Okay, I think I just had one of the best dinners of my life.
And I don’t say that lightly. I knew dinner at Sixty Forty was going to be good. A farm-to-table dinner in Central Saanich led by Top Chef Canada Season 7 winner Chef Paul Moran? My expectations were already pretty high. What I wasn’t expecting was to leave genuinely blown away.
Because there are farm-to-table restaurants, and then there’s actually having dinner on the farm.
On a recent trip to Vancouver Island, I made my way to Sixty Forty, a 47-acre farm in Central Saanich where Chef Paul Moran hosts intimate dining experiences built around what’s growing and in season, much of it just steps from where you’re eating.
The concept takes farm-to-table quite literally. Even the name Sixty Forty reflects Moran’s philosophy: 60% of a great dish comes down to the quality of the ingredients, while the remaining 40% comes from the technique of the chefs working with them.
And after this dinner, I get it.
I visited for Southeast Asia Flavours at the Farm, a special evening inspired by the bold flavours of Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and beyond. But what made the dinner so memorable wasn’t simply the theme. It was seeing those flavours interpreted through ingredients grown on the farm and sourced right here in BC. Local ingredients, Southeast Asian flavours and some seriously creative cooking. This was a dinner I won’t be forgetting anytime soon.
Southeast Asia Flavours at the Farm
Our September dinner took inspiration from the bold flavours of Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and Southeast Asia, but filtered them through ingredients coming from the farm and local Vancouver Island producers.
To Start
Dinner began with three small bites that immediately established what the rest of the meal would be about: local ingredients, Southeast Asian flavours and a lot of contrast.
Side Stripe Shrimp
We started with Finest at Sea side stripe shrimp with pomelo, mint and scallion. It was bright, refreshing and a perfect way to ease into the meal..
Tom Yum Soup
Next was a tom yum soup made with Sixty Forty Essex hybrid squash and heirloom tomato. This was like the warmest hug, the kind of soup that just fills your soul.
Wok-Fried Beans
The Square Root Farm wok-fried beans came with Lena Lily Farm chilli blend, dried shrimp and garlic chives. The texture of the beans was spot on: cooked through but still with a slight crunch. The chilli blend and dried shrimp also packed a huge flavour punch.
I particularly loved seeing ingredients you’d normally associate with a BC farm (squash, tomatoes, beans and herbs) being taken in a completely different direction.
The Main Spread
This is where dinner really got going.
Spicy Smashed Cucumbers
First came spicy smashed cucumbers using Sixty Forty produce alongside tomato and wild northern puffed rice. Cool, crunchy and refreshing, it was exactly the kind of dish you want between some of the richer plates that followed.
Albacore Tuna Crudo with Citrus Sorbet
The Finest at Sea albacore tuna crudo was easily one of the most interesting dishes of the night.
Tuna and sorbet isn’t exactly a pairing I come across often, but here the tuna was served with lime leaf and citrus sorbet. As the sorbet slowly melted into the fish, it almost became part of the dressing. It brought a refreshing burst of citrus and acidity against the richness of the albacore. Fried shallot and garlic added crunch, while garden herbs, garum and lime brought plenty of savoury, salty flavour.
It sounds like an unusual combination, but that’s exactly what made this dish so memorable.
Banana Leaf-Steamed Lingcod
You would think the tuna crudo would be hard to beat, but each dish that followed somehow continued to set the bar higher.
Next was Finest at Sea lingcod steamed in a North Saanich banana leaf, served with housemade red curry, coconut cream, Thai basil, roti and paratha. The lingcod was incredibly tender and flaked beautifully. Paired with the richness of the coconut cream and red curry, this was another standout. It also captured what I found most interesting about the entire dinner. The flavours might transport you somewhere else, but so much of what you’re eating remains firmly rooted on Vancouver Island.
Eggplant Larb Salad
The larb salad of Square Root Farm eggplant and Rossa di Milano onions was another example of how the dinner took Southeast Asian flavours and applied them to what was growing locally.
Instead of the minced meat you might typically associate with larb, eggplant became the star. It was paired with sweet Rossa di Milano onions, white radish, coriander and sesame. Toasted rice brought that signature nutty crunch, while fresh herbs kept everything bright. I loved that it still had those punchy, aromatic elements you expect from larb, but in a completely vegetable-forward form that felt very much at home on the farm.
Berkshire Pig Satay
The Uprooted Farms Berkshire pig satay was probably one of the easiest dishes at the table to love.
The pork was served as a skewer alongside peanut dressing, lettuce wraps and fresh herbs, letting you build each bite yourself.
The richness of the Berkshire pork worked particularly well here. It was savoury and juicy against the creamy, nutty dressing, while crisp lettuce and herbs cut through the richness. It was familiar enough to immediately understand, but the quality of the pork and fresh accompaniments made it feel more special than your typical satay.
Cowichan Chicken Massaman Curry
And then came pure comfort food: the Cowichan chicken massaman curry.
Rich, fragrant and deeply savoury, the curry was paired with khao soi noodles, Square Root Farm Datterini tomatoes and summer squash.
I especially liked the use of noodles here rather than the rice you might expect alongside a massaman curry. They soaked up all that creamy curry and gave the dish this incredibly satisfying flavour.
The tomatoes and summer squash also brought the dish back to the farm. Their freshness helped balance the richness of the curry. It was another reminder of the theme running through the entire dinner: these were unmistakably Southeast Asian flavours, but the ingredients told you exactly where you were.
Something Sweet
Dessert continued the Southeast Asian inspiration with three different bites.
There was a vanilla jasmine rice pudding with Vietnamese cinnamon, followed by a Vietnamese coffee crème caramel.
The meal then finished simply with melon, plum and apple from Square Root Farm and the Sixty Forty gardens and orchard.
After such a flavour-packed dinner, ending with fruit grown on the property felt particularly appropriate. No elaborate finale needed.
Is Sixty Forty Worth Visiting?
YES.
Sixty Forty is one of those dining experiences that reminds you just how good food can be when you start with incredible ingredients and let them shine. Between produce grown steps away from the dining room, pristine BC seafood and thoughtfully sourced local meats, the quality of what’s on the plate is undeniable.
But great ingredients will only get you so far. What really made this dinner memorable was what Chef Paul Moran and his team did with them. The flavours were bold, creative and at times completely unexpected. I’m still thinking about that tuna crudo with citrus sorbet.
Add in the beautiful Central Saanich farm setting and the fact that each dinner offers something completely different, and Sixty Forty is absolutely a must-visit for anyone who loves good food and unique dining experiences on Vancouver Island. There are limited seats remaining for the September 25th dinner (Soil & Sea: The Best of Summer at the Farm).
Sixty Forty
Address: 1831 Mt Newton Cross Rd, Saanichton, BC V8M 1L1
Website: https://www.sixtyforty.ca/