G’day,
Those in the know, know where to go.
We’re excited to have just launched our latest episode of Mates on Crates, featuring Maxime Bergeron, Owner & Operator of Café Flora on Salt Spring Island. Opened in February, Café Flora is a neighbourhood café tucked away on the island’s north end, offering beautiful waterfront views across Trincomali Channel. Inspired by the café cultures of Australia and New Zealand, guests can expect excellent specialty coffee, scratch-made breakfast and pastries, and a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere. With a strong emphasis on local ingredients and supporting island suppliers, Café Flora has quickly become a favourite among the local community. Originally from Montreal, Maxime spent several years travelling the world before finding his way into hospitality in Australia, New Zealand, and eventually Tofino, where he spent five years working in restaurants and supporting local food distribution. Having moved to Salt Spring Island with his wife and daughter, Maxime opened Café Flora as an opportunity to bring a little Australian and New Zealand café culture to the island. His approach combines a genuine appreciation for good coffee, simple Mediterranean-inspired food and hyper-local ingredients.
It was a pleasure to sit down with Maxime to chat about his hospitality journey, life on Salt Spring Island, the importance of community, his commitment to local suppliers, and all of his favourite spots.
Each time we do a Mates on Crates interview, our guests share up to twenty of their favourites with us. For each episode, only a handful of those favourites make it into the final two minute cut. In order to highlight all of our guest’s favourites, we are happy to share the full list of favourites right here.
Maxime’s favourites at Cafe Flora:
Breakfast: The Shakshuka
On the Go: The Breakfast Bun
Coffee: Specialty coffee roasted locally on Salt Spring Island by Unveil
The FULL LIST of Maxime’s Local Favourites:
Bakery: Francis Bread
Cocktail Bar: Cassette Café + Dive Bar
Coffee: The Coffee Can
Dying to Try: Jeju (Vancouver)
Last Meal That Blew Them Away: Auntie Pesto's
Live Music: Tree House Cafe
Pizza: True Love Pizza
Take an Out of Town Guest: Breakfast at Café Flora, grab a sandwich to go from Francis Bread, check out the Saturday market, and finish with a hike up Mount Erskine or Mount Maxwell.
Outside of Salt Spring Island:
- Tofino: Ombré for happy hour, Adriana's Sandwich Shop for a sandwich, and Wildside Grill for a burger.
- Ucluelet: Pluvio
- Vancouver: Turks Coffee
Thanks for joining us, Maxime!
Watch Maxime’s full Mates on Crates Episode below.
