Discovering Canada’s Similkameen Valley

Posted on April 13, 2023 by Lance Berelowitz of Decanter

Neighbouring British Columbia's popular western wine region of the Okanagan Valley, the Similkameen Valley is one of Canada's best-kept secrets, and a scenic, authentic and rewarding getaway for the serious wine lover.

Similkameen a great destination for foodies

Posted on April 12, 2023 by Shelora Sheldon of the Penticton Herald

The Similkameen Valley, with its steep, rugged, rocky beauty, is home to the highest concentration of organic farms, orchards and vineyards in Canada. As part of a short road trip — or after a session of wine tasting — here are two wonderful spots in this small but mighty region to stop for needed nourishment.

VIDEO | Going Organic: A Simple Choice that Can Change the World

Posted on January 18, 2023 by Little Things Matter

Video shot by Moment Films

It's not a surprise that chronic diseases are rising around the world; many of them have been linked to toxic chemicals, like lead, air pollution and pesticides. Most people think if we use pesticides to grow our food, they must be safe, that somebody's watching out for us. But the science is telling us a different story.

An unfortunate pattern has emerged over the past century: once a pesticide is proven harmful, the corporations introduce a new one to replace it. Too often, the new pesticides are found to be harmful. We keep making the same mistakes.

The good news is organic agriculture is safer, it was how farming was done for centuries. We now know that we don't need pesticides to feed the world and if you shift to an organic diet, the levels of pesticides in your body drop immediately. Watch to learn more.

Making Memories: Row Fourteen & Klippers Organic Acres

Posted in November, 2022 by Will Fong of Openroad Driver Magazine

“If you ask me to name the most memorable dining experience of the year, it’s Row Fourteen in southern Central BC. Here in the scenic farm at Klippers Organic Acres, chef partner Derek Gray turns one chilly evening into twelve plates of field-to-fork mastery.”

- Will Fong

Wineries, farms, & museums: Here are 12 amazing things to do in South Okanagan!

Posted on October 25, 2022 by Isabelle Vauclair of Curiocity

The Similkameen Valley is ripe with organic wine and farmland – no pun intended. And Klippers is one of the biggest names in the game. In fact, the family-owned farm just won Producer of the Year during Vancouver Magazine’s Restaurant Rewards, and for very good reason.

Known widely for their beloved Row Fourteen restaurant and Untangled Cidery, Klippers has become a fixture in the Similkameen Valley community and beyond. In addition to selling their produce at their very own marketplace and café, Klippers’ fruits & veggies are available at farmers’ markets across Vancouver, and through their own Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) initiatives).

Klippers Organic Acres | Boulevard Vancouver, Ocotober 2022 Edition

Posted on October 7, 2022 by Boulevard Magazine

Boulevard Magazine is a Chinese-language lifestyle magazine catering to Chinese speaking consumers in the Metro Vancouver area.

Restaurant Awards 2022: Introducing Our Producer of the Year

Posted on October 4, 2022 by Vancouver Magazine

It’s rare that there’s an easy consensus reached in any category of our Restaurant Awards judging, but in the top producer conversation this year, there was a common exclamation: “I can’t believe Klippers has never won!”

The Similkameen Valley farm is admired for their quality produce, of course, but also for their presence in the community: at farmers’ markets, through their community supported agriculture boxes (including a CSA initiative specifically for single parents) and onsite events like yoga and long-table dinners.

Best of the South Okanagan | 2022

Posted on August 20, 2022 by Penticton Western News

The Similkameen Valley sure made a dent in the ‘Best of…’ list this year! It feels so good to be growing, cooking, and serving food in such a bountiful, abundant, and thriving valley.

Thank you for voting Row Fourteen as ‘Best Family Restaurant’ and, for the second year in a row, ‘Best Restaurant With Vegetarian Fare’ in the South Okanagan! The restaurant also received a ‘favourite’ vote in the categories of ‘Best Burger’, ‘Best Patio’, and ‘Best Restaurant With A View’… as well as some others!

Thank you also for voting Untangled Craft Cider as ‘Best Cidery’, and for voting Klippers Marketplace & Cafe into the top spots of many other categories as well.

None of this would be possible without the support of our local community.

Burgers: a smashing success

Posted on August 3, 2022 by Shelora Sheldan of the Penticton Herald

At Row Fourteen at Klippers Organics in Cawston it’s a farm-to-table burger experience. Chef Derek Gray uses trim from the whole animal sourced from Venator Ranch in Hudson’s Hope to create the restaurant’s lunch burgers. Seasoned solely with Vancouver Island sea salt, burgers are cooked to order and nestled into a house-made potato-sesame seed bun along with a slather of organic cider mustard (made with Klippers Untangled Craft Cider), organic beet ketchup, tomato and lettuce — all vegetables sourced from their onsite farm. The burger is served alongside a healthy portion of warm potato salad.

13 BC Ciders to Sip and Savour This Summer

Posted on June 1, 2022 by Talia Stopa of Scout Magazine

With summer quickly approaching, we’ve appealed to BC’s community of passionate local cider makers and cider lovers to get their recommendations for the best sips of the season. The result is a list of refreshing and remarkable quaffs, and the best summertime foods to pair them with.

B.C. fall road trip: 6 Okanagan restaurants that marry wine and food perfectly

Posted on August 13, 2021 by Lindsay William-Ross of Vancouver Is Awesome

The road from Kelowna to Cawston may be long, but it also has some incredible opportunities for amazing meals along the way.

Savouring the Similkameen; B.C.’s next big culinary destination draws goodness from the land

Posted on August 13, 2021 by Joanne Sasvari of the Vancouver Sun

Chef Derek Gray still remembers the first time he tasted a peach plucked right from a tree in the Similkameen Valley. “It tasted of sunshine,” he says. “It changed me as a chef. I knew I had to be closer to the food."

Klippers Organics x FFCF

Posted on February 2, 2021 under Engaging Eaters Featured Farmers by FarmFolk CityFolk

Nestled in the south Similkameen Valley, Klippers Organics Farm is finding new ways to share their local, seasonal produce with the community. Founders and operators Annamarie and Kevin Klippenstein create a cultural experience for guests at their restaurant, Row Fourteen. Visitors are surrounded by five-acres of Certified Organic land that supplies the restaurant’s seasonal, plant-forward menu; exemplifying the meaning of fresh farm-to-table. 

Great Okanagan places to eat, Part 3: An inn and a farm

Posted on July 27, 2021 by Mia Stainsby of theof the Vancouver Sun

Farm to table? Row Fourteen restaurant goes one better: “We’re more a table on the farm,” says Derek Gray, chef and co-owner. You will find the restaurant in a spacious new timbered building at the 14th row of an orchard at Klippers Organic Farm, which also houses an inn and cidery. The restaurant opened in 2019. “It’s like a dream. We take walks on the farm as the season progresses and say, ‘Hey, this is what we want. We get the first of everything when they come off the field.'"

Crown Prince & Aged Cheddar Recipe

Recipe by Chef Derek Gray, Row Fourteen, Posted on February 2, 2021 on FarmFolk CityFolk

A playful bite of fall/winter seasonal vegetables; a reminder that spring is just around the corner.

The best new Vancouver restaurants of 2019 – plus one gem in B.C. wine country

Posted on December 27, 2019 by Alexandra Gill of The Globe and Mail

To put Row Fourteen in the top slot required no second thought. Of all the restaurant meals I consumed this year, this leisurely lunch burned brightest.

Row Fourteen Restaurant: Yet Another reason to head to the amazing Similkameen

Posted on November 17, 2019 by Robin Grant of the InfoTel

B.C.’s culinary landscape is evolving and expanding at such high speed, it is hard to keep track. It is very exciting to taste the international flavours available across the province intertwined with our own beautifully unique cuisine celebrating the taste of our terroir from both land and sea.

B.C.'s Okanagan Valley restaurants Home Block and Row Fourteen are worthy of the buzz

Posted on October 25, 2019 by Alexandra Gill of The Globe and Mail

This is food that never lets you forget you’re smack dab in the middle of Canada’s organic farming capital and that the fire grill runs the show. Even the dry-aged cheeseburger is crowned with crispy, charred onions and a hot pink smear of coal-roasted beet ketchup. A warm potato salad on the side is dusted with black onion powder.

At Row Fourteen, Farm to Table Takes Just a Few Steps

Posted on September 11, 2019 by Tracy Giez-Ramsay of Montecristo Magazine

Cawston and Keremeos are humble towns. Producer towns. We’ve driven to the Interior to visit Klippers Organics, and to try its new restaurant: Row Fourteen. Though the farm supplies many high-end restaurants in Vancouver, in their own kitchen they leave the tweezers and pastry brushes aside. This isn’t city dining; Row Fourteen’s food is rustic, generous, and rooted in tradition.

Row Fourteen in the Similkameen and its “beating heart” wood-burning hearth is open for business!

Posted on August 9, 2019 by Robin Grant of the Penticton Western News

Row Fourteen is a new organic farm-to-table restaurant at 725 MacKenzie Road now serving lunch and dinner. It quietly opened its doors Aug. 2 and served dinner over the long weekend.

Organic farmers outstanding in B.C.

Posted in November, 2011 by Fruit & Vegetable Magazine

A finalist for the OYF award in 2005, 2006 and 2007, Klippers Organic Acres was the first organic farm to have an Environmental Farm Plan and the first to be certified “Salmon Safe.” Kevin is also chair of the new Organic Farming Institute of B.C. and runs a farm apprenticeship program, providing accommodation and training for up to 10 apprentices per year. The operation also employs up to eight WWOOF’ers (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) at any given time.

"The search for a happy egg"

Posted on September 25, 2009 by Victoria Ronco of BC Living

I'd always bought my produce from them, and now that I was on my egg quest I didn't hesitate to quiz Annamarie about her eggs. They were organic, but what about all my other concerns?