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Tourism PEI
Waxed rounds of cheese in coolers at Glasgow Glen Farm

Jeff McCourt

Cheesemaker, Chef & Owner of Glasgow Glen Farm
New Glasgow

Were you born in PEI or are you an Islander by choice?
Born in Summerside, PEI and raised on the Blue Shank Road.

How long have you been living in PEI?
All my life, with the exception of a couple stints abroad and living on the mainland.

Describe what an average day looks like for you?
Cheesemaking days start at 3 am in the morning and remain busy for the day maintaining, selling and delivering cheese. By 10 pm, I'm putting cheese in the brine and lighting the wood-fired oven for the next day.

What is your favourite thing about life in PEI?
The food!!

What are you passionate about personally? What do you really enjoy? What can’t you stop talking about?
As a chef and cheesemaker I am passionate about the food we grow and produce on PEI. I have always sourced locally, supported our neighbours - be they farmers, fisherman, gardeners, foragers or anyone else who is equally passionate about what they grow or produce. We have the world's best lobsters, potatoes, mussels, oysters, beef and Gouda Cheese - what's not to love about this place!

If you had to choose one spot on the Island to take someone who has never been here, where would it be?
On a road-trip to Greenwich National Park, Basin Head Beach and Ricks Fish and Chips.

Any funny facts about yourself or factoids about the Island that you think people should know?
On PEI, when it comes to eating here are a few basic things to remember:

  1. Lobster can be eaten hot, cold, with butter, with mayo in a roll, out of the shell or with your hands (and sometimes pliers and a hammer).
  2. When slurping back those delicious PEI oysters, don't forget to chew! You are missing out on the full flavour explosion if you just let it slide.
  3. Eat lots of mussels and clams while you are here. You will not find them any fresher than plucked fresh from the ocean.
  4. Potatoes can be eaten, hot, cold, with butter, with mayo, in its skin, out of its skin, fried, baked and hundreds of other ways..
  5. Grass-fed and potato finished, salt air smelling Prince Edward Island Beef; enough said. Fire up those grills!
  6. Prince Edward Island boasts some of the highest quality milk in Canada. Make sure you don't miss out on the quality dairy products made here - Cheeselady's Gouda Cheese, ADL Butter, ADL Chocolate Milk, ADL 2 yr old White Cheddar and Cows Clothbound Cheddar. All use 100% Island Milk.
  7. There are lots of great restaurants and places to eat but for at least one meal - make sure you eat it outside. Have a picnic on a beach, in a park or while on a hike in the woods. Wherever you find yourself, take in the beautiful backdrops that cover this Island of ours.

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