Meet Kelly Hale, Entrepreneur & Volunteer Board Member

My name is Kelly.  I grew up in the Okanagan, and moved to Vancouver after high school to pursue a career in Advertising.  I spent 14 years working for both small and large ad agencies, and although good at what I did, the job no longer nourished my soul.  I needed a change, so I quit everything, packed a bag and set out to travel the world.  Over 6 years of travel and job “exploring”, the thing that remained consistent was my passion for food. In 2008 I moved back to Kelowna and joined my mom as co-owner, and “Sauce Boss” at Taste of the Okanagan, where we make small batch salsa, bbq sauce, chutney, wine jelly, salad dressings and more, using seasonal local ingredients grown in the Okanagan Valley.

What is your favourite locally-sourced food?

Tomatoes!  There’s nothing better than a garden ripe tomato, picked right off the vine on a hot summer day. Sliced thick drizzled with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with coarse sea salt! Plus, there are so many different varieties of tomatoes and almost endless recipes to use them in, I don’t think I could ever get enough of them.

If you were a vegetable, what would you be?

I think I would be basil.  Like basil I’m pretty easy-g(r)o(w)ing!  I have a zest for life that allows me to go with the flow and easily adapt to new situations.

What’s something you’ve learned from Chefs in the Classroom?

How fun it  is to introduce kids to new foods and how eager they are to eat it all up, both literally and figuratively.

Do you have a favourite kid-friendly recipe you’d like to share?

Ooooh, there are so many but I love anything that gets kids involved in making dinner, and I love anything with a theme, so these Halloween Burger Monsters are probably one of my faves.  Click here to view the recipe for Kelly’s Halloween Burger Monsters. 

What makes volunteering with Chefs in the Classroom awesome?

Being involved with an amazing group of people who share a passion for growing, cooking and eating local food, and getting to share that passion with the next generation of little cooks.