Andrea Kaiser and her daughter Madison have lived (and eaten!) in Wine Country for decades. Their love for the region and it’s food producers runs deep.
“I have been a long-time advocate, for local food producers” says Andrea Kaiser, who spends her time writing about food and wine and working as Director of Marketing at Reif Estate Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake. With the help of her daughter Madison, together, they’ve launched a new – and very delicious – business venture called Niagara Flavours. Niagara Flavours is a series of carefully curated culinary boxes you can order right to your home.
“The project was born from Madison and my mutual passion in supporting local food producers and small businesses and farms, as well as the lack of employment opportunities available to her this summer due to the pandemic.”
“Madison is a student at Brock, entering into her Masters in Sustainability, so a kernel of an idea was uncovered last summer on their weekly trips to the market and other local businesses for our groceries and staples.”
Over the course of the winter, Andrea worked with her daughter to flesh out the idea. They had a lot of questions they needed to answer: How many products? How often would it ship? How do we keep this sustainable and give back to the community at the same time?
“The idea took shape, and we worked on a website and business plan to launch carefully curated culinary boxes for the region’s extraordinary food culture. Each month I select ‘a few of my favourites things’ from local producers. The themed seasonal boxes are available for direct delivery for a limited time only.”
In the June box, she included some of our favorite wine county treats. The spread included Niagara Gold, an award-winning cheese from Feast On Certified Purveyor Upper Canada Cheese. It’s nutty, rich and perfect with the smoked honey. There was also a large jar of charred Ontario asparagus chutney made by Lowry Brothers – the line of house-made preserves at Ravine Vineyard. It was a lovely compliment to the dry-aged Ontario pork saucisson.
There’s also a monthly subscription option available. All packages include a branded – very cute – 100% fair trade cotton reusable shopping bag, as well as a $1.00 donation to the Niagara Nutrition Partners who support sustainable nutrition programs for all school-age children in the region.
“We are both so excited about the project and we hope you will be too!” says Kaiser. We are Andrea, we most definitely are.
