Farm family opens Okotoks’ newest, freshest Café

Grand opening celebration June 5th.

Kayben Farms, a local family owned garden centre, u-pick operation and family destination near Okotoks, AB will unveil their new JoJo’s café on Saturday June 5th from 10:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.  The celebrations will include fresh food, an artist painting water colors, live music, and a chance to enter a grand prize draw for a weekend getaway at one of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Resort properties. The farm is located just north of the town of Okotoks.

When Claude and Judy Kolk first planted nursery trees and 20 acres of black currants with their three young daughters, in 2002, they had no idea that the farm would go in this direction.  ”As we expanded, we got more and more interested in bringing people to the farm and letting them experience the nature all around us that we take for granted” says Judy.  After attending numerous conferences, and visiting many similar operations, they decided that a perfect complement to the Garden Centre, U pick orchard and Sunshine Adventure Park would be fresh food made and served on the farm.

The café is named after Claude & Judy’s youngest daughter Jolene, who’s dream to become a pastry chef began when she was about 8 yrs old.  A grade 11 student, she now works part time in the cafe and hopes to take the Pastry Arts program at SAIT after graduation.

The café was built over this past winter, and the final touches have just been completed. Claude Kolk who is also a professional engineer, designed the building as well as a highly efficient air exchange system using exhaust heat from the building to preheat incoming fresh air. His training as an mechanical engineer and experience in farming give him an innovative approach to design, which he employed for many of the café’s features.  ”Whenever I need to build something that seems more complicated than it should be, I start to look at alternative solutions” he says.  The railing around the stairway and mezzanine was built from reclaimed drill stem pipe. Huge timbers purchased at an auction sale provided the inspiration for the solid wood look of the building.  Nathan Born, construction manager, says the project was unlike any other he had worked on before.  ”The building has a personality, a warmth and atmosphere that really reflects it’s natural setting.” he says.  The building’s exterior gives you a taste of what’s inside, finished with a rich larch wood and fresh green accents. Sitting on the café’s patio, you can imagine you are miles away from the city life, and enjoy the soothing sounds of the waterfall and a sense of tranquility.  The waterfall and surrounding landscaping was constructed by Alexis Ference one of the farm’s landscape foremen who is also one of the Kolks’ daughters.

Stephanie Kolk, manager and chef, is a student in SAIT’s Culinary Arts program. She is the eldest of the three Kolk daughters. Her passion for local and fresh food is seen everywhere, from the menu selections to the fresh herbs she picks daily from the greenhouse to make pesto and foccocia breads.  The café menu features ingredients from several local producers and fruit grown on the farm. A large chef’s garden, recently planted, will provide most of the produce for the kitchen.  ”Our focus is fresh, fair food.  There’s nothing fresher than eating a meal on the farm where the food has been grown” she says.

The Kolks and the rest of the staff at Kayben Farms invites you to come out and celebrate the Grand Opening of JoJo’s with them on Saturday,  June 5th from 10:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.  Guests will be able to sit on the covered patio beside a bubbling waterfall gazing out on the plants and bushes that produced the fruit and vegetables that they are currently enjoying.  For more information on the farm, or directions see www.kayben.com