June 12th - Gypsy Sea Adventures & Forager Shawn Dawson

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to the Wellness and Healthy Lifestyle show on your VOCM.
Now here's your host, doctor Mike Wall.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
Welcome to the show. I'm your host, Doctor Mike Wall.
This week we're bringing you something a little bit different.
I packed up and headed out to Deer Harbor, a
resettled community where time seems to slow down and nature
takes a lead. I was invited by Brian and Vera,
the owners of Gypsy c Adventures, for a weekend of
disconnection and wellness in the wild. And while it was there,

(00:34):
I had a chance to meet some incredible people who
are doing powerful things, all rooted in nature, food and community.
We're going to kick things off with Brian, who was
actually born in Deer Harbor. He shares the history of
this community and how they're working to bring it back
to life. Then we go for a walk along the
coast with local Forager and my friend Sean Dawson, who's

(00:55):
returning for the third time to the show.

Speaker 3 (00:57):
You might know him as the author of Forager's Dinner.

Speaker 2 (01:00):
We search for a wild ingredients and talked about what
the land has to offer, especially in the spring. Next,
we head to the kitchen with Chef Justin Alexander, who
prepared an incredible dinner using food we just foraged. And finally,
we close up the show with owner of Gypsy c Adventures, Vera,
who walked us through the wellness experiences that.

Speaker 3 (01:15):
They offer throughout the summer.

Speaker 2 (01:17):
There's a lot to explore, so let's get to our
conversation with Brian.

Speaker 3 (01:23):
Brian, thanks for having me, Well, thank you for coming.

Speaker 2 (01:26):
Usually I say that to other people, thanks for coming on.
In this case, yeah, I'm your guest over the weekend. Well,
yes see you are, and we had an amazing boat
trip today. But maybe for the folks that are listening,
you could tell us a little bit about where we
are right now.

Speaker 4 (01:40):
We are Random Islin, and we're on the eastern end
of Random Islin, and which Random Alin is off and
on and off Newfoundland. So post to Clarenville hosted Bonavista Peninsula.

Speaker 2 (01:55):
Yeah right, and you have some strong ties in this
region too. You're not just somebody who decided to get
a cabin up here. You have some pretty serious roots
in the area.

Speaker 4 (02:04):
Well, I was born here. Yeah, yeah, so you know
I was. I was three years old when we resettled.
So you know, what is not too many younger than
me that was born here. So I was one of
the last children to be born here. So well, yeah,
so I do have and my my you know, my
parents lived most of their lives here, and he had

(02:25):
a dad had a cabin here. So yeah, I've been
back and forth here in a my entire life.

Speaker 3 (02:30):
Now, you guys dode an amazing job rejuvenating and bringing
it back to life. But this was a pretty good
sized community for a while there. Tell me the history
of this place.

Speaker 4 (02:39):
Well, it was in its heyday, I guess around two
hundred and fifty people. It was one of probably the
bigger communities on random Alind. Hickman's Harbor was pretty big
as well. It was a fishing community, a lot of
logging in the wintertime. Yeah, so it was.

Speaker 2 (02:58):
It was.

Speaker 4 (02:58):
It was a vibrant sawmills, a lot of fishing enterprises. Yeah,
a lot of different families, generational families.

Speaker 3 (03:06):
So yeah, what's a big place.

Speaker 2 (03:08):
Yeah, And like so many places in rural Newfoundland, it
had a similar fait to a lot of other places.

Speaker 3 (03:13):
It was resettled as well, wasn't it It was.

Speaker 4 (03:15):
Yeah, it was a resettled in nineteen sixty seven. Most
of the resettlement program I think started the sixty to
about sixty four to sixty five, this one where he
resettled a couple of years after about it, Yeah, it
was still part of the resettlement program.

Speaker 2 (03:32):
So some of these houses that are around here, because
there's several, were sitting in a fishing stage right now,
beautiful place have all been brought back to life and
they're gorgeous and modern. But tell me about your facility
you guys have here.

Speaker 4 (03:43):
Okay, So we're sitting in the stage now that my
uncle built in nineteen seventy five. So we resettled in
sixty seven, So he was the first guy back to fish.
He built this stage in the little cabin next to it,
and then as years went on, other people kind of

(04:04):
and built places. So I was fortunate enough to buy
three places in a cove, all isolated from the rest
of the harbor and very I guess uniquely set it
setting so that you know, people can enjoy the privacy
but at the same time enjoy the harbor itself.

Speaker 3 (04:25):
Yeah, it's unbelievable. Right now.

Speaker 2 (04:27):
We took a little walk around the main part of
the harbor today and we got a good, good glimpse
of it and where the community kind of outlaid. You
guys were able to do a lot of the construction
here because you were part of a television show.

Speaker 3 (04:39):
Yes, yeah, tell.

Speaker 2 (04:41):
Me about that process and what you guys did as
part of it, like what did you build and how
did you bring it back?

Speaker 4 (04:46):
Well prior to the show, and the show was all
in by Brian bomber So, but prior to that, we
had the three cottages and we had the stage which
was still really a fishing stage. So we need a
common area for people to gather, and we needed something
for people tom like a community gathering place to eat.

(05:10):
So that's the idea for the door kitchen. We put
in a proposal to the producer and they were looking
for off grid locations and I tell you what, you
can't get much more off grid than here.

Speaker 2 (05:24):
So that's right, and it's a fantastic job here. One
of the things that is part of what you do
is you're in the.

Speaker 3 (05:30):
Water a lot. Yeah, but that's something that comes really
natural to you. It does. I kind of grew up
in the boat.

Speaker 4 (05:36):
My dad was a fisher and so I spent my
summers fishing with him. And you know what, it's just
one of those things that you know, it's kind of
in my soul. And you know, I feel at peace
when I'm on the water, no matter what the conditions are,
So you know, I have a respect for the ocean,
and as a result, I get all the benefits from

(05:57):
from that respect by you know, all the good things
that are bringing exactly.

Speaker 2 (06:03):
I interviewed a guy who wrote a book called The
Blue Mind and excited about how water heels, and I
totally believe it. And I'm wondering for you, you know, being
able to come back to a place where you were
born and you've got a family history, has this given
you a sense of health? You know, because it's obviously
a health show, so it's you know, must it is
something for you?

Speaker 3 (06:20):
Well, it does it?

Speaker 2 (06:21):
Did?

Speaker 1 (06:22):
You know?

Speaker 4 (06:22):
One of the things when I looked at coming and
doing this, like I've been coming back and forth with
my father for many years, I just knew what had
done for him, you know, it regenerated his life, gave
him a purpose, and I knew he was the happiest
when he was here, and I knew, you know, he
had heart problems, so I knew that, you know, it

(06:44):
was all good for him. So I said, you know what,
it is good for him, it can be good for me,
and just having a love for the place and the
love being on the water, it was just no brainer
to be honest with you, and yes, you know what,
I'm a better person for it, and I know my
health is better as a result.

Speaker 3 (07:02):
Yeah, that's right.

Speaker 2 (07:03):
I think people underestimate the value of community and purpose
and creating something you love and having passion in your
life and having a mission. When people come here and
experience it for the first time, you get to see
that in them. It may even be more profound because
they may have never experienced it. You knew what you
were missing, But to a lot of people like not
know what they're missing till they come to a place.

Speaker 4 (07:21):
Well, I've had one person say to me that, you
know why, Brian, thank you for the weekend. It's been
life altering, like and for me that was difficult because
like life altering. But you know what, I take it
for granted because I'm coming here all the time. But
for somebody that's looking and searching for wellness and come

(07:43):
to a place like this with everything it has to offer,
the tranquility, the chance to listen to nature, no interruptions.
Self thought, yeah, you know what, it would be life altering.
So yeah, I everyone that come here, I can see
them all gone away with a little glim a little
grin underface, a little small underface.

Speaker 3 (08:04):
For sure.

Speaker 2 (08:05):
I almost feel like I can I can see some
of the people that are listening here, because this show
goes across Labrador and Newfoundland and a lot of places
where people understand what you're saying.

Speaker 3 (08:15):
They know that feeling.

Speaker 2 (08:16):
Do you think that's something that's inherent to us as
the people that like we may forget it, but we
get back into or like, oh yeah, this is what's
supposed to feel like, this is why I feel good.

Speaker 3 (08:25):
I think that's what New Plant is all about.

Speaker 4 (08:27):
To be honest with you, Yeah, you know, you know,
I think New Foalanda in itself is a is a
community and as you know, like people are away to
come back to newfoland get that feeling when they come there.
But when you, especially if you were if you have
roots in any resettled or an isolated community, when you
go back there, it's just something that naturally comes back

(08:48):
when you go there.

Speaker 3 (08:49):
It's just that feeling.

Speaker 4 (08:51):
And even if you weren't born there, knowing that your
parents were there and knowing your parents, hearing the stories
from your parents. Yeah, it's just you know, that sense
of like nobody else could understand, you know. But I'm trying,
and we're trying to give guests that kind of an
appreciation by being here.

Speaker 3 (09:09):
Oh that's great.

Speaker 2 (09:10):
It is a way of life that's that's changed so
much for people. But still there's stories floating around within
communities of that. And that's one of the things that
I've really gotten to this today is that watching you
explain to people the history of their family. I know
that has to do something really good for us. What
you hope I get into this? You know, I love
this type of stuff. I love being a little bit
isolated here anytime.

Speaker 3 (09:30):
You're a tough one.

Speaker 4 (09:32):
But at the same time, I bet you you'll come
out of this with just a little something that you
never got before. And that's the key, is to go
away with something you never got before. That's what life
is all about. Every day, trying to find something that
you haven't experienced before. It could be the smallest thing possible,
but it all adds up over time.

Speaker 2 (09:52):
It does well. I couldn't be happier to be up here.
It's a fantastic way on one of the weekend and
beautiful summer's weekend.

Speaker 3 (09:58):
That great host we get.

Speaker 2 (10:00):
Summer weekend is not even the summer I know, early
summer weekend.

Speaker 3 (10:03):
It's pre Capelin weather.

Speaker 2 (10:05):
Yeah we're Capelin must be late. Yeah, it's it or
not showing up with this. It's bummy son, But Brian,
thanks so much for having me us here.

Speaker 3 (10:12):
Well, thank you. That's Brian Avery.

Speaker 2 (10:15):
Sharing the story of Deer Harbor and how him and
others are trying to bring it back to life.

Speaker 3 (10:20):
Coming up next, I headed along the coast with local
forager and friend Sean Dawson.

Speaker 2 (10:24):
We'll be right back after the break. Welcome back. My
next guest is Sean Dawson. He's a well known local
forager and author of a Forger's Dinner. He's been on
the show a few times and it's always a treat
to learn from. Sean took me for a walk along
the coastal trails in Deer Harbor to see what wild

(10:44):
edibles were starting to shoot.

Speaker 3 (10:46):
Up this spring.

Speaker 2 (10:47):
It's one of the busiest times of the year for
forging and one of the most interesting times to go
for a walk.

Speaker 3 (10:51):
With Sean Sean. It's good to see you, man. Yeah,
YouTube Mike. Always good to get out for a forge,
are you. Yeah, it's becoming a yearly tradition.

Speaker 2 (10:59):
I think you were the first sort of like theater
of the Mind experience, and that was what three four
years ago at least it could be five years ago now,
who knows, right, Super proudy and man for everything you've
ben You've done since then.

Speaker 3 (11:09):
Ditto. I've been following your whole thing.

Speaker 2 (11:11):
And I think anybody listening today gets a chance to
go on something that I really enjoy doing, and that's
learning about the foods that actually exist in our own backyard,
foods that our ancestors and our families used to eat
not too long ago, but we seem to forgot a lot.

Speaker 5 (11:24):
About, yeah, and not having us good foods shipped in.
So it's so important right now.

Speaker 3 (11:28):
Yeah, and there's tons of it right now.

Speaker 2 (11:30):
So this is early June, this is the time when
foraging is one of its best times of the year.

Speaker 3 (11:35):
Right, oh man.

Speaker 5 (11:36):
This spring spring for the spring shoos is like my
favorite time after like a winter of not much around
and then all of a sudden, all these plants just
explode it.

Speaker 3 (11:43):
Yah. Yeah, man, it's food everywhere right now, wicked.

Speaker 2 (11:46):
And why don't we give our listeners a little bit
of background where we are right now, because we aren't
exactly close to home.

Speaker 3 (11:52):
No, No, we're rough in an army. Yeah, well not exactly.

Speaker 5 (11:55):
They got everything here, but you we're in beautiful Deer Harbor.
We're at the Gypsy Sa Adventure. Yeah, and a lot
of beautiful location.

Speaker 3 (12:02):
It's unbelievable.

Speaker 2 (12:03):
Took the boat out about a half an hour from
Hickman's Harbor. I saw amazing stuff on the way. And
now we're out here in a former community that they're
kind of resettling with this tourist opportunity. But people like
you come out here and show people a lot of
how they used to eat and live. So that's what
you're doing here today, is you're actually helping them identify
stuff that's been on the lane forever.

Speaker 3 (12:24):
They may not even know who's there.

Speaker 2 (12:25):
Yeah, after the old Dady here garden, and now they're like,
I don't think we need one after Sean, I've been
here for I don't know, thirty minutes.

Speaker 3 (12:30):
Yeah, yeah, so what do we got close by? Yeah?

Speaker 5 (12:33):
As soon as we got off the boat, man, we
were stepping on food. But yeah, this time here, it's
a lot of things out and open, Like there's some
beautiful woods and stuff here too that I'd love to
get back in the fall when the mushrooms and beeries
are out.

Speaker 3 (12:44):
But yeah, yeah, there's so.

Speaker 5 (12:45):
Many things there out here, Like this plant here is
a sorel, so I think, oh, got it.

Speaker 3 (12:49):
The taste, that's the real lemony sharp let anyone.

Speaker 5 (12:52):
Is it always by the water, No, No, it's always
just in disturbed areas and really lemony. I love just
adding it to salads, Man, Danielite salad and sorrel is
just like.

Speaker 3 (13:02):
One of my favorites is there's two types of sorrel.
There's three.

Speaker 5 (13:06):
There's this one cheap sorrel, and there's a garden sorrel,
which is the one I usually do want to have
for salad tonight. And you'll find that in more of
a meadow setting. And this one you find in like
gravel lots or just on the edges of the grass land.
And there is curly doc and that's like a really
big one. It's really big red flowers on it. Right, Yeah,
that's cool.

Speaker 3 (13:26):
That's good.

Speaker 2 (13:27):
Tastes like lemon so that's the thing, Like, is that
the one we can make lemonade quiz on this?

Speaker 5 (13:33):
Yeah totally, man, you make it tea. It tastes so
much like lemonade with sorrel. I gotta sting net of
lemonade made for you guys up here. Yeah, I'll use
lemons because it it changes the color of the netal
tea when you make it. But yeah, it's just sweet
networ maple from this year. And yeah, but yeah, you
totally can.

Speaker 3 (13:51):
I'll show you this one before you jump.

Speaker 2 (13:52):
I know what's this Some year in the spring, A
lot of tips are around, like you hear people talk
about spruce tips old than nine, So it's the new
growth on the trees. I don't see this one get
used a lot, but I really love to use it
as a spice. And it's funny people think not a
lot of spices in a new plan, but there's so
many round And this one here is juniper. Yeah, so yeah,

(14:12):
so we're not talking about time rack like a lot
of people call it juniper time recks. Ever, there's actual
juniper bush closeted ocean.

Speaker 3 (14:20):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (14:20):
The other one is like a tree that people can
feel out it Okay, really so you can eat that.

Speaker 5 (14:24):
We'll we'll snack on that in a little bit too.
So yeah, this one is just really good, man. I
love you like crushing it to tender green tips. You see,
there's hundreds of them on this bush and you just
take them off and you like use it as a herb.
But I put them on like steaks or when you're
cooking meat anything like that. They're really good for putting
your pets on mortar with salt, make like a juniper
tip salt.

Speaker 3 (14:44):
Nice.

Speaker 5 (14:44):
But yeah it's wild, yeah, really mild, Like the spruce
tips are much more stronger.

Speaker 3 (14:49):
Yeah, but this one like almost got like a vegetable
taste too.

Speaker 2 (14:52):
But I was just gonna say exactly that it's more
vegetable for sure then like a spruce tip would just full.

Speaker 3 (14:57):
On you know, you're eating for flavor. It tastes like
a vegetable. That my, you have the tiniest little bit
of that in there.

Speaker 2 (15:02):
But it's like very much like edible. Like I feel
like you can almost cook the something to eat like ricest. Yeah,
really small little little tip right.

Speaker 5 (15:10):
Yeah, that one's really cool. That's cool right next to it,
you see, you just tangled into it.

Speaker 3 (15:13):
Are all the blueberries?

Speaker 5 (15:14):
I thought, so yeah, yeah, which being a New Flan,
we all we all love our blue bears. It's funny
when you take people on forging tours and yeah, so
I'm like, you have any experience forging? They say, no,
the few blue pick Booberries, Like, oh yeah, those picking blueberries.

Speaker 3 (15:27):
But you're out after it. You know, that's exactly right,
And it's the best in the world.

Speaker 2 (15:30):
It's and so ironic that sometimes we get our blueberries
from halfway around the wall.

Speaker 5 (15:34):
And I know we have the like literally the best blueberries,
but the Ley's I'll usually pick them in the fall
when they turn red and there's actually more antioxid than
the blueberry leaf than than the berry really, so yeah,
and the tea taste code to it's a little mild
blueberry taste. But right now, I mean, you don't take
a bunch of flowers, but you see how many are
here in this little bush. If you just snack on
the little flowers buds there out now, yeah, they got

(15:56):
such a like delicate flavor and kind of after taste
the blueberries.

Speaker 2 (16:00):
That's crazy. Yeah, I never mean you could do that.
You don't want to take them, get rid of the beery.
I think there's unlimited berries.

Speaker 5 (16:06):
Yeah one, yeah that she out here. It's it's close there.
There's so many blueberries. We only ye out for you
taste that blueberry flavor on it. I do, yeah, mild
though it's mile It's so nice on a salad or anything.
And then we're literally just walk two feet and we're
on top of a bunch of partridge berries. So you see,
here's all partus bery plans. Wows beautiful place to come
and pick berries. Yeah, a lot of parts. Everywhere you

(16:30):
go there's something within like oh, just a stone throw lah,
even right here. So I was showing people this earlier
and a lot of people were pretty amazed that you
can eat alder so, Like you think about forging and
you just think about mushrooms and berries, but literally, there's
so many trees that that you can eat. Like I'm
doing these tours, I'm always talking about eating trees, and
people are usually pretty surprised about it, especially this one

(16:50):
that older, Like people treat it like a weed because
it's so aggressive, and I mean they cut it down
on the side of the road every four years and
it's back.

Speaker 3 (16:58):
But you see all these little.

Speaker 5 (17:00):
Flowers hanging off the plant, I look like little caterpillars,
but in this, in this all winter, I'm pick on
and they look like little pepper corns. And even now
just take some off and smell it that there's really
beautiful floor the pepper aroma huh. Yeah, And yeah, I
just collect the cat These are the male cacins of
the plant, not like the beers with people call them,

(17:21):
which are actually the female flower.

Speaker 3 (17:23):
But yeah, so these I just dry them.

Speaker 5 (17:25):
Got some here with me that you guys can try
and and powder. I'm gonna use them as I call
it alder pepper. So it's just used it as a
pepper on anything you you you're cooking, and really like
using it in mustard too, like makes a really nice
flavor in the Dijon mustard.

Speaker 3 (17:41):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (17:41):
And the branches a lot of people have used them
for smoking. Yeah yeah, like a lot of various pigs
many times. And a lot of the wood that you're
collecting and needs to be seasoned and cured. But although
you can just trim off fresh fresh wood and it's
such a nice play.

Speaker 3 (17:55):
Around your when you're smoking meats. Wow.

Speaker 5 (17:58):
And then there's the all their like I think we're
gonna do this under barbeculator. We're gonna make some scares.
Just take off a few branches and you're buying scars
like wooden scares. You always gott to soak them first.
And these man just take a straight pranch like that
and stick your vedge on and it won't burn on
you because it's green wood. Yeah, actually gives a nice
little flavor to the to the vege to.

Speaker 2 (18:17):
The amount of knowledge in your head is just unbelievable.
Every time we want, there's just so much around.

Speaker 3 (18:22):
We've been literally I'm not.

Speaker 2 (18:24):
Joking when I say we walk five feet and you're like,
there's something else, and here's something else, and none of
this has been planned and no, well for it's just
funny you say that this is the only one here
that we've talked about so far.

Speaker 5 (18:34):
But you mentioned this was an old resettled community. Yes,
so years ago they had to have fruit and stuff.
So a lot of places I'm I'm picking.

Speaker 3 (18:42):
Where there's old communities.

Speaker 5 (18:43):
You're you're always looking for things like black currants and
elderberries and lilacs. But are see this one where the
moose is eating most of it? Yeah, this is a
black currant, and you can use these new shoots. They
are coming up from the older least, so you're not
taking off to berries. You just to crush that in
your hand, smell it as a butt and oh wow, yeah, unreal,
it's so beautiful, like use it to flavor ice cream

(19:04):
or make black currant the leaf tea, which is really.

Speaker 3 (19:07):
Really nice, strong, but it's not like MINTI or anything.

Speaker 2 (19:09):
It's like it's very it's just fruity, but it's not like,
I don't know, it's a hard explain. Yeah it is,
but it's on mint either, like no, you know, yeah,
it's it smells a lot like black.

Speaker 5 (19:19):
Parents the berries yet But Lily, there's a girl here
doing the tour from Lithuania and she she uses them
back home and pickles the leaves and the new shoots
from the black currants.

Speaker 3 (19:29):
So I thought that was a pretty cool almost like
a bay leaf. You got a new recipe.

Speaker 6 (19:32):
Yeah, totally bad, always learning, always, Yeah, I'm starting it's funny.

Speaker 2 (19:36):
I'm starting to get a little bit here and there.
And ironically, after we talked the last time, owent around
my yard.

Speaker 3 (19:42):
And I found out I had so much edible stuff
like on it.

Speaker 5 (19:45):
It was nuts to do these things that show people
and most people got a farm at home and they
don't even know.

Speaker 2 (19:50):
And for folks that want to try this stuff at home,
because I have a copy of your book at home,
But like, tell us about your book and what was
the sort of inspiration to do with what's.

Speaker 3 (19:57):
In it and stuff like that. Yeah, it's called The
Four Dinner.

Speaker 5 (20:00):
Came out a few years ago now, but it's just
all this stuff that we're talking about. It was just
a field guide and the cookbook of how to use it.
So my premise, my idea when I brought up to
the publisher was like, I would love to do an
updated field guide. Isn't new from the end, but but
add like the chefs I sell to to come in
and give some of their recipes. And yeah, yeah it
went over really good man, And I like hear a

(20:21):
lot of my friends are out picking stuff with their
kids since I made it, And yeah, man, I just
really really happy happy it came out. And yeah, really
glad of people are using it and actually going out
and getting their own food.

Speaker 2 (20:33):
You know. It's such a great collaboration too. We know
the chefs in it, your friend Richie Prez and Richie.
He was the photographer water as well. Yeah, it brought
a lot of the community together and something that's really
gotten me into it.

Speaker 3 (20:44):
Ironically.

Speaker 2 (20:45):
You know this, since I've I started forging with you
all these years ago.

Speaker 3 (20:48):
I've now grown my own food.

Speaker 5 (20:49):
I've been got Yeah, man, I'll end it's hard of
awesome harnessing my own vegetables and my own my own
stuff that's around the yard.

Speaker 3 (20:56):
So it's it's all really really good.

Speaker 2 (20:57):
And I gotta say, man, I as always, I appreciate
the time. It's always informative. It's great to see you.
And then the best part for me is that I
get a chance to sample all your stuff.

Speaker 5 (21:07):
Yeah yeah, wait till we have a supper tonight. Man,
we got some coolest stuff in mine too.

Speaker 3 (21:11):
That's great. Yeah, that's great to see you, Youtobe.

Speaker 2 (21:13):
Really that was Sean Dawson with a great look of
what nature puts in the menu this time of year.
Coming up next we'll meet with Justin Alexander, who's turning
all those foraged foods into a healthy dinner.

Speaker 3 (21:23):
We'll be right back after the break. Welcome back.

Speaker 2 (21:30):
After my hike with Sean, I went to the kitchen
with Chef Justin Alexander Justin came out to Deer Harbor
to cook for the group of guests who had come
to learn about forging food and wellness. As he prepped
dinner using the ingredients we found earlier in the day,
we chatted about the connection between nature, nourishment, and the
importance of cooking your own food.

Speaker 3 (21:47):
Let's listen in so Justin, thanks for having me up here.
What are we cooking up here tonight?

Speaker 6 (21:54):
Hey, Mike, what we got here is we got some
barbecue chicken that I smoked. We got some smoked ribs
as well, pork back ribs. I got some fresh fiddle
heads here. It was foraged. And now we were just
gonna toss some a bit of oil, salt, pepper grill.

Speaker 3 (22:12):
Got some veggiekabobs over here on alder sticks.

Speaker 6 (22:16):
There's a lot of moisture in them, so we throw
them on the grill like you don't have to worry
about and burning up right.

Speaker 3 (22:21):
Yeah.

Speaker 6 (22:21):
We also have some wild leak on there as well, Dudley. Yeah,
and we got some fire weed. Yeah, we got some
hostas here.

Speaker 3 (22:32):
We're gonna grill loose as well.

Speaker 6 (22:34):
We got a mustard pickled potato salad and we also
have a forged salad we're gonna do with Dawson's putting
that together there, nice little vineg ready made, and in
for dessert we got blueberry partches, very crumble with some
ice cream.

Speaker 3 (22:48):
Wow. Yeah, so you're no stranger of this.

Speaker 2 (22:51):
For the folks that are listening right here, tell us
a little bit about yourself and where you work and
what you do well.

Speaker 6 (22:55):
I worked right now, just currently got employed at the
Beaumont and Tarnable also the Bakery fifty six.

Speaker 3 (23:03):
I love it there.

Speaker 6 (23:05):
I was previously working at a cyber company and I
did some smoking and barbecue down there for the past
two years. Yeah, so kinda I got a love for
the barbecue. So the owner of the Beaumont Baker fifty
six ended up getting me some green eggs, yeah, because
he wanted me to introduce some barbecue there as well.
So kind of looking forward to that. Stay tuned for
some deadly barbecue. Baker fifty six, right, that's wicked.

Speaker 3 (23:27):
That's wicked.

Speaker 2 (23:28):
And I see you're wearing a Roots, Rans and Rors
apron right now. That's one of the best events going.
I love that for anybody listening, it's an absolutely amazing event.

Speaker 3 (23:36):
Have you been there before?

Speaker 6 (23:37):
Oh yes, yeah, for the past four years. Actually helped
my buddy roder Jeeling with that. It's actually where I
met Sean Dawson. It's such a great event. I'm so
humbled to be a part of it. You know, all
the chefs who come there from away, it's just it's
like you're surrounded by family, right. Yeah, I wouldn't trade
it for the world. And I look forward to it

(23:57):
every year. It takes place in Elliston, and you know,
we got Duff Goldman, the baker man, right, he shows
up every year.

Speaker 3 (24:06):
He comes down there and he's just it's just such
a cool time. It's all I can say. I love it. Yeah,
is that what cooking does feel?

Speaker 2 (24:12):
I mean, everybody has different ways of expressing health, and
obviously this is a health show that I do, but
I everywhere I go food seems to do more than
just be good nutrition for people.

Speaker 3 (24:21):
It brings people together.

Speaker 2 (24:22):
Like do you find that with folks, Like did they
actually get more than just the factor getting a meal
out of it?

Speaker 6 (24:29):
I hope so, because for myself and I say a
lot of other chef buddy's mind, like we kind of
put like our heart and soul into it, right, and
the hopes that someone's going to come back and just
have something nice to say. So like, for example, Eler,
because the gentleman who was with us, he can he
came up to us.

Speaker 3 (24:45):
Earlier, kind of laughed at this.

Speaker 6 (24:47):
He said that he refrained from brushing q steeth for
two hours because he wanted to keep the taste of
the lobster roll and the soup.

Speaker 3 (24:56):
The docimated his method, and I said, that is that
is unreal.

Speaker 6 (24:59):
I said, it just made my day just to hear that.
And so that's why I do it, is for the
love of it and for the hopes that someone else
is going to enjoy what I put together. That may
be the best chef review I've ever heard of my life.

Speaker 3 (25:10):
And I can concur with that. I had that lobster
role for a lot.

Speaker 2 (25:13):
I come off a boat, right, the first thing I
do is like, here's a lobster role, here's some amazing soup,
and here's a nettle tea, and I'm already the happiest
guy in the world.

Speaker 3 (25:23):
So Michael, you tell me you didn't brush your teeth either. Yeah,
I know, No, that's okay, Yeah, I get it. Yeah,
I should.

Speaker 2 (25:28):
I got to do a hell an episode on proper
health here, but I judge you.

Speaker 3 (25:33):
Well, that's the thing. I mean, I'm looking at these
ingredients right now. You're plating up your food as we speak.

Speaker 2 (25:37):
And the thing is a lot of these foods obviously
come from here. Is there something we said about cooking
with especially when you're being creative with it as a chef,
with foods that come from the place.

Speaker 3 (25:48):
Your ear from. Oh? God, absolutely right.

Speaker 6 (25:51):
I mean, like you think those lobster roles today, those
lobsters were caught here in Deer Harbor, right, So I
mean you didn't go to like, you know, Dominion or
some other store and pick them up, right, We got
them right here, pull them up and boil them right
here on the Santa Maria grill.

Speaker 3 (26:05):
I mean it's such a great experience. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
I mean, geez, cooking with local food. I mean, it
doesn't get any better than that, does it? Yeah? It doesn't.

Speaker 2 (26:15):
I think it gives us a sense of identity too,
and an appreciation because so many times we hear, oh
it's like if the fairies are down, we can't get
food and everything else. And of course and we have
more challenges because of our environment than other places. But
when I'm looking around here, all this food came from
within about fifteen feet of the kitchen you're cooking at,
which by the way, is outside overlooking the ocean. You know,

(26:35):
do you think that there's a growing appreciation for that
now people like Sean and what you guys are doing.

Speaker 3 (26:40):
I would think so. I think like with immense like
rout trans and wars.

Speaker 6 (26:46):
He's another example is we were at an old Perlican
some time ago with Jamier Cheril's put off an event
there and you know, like you think of all the
people who come for that and just the pure look
of joy on their faces is stay arry and they
taste the food and then you know you've got the
music there as well. Yeah, it's just such a time
as being had, right, Yeah, So I would think that

(27:08):
there's an appreciation for it, and I feel like there's
more of a demand for like forging tours because people
are so used to going to a restaurant and sitting
down and eating the same old something to come out
of a box or a bag, right, And I feel
like with you know, Instagram and social media, a lot
more people like especially coming off the next generation, it's
like they want to cook more so if they could

(27:30):
actually go out and see where this stuff is coming from.

Speaker 3 (27:33):
It gives them so much more appreciation and value for it. Yeah,
what's your advice to a budding chef.

Speaker 2 (27:37):
Somebody's like listening to you right now and being like, okay,
like this sounds super interesting. I've always had a passion
for cooking, but I'm kind of afraid to take that step.
What do you tell anybody from the home cook to
the next next justin Oh boy, I would.

Speaker 6 (27:50):
Say seasoning is he if you get season your food right,
that's the major thing. As I find a lot of times,
like you something, it's just it's bland right, and you're
getting the right the right field, the right experience of
the food.

Speaker 3 (28:06):
And never peak.

Speaker 6 (28:08):
Always next time you go to do something, try and
make it better than the last time you made it.

Speaker 3 (28:12):
That's how I am all the time.

Speaker 6 (28:13):
If I if I make something, I like it, the
next time I do it, I'm like, you know what,
this isn't good enough.

Speaker 3 (28:18):
I got to make it better, better, better better? Right?
Yeah that's cool.

Speaker 2 (28:21):
And then you can put tweaks on things that are
familiar but also different at the same time, and you
guys did that today with a lobster roll with was
it some netal pessa?

Speaker 3 (28:29):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (28:29):
Right, yeah, yeah, And I guess that's the last question
to be like, you know, we go back to the
health side of things and the what do you what
do you get out of coming to a place like
this where people are coming to unwind and unplug and
enjoy the food and take it all in.

Speaker 3 (28:43):
What do you hope people get when they eat your food?

Speaker 6 (28:47):
Enjoyment and then not that I can tell them they
can brush their teeth. It's okay because we're going to
have more food for them again.

Speaker 3 (28:54):
But yeah, what do I get out of it? For hope?
Did they get out of it? You know? I mean
just did they have a great experience overall?

Speaker 6 (29:01):
I know they walk away from this and they it's
something that they remember, it's something they talk about and
they tell maybe their friends, their family, and maybe.

Speaker 3 (29:10):
We know it's maybe they come back here someday. Right, yeah, exactly.
Well thanks for having me.

Speaker 2 (29:14):
I appreciate it, and I'm looking forward to dinner. I
can't wait all right, eath this is watery.

Speaker 3 (29:17):
Thanks Mike, appreciate.

Speaker 7 (29:20):
That.

Speaker 2 (29:21):
Was Chef Justin Alexander bringing foraged foods to life in
his kitchen. Up next, we wrap up our weekend on
Deer Harbor chatty with Vera, who's one of the owners
of Gypsy Sa Adventures. She brings people back into nature
and incorporates wellness, which is a very interesting approach towards.

Speaker 3 (29:36):
Improving our health. We'll be right back after the break.

Speaker 1 (29:41):
You are listening to what we broadcast of The Wellness
and Healthy Lifestyle Show with Doctor Mike Wall. Listen live
Thursday nights at seven pm and Sunday's at four pm.

Speaker 3 (29:52):
Welcome back.

Speaker 2 (29:53):
Closing out this special episode was a chat with Vira.
She's the co owner of Gypsy Sa Adventures. Now while Brian,
her husband, brought to his street. Vera brings the heart
of the Wilms programming, from yoga to guided walks to
simple moments of stillness. She explained how guests reconnect with
themselves by disconnecting from everything else.

Speaker 3 (30:12):
Vera, thanks for having me here this weekend.

Speaker 7 (30:13):
Thank you for coming.

Speaker 2 (30:14):
Mike. Well, I'm obviously having the best few ever right
now and people can't maybe understand that. Can you describe
a little bit about where we are right now?

Speaker 7 (30:23):
So we're in a resettled community of Deer Harbor, which
was resettled in nineteen sixty seven on the island of
Random Island. So we're an island off an island. So
we're an hour and a half boat ride from Hickman's Harbor.
It was our dock and we're here in beautiful Deer Harbor,
surrounded by the ocean and the breeze and the forests.

Speaker 2 (30:43):
Yeah, this place is absolutely stunning and it is remote.
I've been all over the province. My wife calls me
a wanna bay because I'm always around exploring some corner
of Newfoundland. But this is a completely new place for me,
and it's brand new in a lot of ways, but it's.

Speaker 3 (30:57):
Also really old.

Speaker 2 (30:59):
Tell me a little bit about how you guys were
selected to be reinvented by a television show.

Speaker 7 (31:05):
Yeah, so, actually, the Chamber of Commerce sent out emails
and the chambers across Canada and it was a casting
call for HGTV. I'm a huge fan of HGTV my
entire life. And it was a show called Brian's All
In with Brian Baumler as the host. So the show

(31:26):
was looking for small businesses across Canada that needed to
bring their business to the next level, and it was
a business they were looking for that was off the
beaten path, a more remote business that was difficult to
bring to the next level. So I put in my application,
showed the pictures, told us where we were, and we

(31:47):
were selected.

Speaker 3 (31:48):
That's incredible and this place is absolutely gorgeous. It's an
old community that.

Speaker 2 (31:52):
Was resettled and we are in a fishing stage right
off the side.

Speaker 3 (31:57):
Of the dock.

Speaker 2 (31:59):
Was this to really bring back the history here or
is this about sharing a community like this with the
people of Newfoundland and people from also really far away,
their tourists.

Speaker 7 (32:11):
It's a bit of both. We want to bring back
the history of Newfoundland and Labrador, the history of small community,
what it was to be a community, to work together, family, friends,
living and helping each other, forging, eating, communal living. So
we kind of want to bring that back to people.

Speaker 2 (32:28):
That's right, And there seems to be more of a
wellness lens to a lot of the things you're doing
right here this weekend. I've got some of my really
good friends right here with us today.

Speaker 3 (32:37):
Can you tell us about the retreat we're on right now?

Speaker 7 (32:40):
So right now we're on what we call a foraging retreat.
So we have a master forger, Sean Dawson here with us,
who's pretty well known in the Newfland world. And we
have chef Justin Alexander with us. He's a local guy
from Clarenville where we live, and together they and myself

(33:00):
and Brian of course, we've created a foraging retreat where
people groups of ten to twelve max. That's what we
take go on a foraging journey. So we kind of
learn by hiking and exploring what we had before each
around us. And it's amazing what I've learned, and it's
amazing what we have right here in our backguard and

(33:23):
that could feel a table to create a meal that
we've had today.

Speaker 3 (33:28):
Yeah, that's right.

Speaker 2 (33:28):
I mean I was walking I with Sean and I've
gone forging with me a few times, his good friend
of mine. But I'll tell you we literally walked three
feet and there was something else and something else and
something else, and I'll even try and ask him a question,
but he was like, oh, hold on, before you do that.
There's something there's something right here. And I think that
that whole aspect of the off the beaten path is
really appealing to people. I recently traveled where I got

(33:49):
a beautiful photo, but behind me were tens of thousands
of people taking exactly the same photo, and I felt ruined.
But it didn't feel intimate. Right this place, right here
is very hard to get to. But is there an
appeal for people to have a truly authentic, disconnected kind
of experience for health.

Speaker 7 (34:06):
I think people who come here say thank you, thank
you for bringing me here, thank you for this space,
because once you get here, you're just totally unplugged and
you totally feel a sense of community. We gather around
a beautiful harvest table outdoors, just surrounded by the night sky,
the stars which you'll see tonight, around the campfire, and

(34:29):
it's just a place to unplug and truly enjoy being
as one.

Speaker 2 (34:36):
Do you think that wellness tourism is starting to take
the forefront for people? I mean, I love the idea
of going and relaxing and going to like an all
inclusive and things like that. That's definitely warranted sometimes, But
I also feel like people are looking for that ability
to disconnect because their lives are so busy. Is that
what people are telling you, People are.

Speaker 7 (34:55):
Telling me they need it and the people are telling
me they didn't realize how much they needed life changing
people have said to me just two nights here, like
people are like tears in their eyes, telling me Vera,
I did not realize how much my body needed this,
how much my mind needed this. And myself and Brian personally,

(35:15):
we live really busy lives. We have three boys of
our own, we both still work on side, and just
coming here we realized how much we need it, and
we need it as a family. Families need it, and
you need it just for yourself to really connect with nature.

Speaker 3 (35:31):
Yeah, I agree with that completely.

Speaker 2 (35:32):
Nature has been a theme of almost everything I've done recently,
and it's all around us in particularly a place like this.
What are the other types of things you guys are
going to focus on going forward, because this place is,
you know, relatively new, You're starting to grow. I'm seeing
it popping up everywhere these days. But what are some
of the things you're going to try and attract people
to come experience.

Speaker 5 (35:50):
Well.

Speaker 7 (35:50):
Number one would be definitely the foraging because even today
for me, it was such an educational piece for me,
the way Sean put together meals together, communal living and
just sharing a meal with our gorgeous outdoor kitchen. I'm
having a chef here on site is total bonus we attract.
We have a writer's retreat coming up, we have an

(36:12):
art retreat coming up, We have a yoga retreat, so
we got different people coming. We had the spaces available here,
like the fishing stage. We have an extra communal living
house here to house people for if the weather is
not great like in Newfoundland. We have indoor space to
host yoga, meditation, art retreats, writing. The list can go

(36:33):
on for what we can offer. Not only do we
do retreats, that's just one aspect, but we also we've
had Famili's book here and kind of family reunions. We
have three cottages right on the edge of the ocean
and they brought their kids here, which was my favorite
weekend when I seen these two kids like age ten
and thirteen with zero technology in their hands. Their parents

(36:56):
were so excited that they were actually sitting in a
fishing stage playing the board games we have, reading a book.
It was amazing.

Speaker 2 (37:05):
Yeah, that's good and it sounds like you know after
getting to know you, and Brian is like it's a
perfect combination. He comes from a nautical sort of ship background. Yeah,
you know, working with a coastguard and yourself, you're a teacher,
and I feel like you've got the remote aspect of
getting here safely because it's not a small trek.

Speaker 3 (37:21):
It's pretty amazing.

Speaker 2 (37:22):
It's only a half an hour, but it's it's a
beautiful boat ride and then you.

Speaker 3 (37:25):
Know you're here teaching people.

Speaker 2 (37:27):
Is that Is that one of the reasons why this
has become such a passion for you guys.

Speaker 7 (37:31):
Yeah, for sure.

Speaker 3 (37:31):
Like Brian, I mean, living on the water.

Speaker 7 (37:34):
That's his thing, working you know, with the marine background
he has, He's very strong with his roots. Brian himself
was born here and resettled when he was age three,
So we're very drawn to our family roots and I
just want to give that connection to my three boys
as well, to have that connection with family, to the

(37:55):
land and the people were you know, around the area.

Speaker 2 (37:59):
Well, you're probably you know, I don't know about your
experience with this, but the more I worked in wellness,
the more I realize my definition of wellness has changed
to what health really is.

Speaker 3 (38:07):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (38:08):
When you get to see other people experiencing something that
you were like, oh, that's this is a unique experience
for them.

Speaker 3 (38:14):
If I was to asking, like, what does the word
health mean to you? Now?

Speaker 7 (38:18):
Health has changed? It's almost ever evolving for me because
I just learned today health is actually picking your food
from the forest and identifying what it's going in your body.
That's one aspect. Hiking, walking, stretching, just being by the ocean,
breathing in the clean air.

Speaker 3 (38:38):
Health of being on.

Speaker 7 (38:40):
The boat is such a meditation for me as well,
like you really unplug yourself just being around the ocean.
So health and well being, you know, is just what
kind of what you make of it?

Speaker 2 (38:53):
Yeah, yeah, well exactly, and that's exactly how I feel like,
you know, obviously it came from a background that was
heavy into fitness and nutrition things like that, but it's
changed and how we accomplish those things is completely different
now than it used to be for me. And you know,
you're hosting people here all the time. You've mentioned a
few really great experiences you've had so far. What's the
best part of doing this, Like personally for you, what

(39:13):
are you getting out of this?

Speaker 7 (39:16):
Meeting people for sure, and just learning myself, Like I
come from education background and I just like learning new things,
whether it's learning new and you know, art aspects being
around people who can teach me and wellness too. Is
always having a purpose, and my purpose is to learn

(39:36):
and to come down here and engage with the land,
engage with the people and just see people their spark
go off as much as mine.

Speaker 3 (39:47):
That's right, and what a beautiful setting to do it.

Speaker 2 (39:49):
And I was just thinking, like, this is one of
the nicest places I've ever interviewed anybody in the whole world.

Speaker 3 (39:53):
And I've had lots of interviews. Yeah, it's fantastic here.

Speaker 7 (39:56):
We had paddle borders and kayakers.

Speaker 3 (39:58):
There you go.

Speaker 2 (39:58):
It'scood and yez a, that's amazing. You know, hi guys,
you know in the you know sopheo will want to
come experience for themselves. How do they get ahold of
you guys?

Speaker 7 (40:08):
So we have a website, Gypsy s Adventures, run on
Facebook and Instagram, and we do custom packages for people.
You know, not only is Deer Harbor and attraction, but
we have like a little private island outside of Hickman's Harbor,
and we have accommodations in Clarenville, which is easier to
get to if people just don't want that remote aspect.

(40:29):
We still have you know oceanfront places in Clarenville, the
kayaking if people just want a two hour tour like
we can custom make anything to see puffins, the whales,
the lighthouse. So Brian does the Zodiac and we have
a motor yacht, so.

Speaker 3 (40:43):
We got a lot on the gull that's true.

Speaker 2 (40:45):
We saw puffins and lighthouses and caves and everything else.
Just getting here today, let alone the things we experience
we've been here. I just want to say thank you
so much for inviting me up. But it's a great
opportunity to experience it firsthand. And congrats on creating such
an amazing thing for their province and the people that
get to visit.

Speaker 3 (41:01):
Thank you so much.

Speaker 7 (41:01):
Mike Reilly enjoyed you coming here.

Speaker 3 (41:06):
Well, that's our show this week.

Speaker 2 (41:07):
From foraging trails to fireside meals, from history to healing
deer Harbor offered a glimpse into what's possible when nature
becomes part of the plan. A big thanks to Brian, Vera,
Sean and Justin for sharing their time, their stories in
their beautiful corner of the world. Now, if you want
to learn more, you can reach out to Gypsy Adventures
by searching them from the Internet or looking for their
social media channels. They're very active and they've got some

(41:29):
fantastic content that's worth checking out. You can also find
Sean Dawson's book A Forger's Dinner where all major books
are sold, as well as checking.

Speaker 3 (41:37):
Them out at the market.

Speaker 2 (41:38):
And you can find Justin by looking up Alexander's grill
on Instagram and your social channels.

Speaker 3 (41:44):
Well, that's our show this week. I'm your host, doctor
Mike Wall. We'll see you back here next week for
another episode

Speaker 2 (41:50):
Of the Wellness and Healthy Lifestyle Show on the Stingray
podcast Network and your vocm