How long is the workshop?

The class runs about two hours, starting with a garden welcome drink and ending after bottling and dessert.

What is the price and how do I pay?

The fee is $75 per person, payable by e-transfer following booking instructions to avoid online ticketing fees.

Is there an age requirement?

No age limit is specified in the listing; contact the organizer if you plan to bring minors.

Do I need prior fermentation experience?

No—this session is beginner-friendly and covers safety, basic techniques, and troubleshooting.

Will I take anything home?

Yes—you’ll bottle your own shrub concentrate to take home along with recipes and care guidance.

What if I have allergies or dietary restrictions?

Notify the host in advance—there is a shared Olive Oil cake with macerated fermented fruit compote included in the menu.

Fizzy Summer Sippers: Make Probiotic Fruit Shrubs with Alison Kent in Vancouver

Making Fizzy Summer Sippers: Fermentation with Alison Kent brings a tactile, flavor-forward fermenting class to Vancouver, British Columbia. In a two-hour, small-group workshop held in Alison Kent’s designed kitchen, up to 10 participants learn to transform wild blackberries and other seasonal fruits into probiotic shrubs—an apple-cider-vinegar-based concentrate—and finish the evening with a fermented fruit dessert.

Begin outdoors with a complementary beverage in the kitchen garden, then move inside for hands-on instruction. Alison Kent, a global kitchen design specialist and avid fermenter with two decades of experience, guides the class through weighing, pounding, mixing, and bottling fruit shrubs. You’ll taste along the way, adjust sweetness and acidity, and leave with bottles to use in cocktails, vinaigrettes, glazes, compotes, and sodas. The session covers practical fermentation safety and ongoing care so your shrubs thrive at home.

The shrub itself is an approachable living tradition: a vinegar-based cordial originating in 15th-century Italy that later spread through England and colonial America as a preserved, drinkable syrup. In Alison’s workshop, that history meets modern pantry technique—local berries, apple cider vinegar, and measured sugar converge to make a bright, tart concentrate that showcases West Coast fruit. The evening closes with a slice of Olive Oil cake topped by macerated fermented fruit compote, a small flourish that demonstrates how fermented fruit completes savory and sweet applications.

What makes this class stand out is the combination of expert-led technique, stylish kitchen environment, and seasonal focus. Alison’s kitchen design background shapes a workspace that’s efficient for learning and beautiful to inhabit, which makes the hands-on process feel like a social supper rather than a class. Small group size ensures questions, one-on-one troubleshooting, and time to bottle your own shrub.

Practical details: the workshop runs about two hours, accommodates up to 10 people, and costs $75 per person paid by e-transfer to avoid online fees. Expect a relaxed evening suitable for home cooks, cocktail lovers, and ferment-curious beginners; no advanced skills required. You’ll leave with usable syrups, fermentation know-how, and a dessert memory that demonstrates how fermentation can elevate everyday fruit.

Alongside shrubs, Alison shares troubleshooting and alternative ferment techniques—whey sodas, ginger bug starters, and basic lacto-ferments—so attendees leave with a menu of next steps and recipes to try. The class emphasizes clear, safe timings and sensory cues to judge readiness, plus simple storage, labeling, and shelf-life guidelines so your creations age predictably in a refrigerator or cellar. For Vancouver visitors this makes a compact, delicious cultural lesson in local fruit seasonality and domestic preservation that fits neatly into an urban itinerary.

About Swallow Tail Adventures

Swallow Tail Adventures is a Mayne Island, British Columbia–based experiential food and foraging company that offers guided walks, hands-on harvesting, and intimate supper-club dinners. Founded to showcase coastal BC’s edible landscapes, the company curates seasonal experiences that connect participants with wild foods, sustainable harvesting practices, and local chefs.

Offerings include multi-course pop-up dinners, mushroom and seaweed foraging walks, a spring and summer foraging class, and chef-led tasting events. Signature experiences listed publicly are Carnivoria in the Garden, Spring + Summer Foraging Class, Wild Mushroom Trip Whistler, Seaweed Harvesting 101, Wild Mushroom Dinner, Wild Mushroom Education Field Trip, Chef Jefferson Alvarez's Dinner, and Sea Foraging Experience. Events occur on Mayne Island and nearby Gulf Islands, with select trips on Whistler and Galiano Island where noted.

Guides and chefs on Swallow Tail Adventures focus on identification, ethical harvesting, preservation techniques, and simple cooking methods. Many experiences include tastings, PDF plant guides, or discussions led by foraging chefs and myco-guides. Participants are encouraged to bring beverages for supper-club events.

Swallow Tail Adventures has been featured on The Adventure Collective, and the company emphasizes small-group, educational, and culinary-focused outings. Prospective guests can expect outdoor walks of varying lengths, seasonal menus based on local harvests, and instruction aimed at safe, sustainable enjoyment of BC’s coastal and forest ecosystems.

Many experiences include take-home PDF guides, hands-on cooking demonstrations, and guided tastings; bookings are typically small-group and scheduled seasonally to match local harvest windows and ecological best practices. Participants receive practical safety and storage tips for foraging success.