An authentic culinary experience in Medicine Hat.
Every November, over 20 local eateries feature a dish or drink with ingredients sourced from Southeast Alberta — a true farm to fork experience.
Dishes filled with locally raised cattle, freshly grown vegetables, and topped with homemade sauces, are served to the Medicine Hat community during the two week festival.
But outside of the culinary event, ranchers still ranch, growers still grow, producers still produce, and the partnerships with local restaurants continue year-round.
All seasons bring fresh food in Southeast Alberta, that’s served on the plates at our comfortable local eateries. Ask questions about the ingredients in the dish or the story behind the recipe. Medicine Hat owners, chefs, bakers, and brewers are storytellers with a taste for good grub.
Here is where you can Savour the Southeast in Medicine Hat year-round!
Rustic Kitchen + Bar
With Alberta comes an abundance of farmland, and Chef Chris Orchard from Rustic Kitchen + Bar is not shy to travel for his beef.
For the last 20 years, Chef Orchard has created a menu at RUSTIC that features Alberta ranchers and greenhouses. He drives two hours for his elk, to meet the owners of North Fork Ranch in Fort Macleod, and he drives over two hours to Ewenique Farms, just outside of Lethbridge, to pick up his lamb.
To complement the mains, seasonal vegetables are sourced from the greenhouses in Redcliff, located just 10 minutes outside of Medicine Hat.
“I do my best to complement what the producers have already grown and raised, accenting the natural flavour. If you take a beautiful, ripe tomato and eat it raw, it’s good, but if you add a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper, and heat it for 20 seconds, it’s better. You’ll always find a better way as a chef — there’s always something to learn.
Along with the farm to fork produce and protein, all pasta is made using an imported Italian Bottene Pasta Machine, but ravioli and paradelle are made by hand. All focaccia is baked fresh every single morning, and Chef Orchard hand-cuts, blanches, and deep-fries Kennebec potatoes every night for fries.
Sammy’s Kitchen + Bar
Chef for 37 years, Sammy Cheung learned from the best of chefs throughout her years in India, Calgary, and while she cooked for the Korean embassy in Korea.
As a participating restaurant in Savour the Southeast, Sammy has over a handful of items that feature ingredients grown in Southeast Alberta. And she is in the kitchen from open to close, preparing the ordered menu items she carefully curated before opening her restaurant.
“I have the freedom as a business owner to offer my signature, homemade dishes to the community. I find peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, habanero, and everything else I can get from the greenhouses in Redcliff. I’m very happy to serve this level of fresh food to our guests,” says Chef Cheung.
Zucchini Blossom Market & Cafe
Owner of Zucchini Blossom Market & Cafe Kristine Dalzell celebrated the café’s 20th anniversary in 2024, and in the two decades she’s always sourced ingredients from Southeast Alberta. The café owner sources butternut squash and pumpkin for her soup from El Derado Vegetable Farms and Neubauer Farms, along with garden vegetables from the greenhouses in Redcliff (also known as ‘Greenhouse Capital of the Prairies) for her colourful sandwiches and salads.
"Over half the menu in the summer has ingredients that come from greenhouses and right off the fields — we know how lucky we are here in Medicine Hat to have access to such fresh food,” says Dalzell.
Deerview Meats
Producers in Southeast Alberta are proud to supply farm fresh food for many communities right from Alberta’s backyard. From beef and poultry, to vegetables and fruits, and hops for breweries, there is never a shortage of farm-to-fork food.
Deerview Meats is a quick stop off the Trans-Canada Highway, and is just before the turn off to Elkwater in Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park. A stop that’s great for camping, hiking, fishing, or beach snacks.
"Our rancher is located just down the road. It's very rewarding to know we supply people with food and they know where it comes from. We pride ourselves on being able to serve high quality farm-to-table products,” says Chris Deering, who owns DEERVIEW MEATS with her husband.
Homestead Market
Kara and Kristian Dunroth are not strangers to supporting and connecting with locals. The all-season market located on Highway 3 features over 60 vendors, from many creative and culinary worlds, who live right here in Alberta.
"I've found so many creative people through the store and I see how beautiful their minds are — how they can sit down and create something so cool. I love having space where we share that, and where people can grab a drink, a healthy snack, and wander around to shop,” says Kara.
The diverse market has a local retail area, cafe, and drive-thru. Located along Highway 3, this spot is an easy, quick stop for those traveling on the road.
| PACK A PICNIC in Medicine Hat using local ingredients!
This story has been adapted from an original article available at: https://www.tourismmedicinehat.com/features/another-year-of-savour.
