Victoria: Where a Chef's Fingers Prune Before the Dishes Even Start
i landed here with my sous chef gear and a dream: to see if victoria’s food scene deserves the hype. spoiler alert: my fingers got pruned before i even touched a knife. just checked the weather and it’s basically wearing a wet sock, hope you brought galoshes. humidity’s so high i swear my garlic cloves were sweating in my bag.
walking around felt like exploring a fridge after the power outage. locals? they’re all bundled up like they’re about to fillet a whale. one guy at the market told me, ‘this weather’s just how we keep our butter soft’ - and then winked. if the drizzle gets too loud, *vancouver island’s other corners are just a short drive away, though i hear the oysters there even colder.
‘heard some drunk tourists arguing that the chowder here has more potatoes than fish. then they hugged it out over shared oysters.’
food-wise? overheard a local chef whispering that fisherman’s wharf is where you find the real gold - not the tourist traps. stumbled into this spot because the line was out the door. worth it? the salmon was so fresh i almost cried. then remembered i was in public. yelp says the market’s got killer sourdough too.
someone warned me the butchart gardens* are prettier than my life goals. wasn’t wrong. flowers were so vibrant i almost forgot to critique their pesto. then i saw a bee with better knife skills than my last line cook. official gardens site says they’re open year-round - perfect for when your sous chef quits because of the damp.
whole trip felt like a slow-simmered soup: weird ingredients, too much salt, but somehow not half bad. would i come back? only if someone promises to hold an umbrella over my cutting board.
‘a local bartender said the secret to surviving here is drinking enough whiskey to feel the temperature instead of the humidity. sounded like good advice.’
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