Something for everyone at Woodfire

Where can you get gourmet food prepared by a chef trained in French classical cooking, who’s created meals for the likes of Boris Yeltsin, Bill Clinton, and Sarah McLachlan? On Gabriola, of course, at Woodfire Pizza & Grill Chris Hooton has thirty years of experience under his chef’s hat and if you’ve tasted his pizzas, pastas or delectable specials, you’ll be thankful he’s brought that experience to Gabriola.

Left photo: The pomegranete martini, served up with lemon zest, has proven to be one of the popular drinks at Woodfire.(Derek Kilbourn photo)
He and his wife Sharon, who skillfully manages the front-of-house-operations, own and operate Woodfire and their goal is to create a cozy, welcoming environment where they can serve fresh, seasonal dishes, using the best quality ingredients.
If the flavours that melt in your mouth when you taste a Woodfire meal are anything to go by, it’s obvious Chris has learned a lot during his 30 years in the preparing-unforgettable-meals biz. I ordered the Sandwell pizza with ingredients you wouldn’t find in just any ol’ pizza joint: prawns, spinach, smoked bacon, baby mozzarella, and herb lemon butter atop a crispy crust cooked to perfection in the woodfired oven. My dinner companion opted for one of the main entrees – a mouth-watering meal of slow-roasted ribs with a homemade Bourbon barbecue sauce, woodfired vegetables and seriously chunky fries.
The best Woodfire meal I’ve had though, wasn’t actually at the restaurant.
I was fortunate enough to attend a birthday party catered by Woodfire. The guest of honour had requested Chinese food and after digging into stir-fried strip sirloin in a soy and ginger glaze, a sumptuous sweet and sour pork dish, flavourful chow mein noodles and a spicy prawn dish, everyone agreed it was the best Chinese food they’d ever had.
The Hootons can cater for any occasion and at reasonable prices. They’ll fix sandwiches for fishing trips, cook pasta for an easy mid-week dinner, whip up pizzas for a party, or design a four-course menu for a wedding. They simply want to support islanders in whatever way they can as they love working in their community. Judging from the steady stream of hungry guests coming in to the restaurant, the community is lovin’ them, too. Right photo: White chocolate and vanilla pannacotta. (Derek Kilbourn photo)

Did you know...
…Woodfire now has an Early Bird menu between 4pm-5pm: $16 for two courses including tea or coffee.

…there are gluten-free versions of most of the pizzas and pastas.

…on Thursday dinner is accompanied by live music courtesy of Amber Handley and Brad Shipley.

Urge to Purge

Most of my friends know I’m not a huge fan of cleaning. In fact I kind of look at it the way Erma Bombeck, an American comedian, did when she said, “My idea of housework is to sweep the room with a glance.” However, when spring rolls around I inevitably start to suffer from that seasonal affliction known as ‘spring cleaning fever’. I think this annual urge to purge is one reason Easter has never been important to me. By the time it rolls around I’m in the mood to get rid of bunnies – dust bunnies that is -- not welcome more bunnies (mythological, chocolate or otherwise) into my home.
I’ve learned though that the trick is not to be too ambitious. Up until this year I would start my spring cleaning full force, determined to put Martha Stewart herself to shame. I’d root out clothes that hadn’t been worn since high school, scrub spots that hadn’t seen a dishcloth since we moved in, and wash windows as though my life depended on them being spotless. But there was a problem (besides the fact that I hate cleaning.) The fever usually only lasted about 24-hours and so I’d end up with piles of stuff everywhere, and only about half the windows and half the spots cleaned up. That meant the house looked even worse, the unclean parts seemed even dirtier next to the sparkling clean areas. So this year I’m setting my sights much lower – chasing a few dust bunnies around, purging some clothes, maybe doing a bit of laundry. And when that fever hits hard, I’ll grab my honey and head outside. After all there’s more than one kind of fever one can succumb to when spring hits.