Other past work

Freeing Oysters from a Parasite’s Hold - Hakai Magazine

Armed with traditional knowledge and modern science, a small team hunts for the sweet spot that could save oysters from a parasite that has decimated populations in Cape Breton and beyond.

Behind the Sails - Canadian Geographic

Bluenose’s maiden fishing trip nearly ended before it began. It was nighttime in the spring of 1921, and the ship’s crew had just finished their first-day catching cod on the Grand Banks off Newfoundland. At around 2 a.m., to the horror of Captain Angus J. Walters, the watch shouted an alarm: a huge wooden schooner was careening out of the blowing, inky darkness toward their smaller ship.

PBS Frontline (2019-2020)

Making a Killing - CBC (longform and podcast)

As whales die in frightening numbers, New Brunswick's lucrative snow crab industry struggles under a global spotlight.

Birth of a Cherry - Report on Business Magazine - click to download

Dangling a single blood-red Staccato cherry by its green stem, anticipating the toothsome crunch and sweet, mouth-flooding juice, is nearly as pleasurable as consuming it. It’s glossy, with light-red pinstriped speckles, and so plump it seems to be swelling beyond its own tight skin.

Eel of Fortune - Hakai Magazine

Lighting the hissing naphtha lamp mounted at the front of his metal canoe, Kerry Prosper prepares for a midsummer eel hunt on Nova Scotia’s Pomquet Harbour. It’s just past sunset, and the conditions are perfect, with warm air gently rolling off the bay and smoothing the water’s surface to glass. Prosper timed tonight’s trip with the new moon; eels get skittish when there’s too much light. Even lightning scares them into hiding.

Catch and Release - The Deep (gold, Atlantic Journalism Awards)

A freshly shucked oyster is a miracle, with few more miraculous than a Little Shemogue. Small and slightly greenish, firm and creamy, sweet and complex with a bracing minerality, I first tasted one at a trendy seafood restaurant in Portland, Maine in 2014.

Guardians of the Grasslands - Canadian Geographic (cover)

Standing alone on the aptly named Million Dollar Viewpoint later that day, overlooking undulating grassy mountains and seemingly endless plains afire from the setting sun, I find myself wondering: once the land is broken, what does it take to fix it?

Inside Canada's Secret Potato Laboratory - The Walrus (cover)

When they’re not taste-testing french fries, scientists are building a spud that will outlast us all.

To Eat On Art – Montecristo Magazine

It was early afternoon at California’s luxurious Villa Montalvo, and things weren’t going as planned. Towering piles of boxes filled with paper-wrapped, one-of-a-kind plates and utensils were being unpacked in the Mediterranean Revival mansion, and guests were set to arrive within the hour. A team of Michelin-starred chefs had prepped this $700 multi-course experimental meal for days, but as the untraditional dishware was laid out, they began threatening mutiny. Part of the problem? The cutlery didn’t look like cutlery at all.

How Slaves Shaped American Cooking – National Geographic

Exploring the complicated relationship between foods claimed by the American South — including watermelon, okra, and beans — and the African slaves who brought those seeds to North America.

The Farm-to-Table Opportunity – BC Business (cover)

His days were long, 18 to 20 hours on average, and he spent most of them covered in blood.

Any Given Sundae – The Walrus

From new-age superpremium flavours to palm-oil-based confections, ice cream experts know that a cone is never just a cone.

Turkey Wars - Modern Farmer

With blue heads, bright red wattles and spectacular tiers of bronze, black and beige feathers, wild turkeys can be exceptionally beautiful creatures. Benjamin Franklin himself, in a letter to his daughter in 1784, wrote that the turkey, compared to the bald eagle, was “a much more respectable Bird.”

A Kick in the Aspic - The Globe and Mail Style Advisor

Done right, aspic can be revelatory, a shimmering magic trick of proteins and vegetables encased in a complementary broth that melts in the mouth. And it tests all of a chef’s abilities.

Talking Turkey - Maclean's

“If you have 20-lb. turkeys wandering around, and a number of sportsmen looking for something for the Thanksgiving table, those problems sort themselves out.”

The Case of the Drunken Pigs - Modern Farmer

Julie Shore’s pigs were very cheerful drunks. At least, that was true of the ones that could walk.

Why this little fish is on some of the biggest menus around - The Globe and Mail

In the dead of Maritime winter, under frozen bays and harbours, drifting schools of smelt are preparing for an epic journey.

Mallard Cottage brings a 'new swagger' to the rustic East Coast - The Globe and Mail

St. John’s, once denigrated as a city of fish and chips and mediocre hamburgers, has recently experienced an incredible renaissance in its restaurant scene, fuelled by a booming oil and gas sector and a returning cadre of expats, entrepreneurs and businesspeople.

Retrospective celebrates the subversive vision of Mary Pratt - The Globe and Mail

In a stunning retrospective simply titled Mary Pratt, which recently opened in The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery in St. John’s, the artist’s gorgeous, brutal vision of the world is the best revenge against anyone who ever sought to define her.

Cattails move from marsh to menu - The Globe and Mail

Known in foraging circles as “nature’s supermarket,” nearly every part of the plant can be eaten, from the starchy roots that can be cooked like a potato or pounded into flour, to protein-rich pollen from its puffed flowering heads that can be used in scones and biscuits.

Are Rabbits the New Super Meat? - Modern Farmer

While their reproductive prowess may be clichéd, California farmer Mark Pasternak and his wife Myriam can’t build rabbit barns fast enough to keep up with demand.

Brandon Baltzley: a chef poised between artistry and addiction - The Globe and Mail

In cooking, the line between a genius and out-of-control artist is a fine one. When it comes to Baltzley, diners, restaurant critics and even his closest friends suspect he might be both.

The Meat of the Matter - Maclean's

I’ll never forget the horrified look on my husband’s face as he stared down into the cardboard box I brought home from the butcher.

Why Farmers and Knitters are Fixated on Icelandic Sheep - Modern Farmer

Stuart Somerville wanted sheep that could defend themselves. After all, life in Endiang, Alberta, the heart of coyote country, isn’t easy for roly-poly animals with short legs and low IQ.

Getting Canadian Farmers to Kick their Foreign Seed Addiction - Modern Farmer

As the climate changes, newly adapted pests and diseases are parrying farmers’ every move while government-funded research programs are being slashed. Decades ago, farmers’ primary weapon was the amazing diversity of plants: if one kind of wheat failed, plant another; if a bug attacked your potatoes, switch varieties.

“’Tis home, you understand." - Telegraph-Journal (cover)

In an era before the telephone, many of Newfoundland’s outport homes had a ramshackle flagpole in their yard, an old clothesline or a stripped wooden pole, nestled among mossy scruff beside their saltbox homes. It’s an image that fascinates artist Jerry Ropson.

Final Sale - The Walrus

A few months ago, Arizona retail consultant Bobbie Hollowell arrived in Fredericton, ankle-length fur coat and all, to manage the liquidation of the city’s two Zellers stores and make way for Target’s “Project Bacon.”

Lest We Forget – The Walrus

“This is about the guys who gave their lives… if legions die, then remembrance will die.”