As published in the September 2004 issue of Horse Sport Magazine and the Toronto Star:
As country life seems to have become pushed aside by a barrage of ubiquitous fast food and drive-thru
restaurants, Kathy Fremes of Country Hill Farm emerges with a welcoming slow food philosophy back to the table.
Operating from her lovely equestrian centre in Goodwood, Ontario, Kathy and well-known Toronto cooking
instructor Carley Hill have begun a popular series of cooking classes that seek inspiration from a bevy of
local world-class producers. Students may well begin a session with a trip to Richter's, a renowned herb
farm that supplies some of Toronto's best restaurants, or perhaps scour a local mushroom grower's woodlot for
shitakes to take back to the kitchen. From here the hands-on task of preparing the produce in a variety of methods begins.
Oh, and did I forget to mention Country Hill Farm offers riding lessons, driving lessons and a bed and breakfast?
As if that wasn't nearly enough, Kathy also breeds Hanoverians. I would call that diversification but really
I know it's all about passion. The day-to-day life with horses, or almost any animal, is a world of joy, wonder
and heartache. It is also a world of manual labour, mucking out, feeding, grooming and an unending list of other
chores that must be completed for animals to thrive. Well, cooking is really no different. Preparing a wonderful
meal, can be a laborious process: chopping, grinding, filleting, baking (now there's a whole other set of chores...).
It is no wonder that in our hurly-burly of rampaging about in our world that the country is being inundated
with drive-thrus. I bet all of you can pinpoint every single Timmy's (Tim Horton's) between your home and the
barm, if not between the barn and every show you frequent in a season!
Kathy Fremes and Carley Hill, both "slow food" advocates (visit the
Slow Food Movement Website (www.slowfood.com) to find out more about the
international movement) bring passion to their cooking classes as well as a desire to step out of the never-ending
rush and return to the source of our food: the farmers and not the fluorescent aisles of our modern grocery store,
in order to highlight the ingredients. A weekend cooking class becomes not just another lesson in making this or
that, but a learning adventure in food from farmer and cook, spiced liberally with camaraderie and finished with a
wonderful meal that everyone has participated in producting.
Take a time out, and enjoy!
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Planked Salmon Feast
On Oct 15, eight hungry hikers came to Country Hill Cooks! for a specially
designed meal to satisfy and edify. Here are there comments:
"This was by far the best food I've had all trip!" Bob Watts
"Loved your salmon!" Irene Gordon
"We're so glad we found you! Wonderful dinner!" Dottie & Ron Bartalos
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