On October 30th, 2018 The Wellness Soldier hosted the 3rd Annual Veterans Dinner at Artisan Bistro in Victoria BC.
The turnout was great and as The Wellness Soldier (aka Chef Cody Lindsay) noted, there were a lot of new faces that he didn’t know, which was one of the main reasons why he created the Veterans Dinner in the first place.
As he said:
“It’s the camaraderie of being in the military and the camaraderie of being around people that know exactly what you’ve been through and that’s always good for morale.”
He went on:
“As a cook, I always use food as morale… it’s amazing what a shrimp can do”, he goes on as people burst out laughing, “… you throw that guy an extra shrimp, or an extra breadroll- it’s morale!”
After seeing Chef Cody warm up the crowd, we take a look in the kitchen where Chef Daryl Pope from the Artisan Bistro was busily plating his culinary creations.
Attendees were raving about the great time they had, from the new people they met to the delicious food they enjoyed- it looked like a blast. And it was all for a great cause- our veterans. Especially with November 11th less than a week away, it’s important to remember and honour the sacrifices veterans have made for us.
For the main course, attendees had to choose between the beef tenderloin or seared Bay scallops- a very tough decision! But some couples found a workaround by sharing entrees and it was hard to tell which one they liked better!
It was great to see veterans coming together and seeing friends they hadn’t seen in years, and at the end of the night, there was the great gift give-away that included a few Magical Butter Machines.
CLN spoke to Dori Dempster, the executive director of The Medicinal Cannabis Dispensary (TMCD), which was one of the sponsors of the 3rd annual Veterans Dinner, and she told us why TMCD sponsored the Veterans Dinner, saying:
“We recognize that veterans put themselves on the line in a really big way and they deserve to be recognized.
Sponsoring is one small way our dispensary can help veterans go out for an evening of fine food and good friends- which is good medicine in itself- and we recognize that cannabis can be essential in helping veterans maintain normal lives.”
Dori went on to say The Medicinal Cannabis Dispensary has patients who are veterans, and she said that cannabis can help with many of the conditions that veterans suffer from, such as chronic pain.
For a taste of what you can look forward to, have a look at the mouth-watering menu from this year’s Veterans Dinner below.
