Lakefield Caterer Bringing Wales and Farm-To-Table Food Background to Peterborough County

Wales’ Josh Keepfer had culinary training in Venice, London and Charleston, N.C. but since making Lakefield his home roughly four years ago, he’s brought his background into Kitchen Farmacy, a farm-to-table catering business for Peterborough County.

Chasley Keepfer (left), Hadley Keepfer, 4 (middle) and Josh Keepfer (right) examining the five acres of vineyards full of developing grapes. The family owns roughly 40 ducks to act as natural insecticides. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The business was launched in 2018, Keepfer said Kitchen Farmacy is reflective of his farm life upbringing as a child and with on-site farms at restaurants he worked in Wales. He wanted to bring that same experience of food into Peterborough County.

“I've been very lucky and very fortunate growing up as a child to be living on a farm and experiencing farm life,” said Keepfer.

He says the farm life helped him appreciate where his food came from and the effort needed to create it. The products at Kitchen Farmacy are locally sourced through several businesses, farmers and butchers.

“We used to go out and feed apples from the orchards to the pigs and knowing that we needed to get them fat and juicy for slaughter. I know it sounds gruesome but it's part of kitchen life and part of being farm to table.”

Keepfer moved to Peterborough Country after meeting his wife Chasley in Whistler. She was from the Lakefield area and moved to Lakefield with her to start a family and eventually open the business.

Kitchen Farmacy offers take-home meals, a catering service and meal plans with all the food made on site. The business also has its own winery called Cheeky Duck Vineyard consisting of five acres behind the catering service building. The winery has five different varieties of wine such as Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay where grapes were planted last year.

The business wants to expand with a new on-site restaurant next spring however few details were released. The restaurant will offer wine tasting from their vineyards.

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Vietnamese Restaurant Hanoi House Is Closing Its Downtown Location; Consolidates to One Storefront

Vietnamese restaurant Hanoi House is closing its Hunter Street location was announced on its Facebook page on Tuesday.

Tung and her newborn daughter Hunter outside the Hunter Street location that soft opened on Valentine’s Day in 2020. Tung’s family formerly owned the Golden Wheel Chinese restaurant located near Springville. Photo courtesy of Susan Tung.

The closure is due to decreasing overhead expenses incurred from running two restaurants (of the same brand) compared to one. Susan Tung, Hanoi House owner said she can operate and deliver the same level of service with one restaurant.

“I started thinking about it a few weeks ago and considered making the change in the slower months (in Jan. and Feb.) but then really considered the pros and cons of continuing operating the way we are,” she said.

Hanoi House opened on Valentine’s Day of 2020 for its soft opening. Photo by Luke Best.

Vietnamese coffee is typically sweetened with condensed milk as the coffee is steeped over it before being mixed. Photo by Luke Best.

Oysters and fried spring rolls. The former is a fun addition to the Vietnamese restaurant and the latter is wrapped in rice rolls. Photo by Luke Best.

Pho is Vietnam’s national dish that consists of rice noodles and vegetable garnish in a beef broth. Several beef cuts included in the soup are flank, tendon, tripe, beef balls and tenderloin. Photo by Luke Best.

All exclusive amenities and services at the Hunter Street location such as the oyster bar is being incorporated into their Lansdowne Street restaurant according to Tung. Staff are allowed to work at the other restaurant or are welcome to pursue other endeavours due to the Hunter Street closure.

According to their Facebook post, the restaurant plans to put a new concept into the Hunter Street location but would not disclose the information when asked.

Hanoi House soft opened on Hunter Street as its first location on Valentine’s Day of 2020. They opened in early December of the same year.

“Nothing lasts forever so it’s important to know when is the right time to keep moving on,” said Tung. “The business is still going, the location it mainly operates out of now is bigger which is a testament to what we’ve been able to achieve after starting off in this little space.”

Hanoi House specializes in Vietnamese cuisine including the country’s national dish, phở (pronounced fuh), vermicelli (rice noodles) and bánh mì (Vietnamese submarine).

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Downtown Comes Alive As Patio Season Brings Diners Outside For The Summer

Patio season is ramping up with the installation of expanded patio areas and new pedestrian space for people visiting the downtown.

Photo courtesy of The City of Peterborough.

The City has completed the installation of decorative fencing and planter boxes next to businesses on George, Water and Charlotte streets that have signed up for the expanded patios this year, using on-street parking in front of their businesses.

The patio season changes also means that Hunter Street between George and Aylmer streets has become a one-lane, one-way street westbound to add more patio and pedestrian space.

As part of the reconfiguration of the section of Hunter Street, Chambers Street is temporarily closed at its south end at Hunter Street and will be two-way for the duration of the closure.

This is the third summer that the City is putting in place temporary changes to downtown public space to allow for more patio and pedestrian area. This year’s design is similar to last year’s successful design, except for one change: Charlotte Street between George Street and Aylmer Street North is remaining a two-lane, two-way street this year.

In other areas of the downtown, expanded patios are put into on-street parking spaces next to businesses that choose to participate in the program.

Beyond the COVID-19 pandemic public health considerations, providing additional outdoor space for downtown businesses and visitors is another way to support businesses that are recovering from the disruptions caused by the pandemic, says the City.

For a second year, the City will coordinate the the Renaissance on Hunter public art project. This project allows successful, local artists to complete murals on Hunter Street. The Road Mural and Artists' Gardens projects are expected to be in place by early July, weather permitting.

The City of Peterborough consulted with Peterborough Public Health and Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area through the design and implementation of the temporary downtown public space changes.

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