Lakefield Caterer Bringing Wales and Farm-To-Table Food Background to Peterborough County

Wales’ Josh Keepfer had culinary training in Venice, London and Charleston, N.C. but since making Lakefield his home roughly four years ago, he’s brought his background into Kitchen Farmacy, a farm-to-table catering business for Peterborough County.

Chasley Keepfer (left), Hadley Keepfer, 4 (middle) and Josh Keepfer (right) examining the five acres of vineyards full of developing grapes. The family owns roughly 40 ducks to act as natural insecticides. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The business was launched in 2018, Keepfer said Kitchen Farmacy is reflective of his farm life upbringing as a child and with on-site farms at restaurants he worked in Wales. He wanted to bring that same experience of food into Peterborough County.

“I've been very lucky and very fortunate growing up as a child to be living on a farm and experiencing farm life,” said Keepfer.

He says the farm life helped him appreciate where his food came from and the effort needed to create it. The products at Kitchen Farmacy are locally sourced through several businesses, farmers and butchers.

“We used to go out and feed apples from the orchards to the pigs and knowing that we needed to get them fat and juicy for slaughter. I know it sounds gruesome but it's part of kitchen life and part of being farm to table.”

Keepfer moved to Peterborough Country after meeting his wife Chasley in Whistler. She was from the Lakefield area and moved to Lakefield with her to start a family and eventually open the business.

Kitchen Farmacy offers take-home meals, a catering service and meal plans with all the food made on site. The business also has its own winery called Cheeky Duck Vineyard consisting of five acres behind the catering service building. The winery has five different varieties of wine such as Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay where grapes were planted last year.

The business wants to expand with a new on-site restaurant next spring however few details were released. The restaurant will offer wine tasting from their vineyards.

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