When you think Thunder Bay, you definitely think North – but did you know that Thunder Bay is home to a diverse array of farms and food producers? From creative cheese makers to farm fresh strawberries and even heritage grains – Thunder Bays is a local food lovers destination waiting to be discovered.
Go Digital
One food tour is the Food Producers Tour on the new Tourism Thunder Bay’s Touring App. Download the app onto your phone or hand held device and enjoy a tour through Thunder Bay and region to new and popular food producers. The twenty-one stop tour starts at the Fish Shop where you can enjoy some of their famous fresh smoked fish varieties like lake trout and whitefish. Make your way through the Waterfront District and grab a coffee from the St Paul Roastery or Gelato from Prime Gelato, and continue on to include the popular Persian Man for a Persian or any number of local delis. Complete your day out with a visit to the farms in the Slate Valley including the popular Thunder Oak Cheese Farm, where you can see the cheese making process in person every Monday and Wednesday mornings.
Take a Farm Tour
Head towards the Slate River Valley area south of Thunder Bay to make a fun day of touring some active Farms in area. Among the farms are Belluz Farms, Thunder Oak Cheese Farm, Slate River Dairy, and Brule Creek Farms. Stop in at Belluz Farm and Thunder Oak Cheese farm and watch or help with the process, and drive by Slate River Dairy and Brule Farm to see their active farms, and you may see one of the farm lead hands at work in the fields.
At Belluz Farms you can enjoy picking or harvesting crops that are currently in season at their farm. In late June through July you can enjoy picking a fresh basket of strawberries, or pint of saskatoons to enjoy at home. Enjoy harvesting your own potatoes, peas, carrots, and many other vegetables starting in July until the frost arrives.
Thunder Oak Cheese Farm uses fresh milk from the Schep’s own Holstein cows to produce Gouda cheese a creamy Dutch cheese that has been a favourite of cheese lovers from around the world. Thunder Oak Cheese Farm was the first farm in Ontario to produce authentic Gouda cheese and has been in operation since 1995. Fresh cheese is made year round every Monday and Wednesday morning with the addition of Friday throughout the busy summer months. The onsite store offers the opportunity to sample some of their popular Gouda cheese and purchase one or more of their 17 varieties of cheese they produce as well as other Dutch specialities.
Slate River Dairy products are favoured for being a high quality milk made in its most natural state, straight from their own cows and only pasteurized. On top of milk Slate River Dairy also produces dairy products including yogurt, cheese, and butter. Their products can be purchased online, at the Thunder Bay Country Market, Superior Seasons Market Store in Goods and Co and many other Thunder Bay locations.
Brule Farm started as a small 17 acre parcel of wheat and has blossomed to 320 acres of wheat, rye, canola and cover crops. They pride themselves with the promise to stick to heritage methods that use a little bit of technology and a lot of tradition, making milled products that are as close as possible to the flavour and nutritional content to unmilled grains. They produce sought after products including flour, cupcake mix, canola oil, which can be purchased at the Thunder Bay Country Market, and various locations in Thunder Bay.
After you enjoy the drive through the country side there is nothing better than coming back to Thunder Bay and enjoying a culinary experience at any number of local restaurants that support our local food producers. If you are interested in supporting local farm and food producers the Thunder Bay Country Market operates Wednesday (3:30-6:30pm) and Saturdays (8am-1pm), and offers farms a location to sell their products to the public. Superior Seasons Market Store, located in Goods and Co is open Tuesday to Sundays and carries a wide array of locally produced and processed foods.
