We recently found ourselves in Willow Park Village and were delighted to see such great offerings for food fanatics all in one place. From the ever-popular (and always well-stocked) Willow Park Wines and Spirits, to local lovelies like Springbank Cheese and Crave Cupcakes, one could host an incredible dinner party from amuse bouche to aperitif with just one stop! We selected two great local businesses to highlight in this issue.

When Su Jin Kwon graduated from SAIT’s cooking program in 2002, she got her first job at North Sea Fish Market. Little did she know then that she’d end up owning the place! After a career as a fishmonger for various shops and markets, she took the entrepreneurial plunge nine years ago and bought the shop that started it all. North Sea Fish Market is a delightful shop offering fresh and frozen fish from Canada and Iceland where quality Atlantic stock abounds. Kwon says people have branched out in the past year in terms of their culinary adventures and sales of sushi-grade fish have increased as folks try their hand at maki, nigiri and sashimi or even Hawaiian poke which has become a favourite over the last couple of years.

Kwon still gets to exercise her cooking chops as the shop offers a large selection of pre-made meals featuring seafood (of course) and other treats like meat pies. She says her Boston clam chowder is the most popular with her customers as are the lobster mac ‘n’ cheese and crab cakes.