This time on Can I Talk To You? we start making our way back west across the country after last episode’s chat with my cousin in Nova Scotia. Today - and happy Victoria Day for those listening when the episode comes out - we stop in Toronto to talk with Haley Polinsky, a food stylist and recipe developer well-known for her creative approach and attention to detail. Haley has worked with numerous brands on commercial and editorial work from stills to motion.

As you’ll hear in this conversation, Haley’s background in art and in the culinary world helps her merge her technical and intuitive cooking skills with her strong eye for composition and problem solving to make drool-worthy food shots.

One quick note… the phone line was not great for our call. I’ve done my best to clean it up a bit, but given it’s already two weeks since I put the last episode out, I didn’t want to make you wait any longer. Thanks for listening anyways!

In this next bit we talk about four of her shoots. You will hear me describe them very poorly, so it’s best if you head over to the episode page while listening to see the pictures for yourself. You can find them at benfast.ca/talk.

I was particularly interested in talking with Haley because of my work as a business teacher. I spent a lot of the fall talking with students about marketing for restaurants and helping them through creating a hypothetical food truck. Kids, make sure you listen to the full thing for the chance to win a prize!!! Marketing in food is so interesting, complex, and nuanced that most people don’t realize how much is going into their eating habits even though they are bombarded with ads for food dozens of times each day.

If you can’t tell, I was getting increasingly hungry while talking with Haley. Sadly, I’m not as good a cook as her, nor does my food look as good as hers, and at the time I could only think about the grilled cheese sandwich I was about to make. So, I asked her what I could do to make it look a bit better. She recommended some things like how to cut it and when to pull it apart but… I got too impatient and most of the melted cheese just fell out - I deleted the photographic proof!

A big multi-course dinner thank you to Haley Polinsky for talking with me about food styling and marketing in the food sector. As she said, you can find more of her work on her Instagram at @haleythemaker or on the web at haleypolinsky.com. You can also find past episodes of this podcast here or find me on BlueSky at ben-fast – why not tell me your favourite recipe over there or in a review on Apple Podcasts. While you’re at it, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast there or wherever fine podcasts can be found.

This episode was recorded and produced by me, Ben Fast, in Victoria BC on the unceded traditional territories of the W̱SÁNEĆ and the lək̓ʷəŋən peoples. The music you’ve heard is by Kirsten Bale, thanks Kirsten!

Next time, we’re hurrying hard back home…

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Today on Can I Talk To You? we venture out of Victoria for the first time and talk with someone all the way on the other side of Canada! This is not just some long distance stranger, though, this happens to be my cousin Kaleb Schriefer.

I’ve known Kaleb was a beekeeper and into biodiversity and pollination advocacy for some time, but I didn’t really know what that meant, nor did I know the bees had basically taken over his life! In this conversation you’ll hear all about that journey and how Kaleb and his family are working with bees and getting that sweet reward of tasty honey at the end!

I did reach out to my municipality to ask when they start doing their cutting and to find out about their pollinator policies, but they never got back to me about an interview… I’m assuming that what Kaleb talks about happening in May happens a bit earlier out here in Victoria, but if you want the full answer you’ll have to reach out to your municipality directly.

Kaleb also talked with me about some work he did promoting biodiversity at a regional level in the Niagara region before he moved out to the east coast. I’ve put that into a bonus extra story episode that will come out later this summer.

My thanks to Kaleb for chatting with me. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other as he had just moved away when I was last in Ontario, so it was lots of fun to talk once again. If you’re ever in Tatamagouche, look Kaleb up and taste that honey at Van Dyk Blueberries for me, or if you’re in Virgil, Ontario, say hi to the extended family at The Pie Plate, the best little café and lunch stop you’ll find in the Niagara region. You can see more of Kaleb’s work on Instagram at obeewan_kenobee. I’ve also got some photos Kaleb sent me of his bees on my website at benfast.ca/talk!

This episode was recorded and produced by me, Ben Fast, in Victoria BC on the unceded traditional territories of the W̱SÁNEĆ and the lək̓ʷəŋən peoples. The music you’ve heard is by Kirsten Bale, thanks Kirsten! If you’re in Vancouver on May 8th, check out Kirsten’s show with her band Strange Tides, the show is at the Roxy and tickets can be found through Instagram at kirstenbalemusic.

I’d love to hear from you, what is your favourite thing to put honey on? You can let me know over on BlueSky at ben-fast. You could also tell me in a review on Apple Podcasts, because why not, and while you’re there don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast or do it wherever fine podcasts can be found.

Next week, we’re staying out east and sticking with the food theme!

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Stories of love, betrayal, and revenge are tales as old as time, but they are made all the more dramatic when sung in grand Italian arias to the crescendo-ing notes of a full symphony orchestra. This, my friends, is opera!

But what role does this artform play today? Is it still relevant in a world of fast-paced TikTok videos and engineered reality TV plotlines? In this episode, I aim to find out. I am joined down the line by Brenna Corner, Artistic Director of Pacific Opera Victoria, one of the most influential professional opera companies in Canada. From original productions of classic favourites to lesser known works and new commissions, this company is a cornerstone of the Victoria arts scene and a mainstay at Victoria’s famous Royal Theatre.

Brenna joined me to sing the praises of opera (see what I did there?). As Artistic Director for Pacific Opera Victoria, and an accomplished director for projects around North America, Brenna brings a great enthusiasm to the artform and is finding new ways to engage audiences and put opera classics in contexts relatable and relevant to modern audiences. I ask dumb questions about being an audience member so you don’t have to ask them, find out about the secrets of storytelling through music, and even find out what’s with those little binoculars anyways?

The Pacific Opera Victoria’s production of Verdi’s Rigoletto opens TOMORROW NIGHT! (That’s April 23 for those of you in the future…) The tragic story of love, betrayal, and revenge in the licentious world of Renaissance Italy is based on a Victor Hugo play and will introduce singers Grant Youngblood, Sarah Dufresne and Matthew Pearce to Pacific Opera audiences. Tickets are still available, for shows running through April 29, so head over to pacificopera.ca and get yours now!

By the way, watch for a special episode of extra stories that didn’t quite fit these episodes coming later this year. Brenna steps me through stage fighting in that bonus story and I think you’ll be surprised just how directors trick the audiences into thinking those punches and arrows are finding their mark…

I’d love to hear from you, what do you think about opera? What’s the last opera you went to see? You can let me know over on Bluesky at ben-fast, because that’s where I’m hiding out in this social media hellscape nowadays. I also want to give a special shoutout to Nathaniel, my first listener in Japan! Thanks for reaching out and saying you heard the trailer. I hope you - and Nathaniel - have hit subscribe!

This episode was recorded and produced by me, Ben Fast, in Victoria BC on the unceded traditional territories of the W̱SÁNEĆ and the lək̓ʷəŋən peoples. The music you’ve heard is by Kirsten Bale - thanks Kirsten!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.