I am proud of the many beautiful things I have designed, created and built over the past 20 years. I have made a successful career out of my love of food and wine that is deeply informed by my aesthetic values.

This site is my platform to share some of my most meaningful projects as well as encapsulate and archive a period of my life that was filled with a furious and joyful creative output.

I am an accomplished chef having cooked with some of Canada’s best chefs in the 1990’s in Toronto and Montreal and a certified sommelier and have worked in Vancouver’s wine trade both on the international and domestic sides of the business. I am a writer and published author, with an academic background in philosophy and critical theory. 

In 2002 I co-founded JoieFarm Winery in Naramata where, in its early days, my multi-faceted journey included running an on-farm cooking school and guesthouse. In 2007, I wrote and designed an award-winning book, Menus from an Orchard Table, that documented that aspect of the journey. Then, self-taught, I boldly made wine in earnest, planting and running vineyards over a number of unique terroir, and eventually created an 18,000-case winery that became a dynamic and resilient business over two decades.

I attempted successfully, I think, to leave a place better than I found it. Certainly, I left little bits of beauty behind.

My creativity during this time was not limited to cooking, farming and making wine.

Captivated by the gorgeous physical landscape of the Okanagan Valley, but frustrated by its cultural landscape, my creative vision for a European epicurean culture combined with laid-back West Coast influences found expression through many design projects: winery buildings, vineyards, tasting rooms, homes and gardens.

After all of this creative output, I am happy to have earned the time to reflect.

In 2021, I sold JoieFarm Winery, and re-located myself back to the coast to take a dedicated sabbatical to spend time with family, friends, and most importantly, to travel, cook, eat and write.

Learn more about my latest work.