Méli-Mélo is a column by Katie Shapiro. It’s an edible hodgepodge to help you stay on top of the hits and happenings in Eastern Ontario and beyond. Get the latest — from the this-just-opened and give-backs, to new bites and libations and don’t-miss events.
Nonna’s Cooking at The Base
Located on a former World War II air training-base in Picton, Base31 has been revitalized as a cultural hub and now hosts a range of businesses and venues. Last year, Base31 introduced The Commissary, an open-air food and drink market featuring a diverse range of vendors.
Joe Strazzeri and Lynda McCormack came on as vendors for the inaugural season and are enjoying their second year serving up Sicilian cuisine at La Baracca. Inspired by his mother, Strazzeri says they set out to offer an homage to “Nonna Giovanna’s Sicilian love of family and food.”
The menu at La Baracca revolves around produce and meats available at the local market, and each week ends with Pasta Domenica — Sunday Pasta, featuring fresh pasta in a pomodoro sauce that is the first thing made every morning. Strazzeri and McCormack have also begun selling their pastas through shops in the County.
The pair previously worked in the film and television industry, but cooking for friends and family had always been a large part of their lives. “What’s better than doing what you love in a place you love?” Strazzeri says. “It’s been special.”
La Baracca at The Commissary
26-343 County Rd. 22, Picton
base31.ca | @labaracca_pec
Pints and Poke
Alison Ferland and Rebecca Luscombe met while cooking at Bocado, a popular Spanish-influenced restaurant in Picton, and have now teamed up to bring a Hawaiian-inspired pop- up to the County.
For Ferland, the poke passion comes from a love for Hawaii. “It’s where I want to be in the future, and making poke in the County is a step closer to that dream,” she says. The pair has found a seasonal home at Matron Fine Beer, where they’ll be until October. Located just off the Millennium Trail, their pop- up has become a pleasant surprise for cyclists and hikers dis- covering the fresh and vibrant menu offered at the brewery.
“Matron has been super supportive,” Luscombe says of their brewery home. The beer is used in their fry batter, and the menu — from the vegan-friendly beet poke bowl to the crispy chicken sandwich with chicken from local Prinzen Farm — pairs perfectly with a crisp pint.
Poke Blossom PEC at Matron Fine Beer
65 Barker’s Lane, Bloomfield
@poke.blossom
Canned Collaborations
The pulp leftover from Ottawa’s Top Shelf Preserves jam production gets a new life from the County Bounty Soda Co. in this effervescent zero-waste collaboration. The resulting Seville Orange Soda is like a sippable marmalade: refreshing and lightly bitter.
Kingston-based artist Alexandra Finkeldey designed the label. Finkeldey met Sara Pishva, owner of Top Shelf Preserves, many years ago at a local market where both were vendors. Finkeldey has created spot illustrations and poster designs for Pishva over the years and has also worked with Dodie Ellenbogen, owner of the County Bounty, illustrating holiday critters and botanicals for a soda advent calendar box.
Although Finkeldey primarily works on illustrating children’s books now, with two books coming out this fall, food has always been one of her favourite art subjects. When Finkeldey was approached to design the label for this Top Shelf-County Bounty collaboration, she knew she wanted to incorporate turtle imagery to go with the featured oranges. “She cycles to work a lot,” Finkeldey says of Pishva, “and she would often share her turtle sightings when cycling in the summer. When I think of Sara, I think of her and her turtles.”
@scatterbee | artbyscatterbee.com
Soda is available through @topshelfpreserves & @thecountybounty
PECish in Milford
“The retirement dream had always been to have a bakery,” MaTTi Matyasfalvi explains. Although not retired — he still runs a modelling agency — he does now own a bakery in Milford.
A frequent visitor to the area in the past, Matyasfalvi would undertake long baking projects to unwind while in the County, seeking a contrast to his fast-paced Monday-to- Friday routine. Inspired to hone his skills during the height of “The Great British Bake Off”’s popularity during the pandemic, he opened PECish Baking Co. in 2021 as a take-out window where customers could pick up their online orders on Saturday mornings.
Now the bakery operates three days a week, offering freshly baked loaves, pastries and coffee. The rest of the week is dedicated to keeping up with the wholesale business, which has quickly grown to serve about 30 local businesses now receiving products ranging from buns and baguettes, to croissants, crostinis and custom orders. “The sky’s the limit,” Matyasfalvi says of the available offerings.
PECish also sells prepared foods, such as quiches and lasagnes, as well as local products from Cressy Mustards and cheeses from Lighthall Vineyards. “We’re the southern outpost of the County,” Matyasfalvi says, adding that the “light grocery” selection helps to point customers to other local producers.
Though he initially planned to close for the winter, the demand was so high that PECish now only takes a two-week break in early January, staying open for the rest of the year. “We’ve been so well welcomed,” Matyasfalvi says. When he first opened, he was warned by some that he could cater to the tourists or residents, but not both. “You can’t have your baguette and eat it too, basically,” he says, laughing. “But I think we can!”
PECish Baking Company
3020 County Rd. 10, Milford
pecishbaking.co | @pecishbaking.co
Good Citizens
Andrea Beechey named her coffee shop, Citizen Frances, in honour of her grandmother, who was named “Citizen of the Year” in her hometown in 1969. The shop opened on what would have been her grandmother’s birthday in May 2024.
Beechey moved from Toronto to Bloomfield and jokes that her motivations for opening a coffee shop on the town’s main street were a bit selfish, as she was keen to live near a good cup of coffee. Breakfast sandwiches are made in-house and the pastries are from PECish Baking Co. Beyond the espresso machine, Beechey calls back to her previous career as a personal stylist and sells vintage clothing, decor and other bits and bobs in the shop. “It’s a coffee shop, but it’s definitely a community hub,” Beechey says.
Many of the other shops in Bloomfield are also women-owned, Beechey adds, “so there’s a great sisterhood here of support, help and cheerleading.”
Citizen Frances
284 Bloomfield Main St., Bloomfield
@citizen_frances
Scents for the Senses
Anne Du Bois began making skincare products 25 years ago and launched her business, Savon Du Bois, in 2009. Her boutique is now on Picton’s Main Street. Along with skincare and fragrances, Du Bois distills her own hydrosol, a water-based byproduct created during the distillation of plant materials, which can also be used in skin and beauty products, as well as in food and drink applications.
She distills with the growing seasons, but typical offerings include rosemary, lemongrass, mint, lavender and sage, among others. Du Bois’ shop is a stop on local food tours by County Epicurious, where she describes the process of distilling botanicals on-site, provides each guest with a sample of a hydrosol and describes their culinary uses, such as a light spray of a rosemary hydrosol on fresh focaccia or the mint hydrosol on a cocktail. “This is an eye-opener for most people,” she says.
Savon Du Bois
202 Main St. W., Picton
savondubois.com | @savondubois
County Honky Tonk
Following the success of their “Bloomfield Pizza Ranch,” Darlings, Jesse Fader and Duncan MacNeill have opened a second location in Picton. Fader describes Hank’s Lonesome as more chill and laid-back. “We wanted to book a couple of bands,” he says, “and create a space that was a little more sweaty.”
No reservations are required for lunch and dinner, with a menu that Fader describes as straightforward and relaxed. Alongside pizza — a nod to old-school pan pizza rather than the Darlings’ style — there are jumbo tater tots, wings, fries, chopped salads, and a solid selection of Chinese-Canadian dishes. “It’s perfect bar food,” says Fader, who relocated with his family from Toronto to the County in 2020. He jokes that the menu is a reflection of the delivery orders he no longer places now that he’s left the city behind.
Hank’s Lonesome
279 Main St., Picton
hankslonesome.ca | @hanks.lonesome
