News and event information for Williams Lake, BC - as it happens.

By LeRae Haynes

Felix and Jasmin Schellenberg’s Pasture to Plate shop on Commercial Drive in Vancouver held its grand opening on Saturday—celebrating the successful circle of Rafter 25 Ranch, Chilcotin Harvest Abattoir and the Pasture to Plate store/butcher shop where the finished products are sold.

(The meat counter at Pasture to Plate's grand opening this weekend displayed natural products from Chilcotin Harvest and Rafter 25 Ranch near Redstone.)

Chilcotin Harvest is located near Redstone, west of Williams Lake, and is the ‘service company’ for Pasture to Plate in Vancouver. Rafter 25 Ranch is the ‘service company’ for Chilcotin Harvest—a multi-faceted family business that includes Felix and Jasmin, their daughter Dominique and son-in-law Benny.

Pasture to Plate was greatly affected by an incident last fall where a routine inspection of Chilcotin Harvest resulted in a halt in production of ready-to-eat meat products. With the issue resolved and production on a roll, it was ‘business as usual’ at the store, culminating in the grand opening this past weekend.

The family and store staff were all on hand at the celebration, greeting customers, handing out free samples of things like soft, fresh sausage rolls, and guiding customers through a photo/graphic display that explained the process that flows between the natural earth-friendly ranch where the animals are raised, the respectful, professional abattoir and processing plant and the store.

“The people who came in the store really enjoyed seeing the ‘big circle’ process, where their patronage supports the whole production all the way through---from the ranch to their kitchen table,” Felix said. “That’s the ‘Pasture to Plate’ philosophy—people want to know exactly where their food comes from and what happens all along the way.”

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