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The Mission
We are a chef + herbalist team dedicated to running a small scale regenerative farm and our local farmers’ market in the village of Tatamagouche. Rooted in food medicine, our work blends herbalism, fermentation, and traditional cooking to create nourishing foods for our community. Caring for the market sparked a deeper commitment to building and sustaining essential local food systems, and from that grew our farm to table food truck.
Our mission is to offer comforting, affordable food made from local ingredients, guided by the seasons and fueled by the products of the farmers and small businesses around us. By working with nature, using minimal inputs, and tending our soil with care, we lower costs while strengthening resilience and independence. Everything we grow, prepare, and serve reflects our belief that good food should nourish the land, support the local economy, and help people thrive, season after season.
The Roots
The Chef
Shawn is a certified red seal chef who grew up on his family farm and is no stranger to having fresh food all around him. His mother also ran a bakery from home and being surrounded by real food and community working together became his goal. Once he finished culinary school and moved to Nova Scotia, he became passionate about growing his own vegetables to put into his creations and started a small scale homestead. In 2020 he accepted a manager position at the Tata Farmers' Market and helped build the market back up to be a place for the community to gather and support local businesses all in one place. Shawn spent years running kitchens with burnout atmospheres that just didn’t match what he was looking for from it all. Running the market not only inspired his dream to run his own locally sourced food business, and change the food system, but it also supported him in making it a reality. He’s also recently joined the board of Farmers Markets of Nova Scotia to help make a difference and show people how essential their local markets are.
The Herbalist
Ashley started her journey into the world of herbs + fermentation when she received the life-changing diagnosis of a digestive autoimmune disease. This destroyed her relationship with food for years, until she discovered the art of fermentation along with plant medicine, and finally began to heal + nourish her body. This pivotal moment ignited her passion for natural healing, as well as her goal to provide her community with local whole food options. She understood the importance of providing nourishing + real food, however, the high cost of store bought organic ingredients pushed her to explore an alternative path. This led her to regenerative farming, where she began cultivating her own herbs and fermenting her naturally grown vegetables for herself and her community. This last step finally allowed her to harness the incredible power of food as medicine, which can now be enjoyed on her weekly menu, as well as in her apothecary. This path also eventually lead her to the local farmers market where she now works hard with her husband to create a resilient food system for their community.