Well Seasoned hits Milestone of Food, Education, and Generosity to the Community
To show appreciation for 15 years of support, Well Seasoned owner Angie Quaale & her team invites the community to join them in celebration on August 13!
Well Seasoned Gourmet Food Store is celebrating its 15th birthday!
Join the party during the Hot August Nights Open House tasting event on Tuesday, August 13 from 6-8 PM, at the Well Seasoned store (#117-20353 64 Ave, Langley BC).
This FREE, giant open house is where you will sample and shop tons of delicious local products, meet with the makers, and wish Well Seasoned a happy 15th birthday. The more the merrier!
Check out the event on Facebook or visit http://www.wellseasoned.ca/happybirthday.
Well Seasoned Gourmet Food Store celebrates its 15th birthday on August 13th
From its humble beginnings on the Langley Bypass in 2004, Well Seasoned Gourmet Food Store has not only established itself as the go-to for foodies in the Fraser Valley, but it has also gained recognition across the country for its vision, trendy food creations, and championing the support of eating local.
From the start, owner Angie Quaale’s goal was to make Well Seasoned Gourmet Food Store a launch pad for small scale food producers and locally grown items. Over the last 15 years, Well Seasoned has supported hundreds of brands and even created many of its own. Now it’s time to celebrate all they have accomplished.
““Nothing is easy,” she notes. “Owning a business is hard. It pushes every limit you have ever had. We work hard to set ourselves apart and we offer a service (hands on classes) that you can’t get online.
”My hope for the next 15 years at Well Seasoned,” she continues, “is that it continues to encourage people to eat well, to make real food at home & share it with family and friends.””
Grand Re-Opening of Well Seasoned Gourmet Food Store in 2014
On the celebration of the store opening with the launch of the Well Seasoned Store sign, a customer says “I hope you know the debut of your sign was just the start of something more than just a business. You inspire, encourage and support so many of us business owners. You have set an example of authenticity, loyalty and integrity.”
Read below to learn more about how Angie Quaale and Well Seasoned came to be.
The BIG Back Story
There is No Well Seasoned without Angie Quaale
Her titles range from trusted food expert, businesswoman, BBQ champion, and municipal leader (to name a few). Not many accomplish even one of these goals in a lifetime, let alone all of them - yet these are just a fraction of the triumphs of Fraser Valley’s gourmet gem, Angie Quaale. Quaale, a true foodie, has dedicated her entire working life to the food and hospitality industries, elevating every year.
Establishing her Place in the Culinary Landscape
Before opening Well Seasoned, Angie enjoyed a successful career in the food service sector, specifically working for manufacturers on specialty food distribution and menu development throughout North America.
She opened the doors to her little gourmet food retail store off the Langley Bypass in 2004 and brought a new food culture to Langley. At Well Seasoned Gourmet Food Store, in Langley BC, she and her team combine her expertise in menu development and retail food distribution to bring food lovers the latest in food products and cookware from across the globe. (They relocated to a larger space in 2014 on the store’s 10th birthday.)
Quaale established cooking classes presented by local chefs and a catering arm for her store; both of which remain at capacity; educating the public and serving their party needs. She has innovated many recipes and introduced them to the western Canada market, such as chocolate salami, grab-and-go casseroles, and the bacon chocolate chip cookies that Vancouver Magazine listed on its 101 things to eat before you die!
Kicking off Summer 2019 Well Seasoned was just named Best Specialty Gift Store, and Best Caterer from the Langley Advance Reader’s Choice Awards.
Angie Quaale, 15-year owner of Well Seasoned Gourmet Food Store
More Than a Store Owner
Outside of Well Seasoned, Quaale enjoys sharing her insights on food trends as a sought-after culinary trend expert and recipe developer. She is a regular guest with cooking segments on Global BC, City TV, and CTV Vancouver, is a contributing culinary expert on CBC Radio and also for Black Press. Quaale can also be seen doing cooking demos at various events and shows throughout the region.
And she demonstrates strong industry-leadership: she is past president of the BC chapter of Les Dames d'Escoffier, past president of the Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce, past chair of Tourism Langley, and founder of the Langley Community Farmer's Market. Angie was also named the George Preston Memorial Business Person of the Year by the Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce. She has also been recognized by Women’s Enterprise Centre as one of BC’s 100 New Pioneer Women Entrepreneurs. In 2006 Angie was recognized by the Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce as the Entrepreneur of the Year, and in 2007 as the Small Business of the Year.
A BBQ Queen Too!
If her store ownership and community involvement isn’t enough, Quaale also spent many years practicing and mastering the art of Low & Slow, traditional Southern Style BBQ, and a decade competing in BBQ competitions all over North America. She and her partner David Gassaway represented Canada at the Jack Daniels World Invitational BBQ Championship in Lynchburg, Tennessee where they won first place awards for "Home Cooking from the Homeland" and the "BBQ Desserts" categories.
They also competed in the American Royal Invitational BBQ Championships and won multiple Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion awards at prestigious BBQ competitions throughout Canada and the US.
Spring boarding off this, Quaale brought BBQ home to Langley. She hosted and produced “BBQ off the Bypass”, a sanctioned competition that saw entries from throughout the Pacific Northwest, and ran for 11 years. She also produced the “Barn Burner BBQ” competition in Chilliwack.
Today, Quaale and Gassaway have stepped out of the competitive spotlight. They still have a passion for BBQ, but now they spend more time cooking for friends and less time on the competition scene.
Eating Local in the Fraser Valley
Giving up BBQ made room for Angie to pick up where she left off after co-founding the Langley Farmers Market and continue her advocating for all things local. Highlighting the strong relationships with the farmers, producers, and chefs who live there, Angie wrote her best selling cookbook Eating Local in the Fraser Valley, published by Random House in 2018.
Featuring more than 70 locally-inspired recipes, this combination cookbook/guidebook is the perfect companion to one of Canada's most celebrated food and wine regions. At the time of this writing, her cookbook has been shortlisted in the nominations for the 2019 Taste Canada Awards.
Bringing the Community Together
For the past two years, Quaale has hosted a community potluck at her store. “Project Potluck” is inspired by her friend Julie Van Rosendaal who made a call to action for people to gather and share food in opposition to hatred. More than 100 people have come to Well Seasoned each year to break bread, share some laughs and get to know their community.
A Deserving Foodie to Celebrate
Quaale is connected to food trends and takes tremendous pride in her ability to teach home cooks how to make better food at home. Her fun, commonsensical approach, passion for reducing food waste and working with as many local, seasonal ingredients as possible is just part of what makes Quaale’s cooking style relatable.
Quaale is a true foodie, businesswoman, and trailblazer due to the pioneering nature of her work that she chooses to share with her community and beyond.
With Well Seasoned turning 15 this year, it’s the perfect time to celebrate all these accomplishments and those yet to come.