Near to the beautiful, historic town of Trinity, and just down the road from Fishers’ Loft in Port Rexton, a tiny place called Two Whales Coffee House shows just how far the field-to-plate, environmentally conscious food movement in Canada has penetrated. It’s run by British expat David Ellis, who was previously a jet-setting naturopath, and his partner Sue. Having fallen in love with the coastline of Newfoundland and Labrador, they moved here to set up a very different kind of business.
“My partner and I found ourselves spending every summer here, until we thought, ‘let’s stay,’” says Ellis. “Then we had to find something to do! We came in on an enterprise ticket to get permanent residency. Newfoundlanders are very accepting people.”
The cafe’s little wooden building is more than a 100 years old, and the menu is strictly vegetarian, which comes as something of a surprise in eastern Canada. How many vegetarians are there out here? “Just the two of us!” laughs Ellis, only half-joking. “When we arrived 10 years ago there was just one coffee shop even in St John’s. It’s changed a lot.”
They have paintings by local artists on the walls, changing every month; when I visit there are extraordinarily vivid and detailed watercolours of boats by the self-taught son of a fisherman. They use locally grown and organic produce, much of it from their own garden and greenhouse, feeding any food scraps to their free-range hens. And they serve delicious Fairtrade coffee from Jumping Bean in St John’s in mugs bought from thrift shops – each time a customer use one, Two Whales donates 5 cents to charity. We had a terrific broccoli and garlic soup, and a Berry Picker panini of brie, partridgeberry pickle and spinach, with a side-order of Happy Hippie Hummus. Yes, it’s that kind of place.
“The symbol for our cafe, of two interlocked whales, is designed like a yin and yang sign,” says Ellis. “The whales off the shore here are amazing. People go kayaking with them, and never have any problems. One man I know went out in a rubber boat and just drifted with them, and a whale came up from underneath, just lifted the boat up, and then set it gently back down again. Amazing. Whales have the largest heart of any animal – I think that’s what makes the connection.”
