Get local with The Art of Slow Food

It was seven years ago when Kaitlin Chamberlin started her business, The Art of Slow Food – an exclusively gluten-free, local and organic café and bakery.

Initially, The Art of Slow Food was only available at farmers’ markets, but it snowballed into local grocery stores and now has a location in downtown Victoria.

Fermentation, traditional-style food preparation and sourdough culture is what Chamberlin is most passionate about.

Because the quality, texture, and digestibility of food is lost in the process of making mass-produced products, The Art of Slow Food carries the philosophy of slowing down and taking the time to make the highest quality offerings.

The café-bakery is also a gesture to the Slow Food Movement, which is a global mission to counteract the rise of mass-produced factory foods and prevent the disappearance of local food traditions.

All of the items sold at The Art of Slow Food are made from scratch with local ingredients. They work with local butchers, farmers and other artisans to provide a menu that represents a community. Everything can be made vegan, and anything that was traditionally fermented is, including their ketchup.

Some of the mouth-watering breakfast and lunch options include sprouted pancakes, banana coconut french toast, sourdough pizzas, and a classic BLT – you’ll love every bite.

The most popular offering is their handmade stone-baked gluten free sourdough. It’s entirely celiac safe, sugar free, vegan, oil-free, organic and delicious, and everything on the menu is made using their in-house sourdough breads.

Seven simple ingredients is all it takes to make: spring water, psyllium husk, flax, sorghum flour, tapioca flour, natural levain (wild yeast) and sea salt.

To allow for the phytic acid to break down and develop flavour, the dough is fermented for 12-18 hours and then traditionally baked on ceramic stone, creating a rustic loaf with an appealing crust.

As a result of slow fermentation, the carbohydrates and starches in the bread are broken down, creating a light, soft and digestible bread.

Some of their other delectable baked options include artisan rustic loaves, french boules, sandwich loaves, kaiser buns and cinnamon buns.

The Art of Slow Food does not use common gluten-free ingredients such as xantham gum, agar agar, potato starch or other high-starch ingredients.

If you already enjoy baking or you want to try out a new hobby, learn how to make the famous sourdough at one of their hands-on workshops.

Chamberlin bakes intuitively, which allows participants to develop skills to successfully adapt their recipes and substitute ingredients – it’s a great way to learn about how sourdough culture works and how to integrate it into most recipes.

The Art of Slow Food is proud to pay all of their employees a living wage.

Get local with The Art of Slow Food at markets and grocery stores in BC.