CANADIAN REGIONAL CUISINE
We strive to feature the best tasting, naturally produced from small local farms practicing sustainable farming dedicated to responsible stewardship of the land.

At River Café, we are dedicated to sourcing the best tasting ingredients and featuring them when they are in season and tasting their best. Our regional cuisine features the very best of local ingredients sourced primarily from producers in Alberta and British Columbia. We also feature unique, seasonal Canadian products from across the country. The presentation and culinary style of the food at River Café has been influenced by the many culinary styles that make up the Canadian cultural fabric. Great food is about caring for and honouring quality ingredients, in the kitchen and on the plate.

THE INGREDIENTS
We believe that there is a direct link between how those products are grown or raised and how they taste. The best tasting fresh foods come from local farmers and ranchers who are passionate about their products and who care about what they do. The quality of these locally produced ingredients have shaped our innovative cuisine. We champion regional uniqueness, heirloom varieties, and biodiversity. We support organic and natural growing practices. We endorse suppliers whose methods of farming and ranching honour the land as a sustainable resource for the future. Almost all of the ingredients we use at River Café are organic or produced as naturally and chemical-free as possible.

Excerpt from Canadian National Standards Board
Organic agriculture is a holistic system of production designed to optimize the productivity, and fitness of diverse communities within the agroecosystem, including soil organisms, plants, livestock, and people. The principle goal of organic agriculture is to develop productive enterprises that are sustainable and harmonious with the environment. Management-intensive practices are carefully selected with the intent to restore and then sustain ecological stability within the enterprise and the surrounding environment. The fertility of soil is maintained and enhanced by a system that promotes optimal biological activity within the soil and conservation of soil resources. Weed, pest and disease management is attained by an integration of biological, cultural and mechanical control methods that include minimized tillage and cultivation, crop selection and rotation, recycling of plant and animal residues, water management, augmentation of beneficial insects to encourage a balanced predator-prey relationship, and the promotion of biological diversity. Under a system of organic production, livestock are provided with living conditions and stocking rates appropriate to their behavioral requirements, high-quality diet of organically-produced feed, and ethical animal husbandry that facilitates low stress, promotes good health, and prevents disease.

Heirloom Seeds: a definition
The advent of megaculture in North America has seen the gradual depletion of ancient varieties of native non-hybrid plants. Unfortunately, for those who appreciate full flavoured fruits and vegetables, produce seed conglomerates focus only on those strains that have mass market appeal which means they're beautiful and hardy, but not necessarily the best tasting. Fortunately, about 25 years ago some dedicated individuals began saving what they could of the remaining open-pollinated (without human intervention) seed varieties, which have become known as "heirloom seeds." Among the many heirloom fruits and vegetables grown today are beets, carrots, corn, dried beans, lettuce, potatoes and tomatoes.

Growing Goodness
During the summer season, we feature many unique, heirloom varieties grown in partnership with Highwood Crossing Farms near High River. We get our wide variety of tomatoes from Hotchkiss Farms south of Calgary and diverse lettuce greens from Alexandra’s Organic Garden near High River. We are also supplied by dedicated purveyors from a wide range of farms in Alberta and through the Okanagan and Similkameen Valley in BC who seek out the very best organic herbs, fruits and vegetables. We preserve many vegetables and fruits using traditional methods to prolong their availability through the fall and winter season.

Meats and Game [images]
Regional uniqueness is evident in the wealth of game meats of the Canadian North. Buffalo, Elk, Caribou, Wild Boar and Venison. We are finding more organic sources in this ranching sector each year helping us move closer to our goal. Organic Grass-fed Alberta Beef is available in Alberta and we feature various prime cuts daily.

Fowl
Locally and mostly organic farmed pheasant, squab, quail, chicken and duck.

Fish and Shellfish
A quote from Monterey Bay Aquarium;
“We believe that seafood from sources, whether fished or farmed, that can exist into the long-term without compromising species' survival or the integrity of the surrounding ecosystem, is sustainable.”
At River Café a few years ago we made a decision to feature only wild salmon (when in season) we also follow the recommendation of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program and other conservation agencies to select ingredients that: are not faced with extinction; do not threaten the recovery of other species or the surrounding environment; or are harvetsed or caught with excess waste and by-catch. Although opposed to coastal aquaculture at this time and the environmental factors at play, we choose some farmed species that are landlocked from sources credible in their efforts for sustainability.
Some examples: Alberta farmed Rainbow Trout and Arctic Char, Wild Salmon in season, Pacific Halibut when it is running, Winnipeg Lake Pickerel and Goldeneye, East Coast Malpeque Oysters, numerous types of West Coast Oysters, farmed mussels from Prince Edward Island, Vancouver Island spot shrimp, Pacific line-caught Sablefish.

THE BAKERY
Our breads and desserts are all produced in-house at River Café, daily. We showcase artisan breads handcrafted with rustic character and wholesome flavour. We feature a wide range of organic freshly milled grains and flours from our Prairie region. Some of the breads are made from our own sourdough culture. Desserts also follow the seasons and change often with the availability of new fresh ingredients.

THE KITCHEN
The kitchen features an orchard wood burning oven and wood fired grill. This equipment provides distinct flavour characteristic of cooking outdoors. The grill reaches higher temperatures than conventional grills making it ideal for the meats and game which are seared to hold in flavour. You can smell the wood fire as you approach the restaurant through the park. Great care is taken in the presentation of dishes at the table with a wide assortment of unique plates and vessels enhancing the character of each dish. We preserve the harvest with cellaring, canning and freezers.

GUIDING PRINCIPALS AND COMMITMENTS OF OUR CUISINE
summarized by the following selection criteria:

First and foremost to feature the best tasting food, in season and perfectly aged or ripened.

To support quality local producers who grow, harvest, ranch and farm with care for the land as a sustainable resource.

To feature regional uniqueness.

MEATS—To support humane treatment and good animal husbandry practices (All natural feed, no growth hormones or sub-therapeutic antibiotics).

FISH—To support and purchase from well-managed Fisheries caring about and effectively managing sustainability (no endangered species).

PRODUCE—Natural and chemical-free, locally produced, heirloom varieties, sustainable and organic.