Taste our Island Award

Congratulations to The Dunes Studio Gallery and Café, winners of the 2018 Taste Our Island Award

A visit to the Island isn’t complete until you experience the restaurant at The Dunes Studio Gallery and Café in Brackley Beach. Surrounded by vibrant art and spectacular botanical gardens and inspired cuisine makes The Dunes one of the most amazing culinary destinations and the winner of the 2018 Taste our Island Award.

Chef Norman Day taps into the heart of the Island’s agricultural community and sources most of his products from local farmers and The Dunes’ gardens. “We are trying to bring a full array of flavours, making it a delight to come here. Flavours from here and around the world that are exciting yet familiar.” These can be anything from local banana bread or fresh halibut, to curries from far and wide.

Chef Day began his culinary career when he started his own restaurant at the age of 19 in Newfoundland. In 1998 he moved to PEI to study at the Culinary Institute of Canada, honing his skills to a fine edge. After 15 years as Executive Chef at well-known restaurants on the Island, and then five seasons at The Dunes, he couldn’t be happier. He says The Dunes is the most creative place he has ever worked. “We are so ‘local’, we even make our own plates. Gallery owner and potter Peter Jansons is always surprising me. If I need a special plate for one of my dishes, Peter will create it for me.” www.dunesgallery.com

2018 Taste our Island Award semi-finalists

• POLEHOUSE CAFE - (Cardigan Market) Lunch with fine coffees and rustic delights created with seasonal ingredients by Chef Leif Hammarlund. 902-940-7007
• TERRE ROUGE - (Charlottetown) Chef Lucy Morrow’s Craft Kitchen is a true farm-to-table restaurant using the freshest local ingredients. www.terrerougepei.ca
• MY PLUM, MY DUCK - (Charlottetown) Chef Sarah Forrester-Wendt offers the Island’s first macrobiotic whole foods restaurant. Fresh, local and organic. 902-370-2070
• BLUE MUSSEL CAFÉ - (North Rustico) Chef Jamie Power specializes in fresh seafood and strives to provide food that is fresh and local. www.bluemusselcafe.com
• PAPA JOE’S - (Charlottetown) Chef Irwin MacKinnon draws from PEI’s bountiful land and sea to create world flavours with local ingredients. 902-566-5070
• PEI PRESEVE CO. - (New Glasgow) Join Chef Christopher Skiffington for savoury meals at this beautiful dining and shopping destination. preservecompany.com
• EDEN’S GATE - (Georgetown) Chef Bobbi Jo MacLean’s wide- ranging and diverse menu features delicious meals at affordable prices. www.edensgateinc.com

The Taste Our Island Award is presented annually to a PEI restaurant that achieves an outstanding level of excellence while using and promoting local products. For more information, please visit www.peiadapt.com

Taste Our Island Award - Past Winners

• 2017 - The Table Culinary Studio - For an exquisite dining experience that embraces the heart and soul of the Island, head for The Table Culinary Studio in New London where fabulous cuisine combines with local food to give you the very best.
• 2016 - The Inn at Bay Fortune Chef Michael Smith is Prince Edward Island’s food ambassador and a long-time advocate of the province’s incredible food culture. In 2015 Michael and his wife Chastity became proprietors of his alma mater, The Inn at Bay Fortune.
• 2015 - The Mill - Owned by Chef Emily Wells, and winner of the coveted 2015 Taste Our Island Award, the restaurant is located in a beautifully restored grain mill in the heart of New Glasgow farming country and near the fishing harbours of North Rustico.
• 2014 - Shaw's Hotel & Restaurant won the 2014 PEI Adapt Council's "Taste our Island" Award. Striving to produce fabulous food in concert with the region's agricultural season, the partnership of fourth-generation hotelier Robbie Shaw and chef extraordinaire Peter Angus has taken the concept to a whole new level. Shaw's Hotel & Restaurant is open from early June to late September, and is located at 99 Apple Tree Road, overlooking the bay in Brackley Beach.
• 2013 - Terre Rouge-Bistro Marche - located on Queen Street in downtown Charlottetown and is fully licensed with changing seasonal menus, all produced in-house by renowned chefs Dave Mottershall and John Pritchard. The marche offers a full selection of charcuterie, rotisserie, preserves, breads, and desserts.
• 2012 - The Inn at Bay Fortune - The restaurant is renowned for its menu that includes seafood, meats and a Wine Spectator award-winning wine list. The Inn at Bay Fortune is located 45 minutes east of Charlottetown.
• 2011 - Papa Joe's - Papa Joe's menu changes with the availability of the seasons, but the family's ongoing passion for freshness, beautifully seasoned seafood, meats, and some of the tastiest comfort cuisine, remains constant. Papa Joe's restaurant is located at 345 University Avenue in Charlottetown.
• 2010 - The Pearl - The Pearl welcomes guests to its rustic elegant, art-filled dining room, and nourishes them with unforgettable food and drink. The building itself has been completely renovated with paintings, sculpture, fixtures, and furnishings from all over PEI.
• 2009 - Victoria Village Inn - At the Victoria Village Inn, dining guests can meet the chef who prepared their grilled Atlantic salmon, pan roasted chicken breast, or Argyle Shore green salad.
• 2008 - Merchantman Pub - In 2008 Chef Shirleen Peardon and Pub owner Peter Hyndman fulfilled their goal of creating a menu that is made up of 100 percent local foods. Here's a sample of what appeared on the award-winning menu: PEI Colville Bay Oysters, North Shore Halibut, Island Striploin, Seared Sea Scallops, and of course PEI Blue Mussels.
• 2007 - The Maplethorpe Cafe