Vancouver Island foodie destinations you must try

Food columnist Anya Levykh highlights the best cheese, wine, bread and soda.

Artisan cheese, soda, bread and wine you must try from Parksville to Qualicum Beach

On the Coast · CBC News · Posted: Jul 18, 2015 10:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: July 18, 2015

From their Old World-inspired, aged raw-milk cheeses like Rathtrevor, and Bleu Claire, to squeaky cheese curds that arrive on your palate only hours after the milk leaves the cow, the Little Qualicum Cheeseworks makes 16 artisan cheeses to choose from. (Supplied)

There's no shortage of delicious, artisan and organic food available on Vancouver Island.

If you're visiting for the first time, or otherwise having trouble narrowing it down, here are food columnist Anya Levykh's recommendations for every foodie out there.

1. Tiger Lily Farm in Errington

Food and fun for the whole family to share at Tiger Lily Farm in Errington. (Supplied)

You'll find farm-raised turkey, chicken, duck, lamb, pork and eggs on site. Best of all, the animals are all naturally raised, meaning no animal by-product in the grain feed, no antibiotics and no growth hormones.

This farm offers a full family experience, with pony rides for kids and oodles of baby chicks and turkeys you can pick up and pet.

They'll even teach you how to milk the goats, which need to be milked three times a day, and bottle-feed the baby ones.

2. Island SodaWorks

Located in Errington, this soda shop uses natural processes to make their uniquely flavoured drinks fizzy. (Island SodaWorks/Facebook)

Situated literally just around the corner from the Tiger Lily Farm, Island SodaWorks sells naturally-fermented, low-sugar carbonated drinks that are made with fresh fruits and vegetables.

Flavours include salal ginger, rose, mixed berry and an old-fashioned tonic.

"These are actually good for you, amazingly," said Levykh.

The fizzy pops are made through the process of lacto-fermentation, where bacteria converts the starches and sugars in the fruits and vegetables into lactic acid, producing bubbles.

"There's a whole slew of benefits to drinking this," since lacto-fermentation increases the vitamin content of food, aids digestion and adds healthy bacteria to the gut, said Levykh.

While there, you can also indulge in their gluten-free, GMO-free tacos.

The tacos are made on site from local chicken, handmade sprouted corn tortillas, queso fresco and salsa. They're also known as "20-mile tacos," because that's as far away as the ingredients come from.

3. Little Qualicum Cheeseworks in Parksville

Little Qualicum Cheeseworks and MooBerry Winery on Morningstar Farm produce a selection of world-class cheeses and complimenting fruit wines. (Little Qualicum Cheeseworks/Facebook)

Levykh recommends the Island Bries, a creamy cheese with mushroom notes, and the Fromage Frais, which spreads beautifully over a croissant in the morning.

All of the cheeses are made on-site, with milk from the Morningstar Farm, where the cheeseworks lives.

"It's beautiful cheese, and nowadays you can find it all over Vancouver as well, which is lovely," said Levykh, who recommends checking your local farmers market.

You'll also find the Mooberry Winery on site, which makes fruit wines from raspberries, blueberries, gooseberries, pears, apples and cranberries.

These are table wines, not dessert wines, and will pair well with anything from pork to seafood to a charred, spicy steak, Levykh said.