How To Enjoy Oysters

Here’s how I learned to enjoy oysters thanks to a tour with Raspberry Point Oysters.

Step 1. Grab a life jacket, chainmail glove and a shucking knife and get ready to embrace the full experience.

Step 2. Climb aboard with James, a passionate oyster farmer whose bad dad jokes are almost as plentiful as his knowledge of oysters and PEI.

Step 3. Breathe in the salty air and take in the serene bay framed by red-soil shores. Ambience is everything.

Step 4. Watch, learn and practice shucking an oyster fresh out of the ocean.

Step 5. Do as Chef Ilona instructed: slurp, chew, chew, swallow. Try the first one “naked,” then another and another. Finish with a drizzle of classic shallot mignonette. A tangy vinegar-and-shallot sauce that makes oysters sing.

SHALLOT MIGNONETTE

Mix 2 small shallots finely minced with 1/2 cup red wine vinegar and pinch of black pepper. Let rest for 2 hours then add a touch of the shallots and juice to fresh oysters.

By the end of the boat ride, I had shucked and tasted at least eight oysters. Not bad for a prairie girl! My favourite? The deep, cold-water varieties like Lucky Limes — clean, briny, and refreshing, without the seaweed notes of shallow-water oysters.

Will I eat oysters back on the Prairies? Not without asking a lot of questions and determining the source! I think to truly enjoy an oyster, you need to taste it where it’s harvested.

Take Away for Us Home Cooks: Fresh, local, seasonal food makes all the difference.

5. Atlantic Beef Surprised this Prairie Girl

Okay Alberta, don’t come at me. But the Atlantic Beef I tasted at SimsSteakHouse was some of the best beef I’ve ever had.

It was tender, flavourful, and simply outstanding. Andre who gave us a tour of the Atantic Beef processing plant was extremely proud of the quality of their beef and chalked it up to cattle raised on small, famiy farms where they get to roam on iron-rich soil, breathe in salty air and get finished with PEI potatoes among other selected feed.

Take Away for Us Home Cooks: Buy the best quality you can and keep it simple. Good food doesn’t need much fussing.

Sharing meals, stories, and laughter with this talented group reminded me that food is more than what’s on the plate. It’s about connection, community, and the friendships made along the way.