Since the Floathouse was closed at the Gorge Marina, Hollyhock kitchen just opened for the season as the only dinner dining service on the island. Despite their lone status, they will continue to run for less than six months a year, and are limited by their style of kitchen service.

Hollyhock kitchen is a part of the for-profit business Hollyhock Farms. Meal Services Manager Tecuana ("Tec") Clifton-Wooldridge expects the Floathouse closure to affect the Hollyhock kitchen, but the organization's intentions to become a year-round entity are gradual, so the service is still scheduled to be seasonal.

The current year-round population on Cortes is around 1,000 people, but in the summer, that population can double or triple. According to the 2022 annual report from the Cortes Island Museum and Archives, at least 2,324 tourists visited the island last year. Census data has also indicated about 600 summer residents join the population as well.

Hollyhock kitchen is expecting a very busy summer, especially with the limited local dining options.

“We're expecting to see increased walk-in traffic compared to past seasons because … there aren't any other restaurants on the island. It's already something that we've been trying to encourage, which is gonna be really interesting to bring what we've been offering for a while to the wider Cortes community in a bigger way,” Clifton-Wooldridge said.

The kitchen intends to expand the meal service as demand plays out through the season, Clifton-Wooldridge said. But she emphasizes the need to keep the signature Hollyhock cuisine consistent.

“Our capacity fluctuates with the weather because we have a lot of outdoor seating, so we can seat up to about 120 people if it's not raining and 100 is a comfortable number for us to serve," she said. "But we can stretch that, especially with the extended meals, during our busy season, but it'll be new to us extending the mealtime and trying to serve more people.”

Clifton-Wooldridge explained why the kitchen’s productivity is limited by its style of cooking.

“It is a really unique meal service," she said. "It's not like other restaurants, so it's like a chef driven set menu based on what's available seasonally in the garden, which is really fun.”

The meal service manager pointed out the priority to feed Hollyhock students first, as they will have more programming to attend after the 6:30 p.m. meal service. Logistics and safety play into the limitations around producing more meals as well.

“We have been offering takeout for the last couple of seasons, but we haven't been promoting it…We don't do the buffet anymore because of communicable disease concerns…we don't have the sort of equipment that you need to run a safe buffet. So now we do plated, so it's still our Hollyhock signature, like abundant, vegetable heavy faire…We're offering a meat or seafood option for every dinner. But lunches are still vegetarian.”

The Hollyhock Kitchen is currently open for lunch from 12:30-1:30 p.m. and dinner from 6:30-7:30 p.m. They kitchen will remain open until Oct. 22, which is also the last week guests are booked at Hollyhock. To learn more, contact host@hollyhock.ca

To hear more about the only dinner service operation on Cortes Island, listen to the CKTZ News Update below: