Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/162438
the area or raised by Don and Shannon themselves. Don has become an accomplished beekeeper whose hives are located right across the yard from the café. Shannon's herb garden has taken root, providing the rosemary for the biscuits and the basil for the pesto. "Food has always been important to us because great conversations happen around the dinner table," says Shannon. "It's what binds us all together – this need to nourish ourselves with food and conversation and ideas." (opposite, l-r) The Grotto's Chapulines con Queso (grasshoppers with cheese); Angie Bird serves up ribs and (next photo) other dishes at her Olive Branch Bistro in Carnduff; more Mexican fare at the Grotto; Jolene Dusyk samples healthy dishes at Good Fortune Asian Cuisine in Stoughton. (right) Grotto co-owners Kevin and Cecilia Zimmerman; (below, l-r) Angie Bird outside the Olive Branch Bistro; Shannon Shakotko, co-owner of the Happy Nun Café & Music in Forget, adds wild rice to grilled salmon. Over at the Good Fortune Asian Cuisine in Stoughton, Andrew Mok also relies on fresh, local ingredients. This accomplished and decorated chef arrived from China in 1976 to launch a culinary career that has taken him to some of Canada's most outstanding restaurants and seen him run a series of his own. Upon returning to China in 2006, he held the prestigious position of executive chef of the China News Media Centre during the summer Olympics in Beijing two years later. Mok now finds himself back in Canada, raising his young family in a small community east of Weyburn and about 90 minutes southeast of Regina. On the day of my visit, I'm going to do a good job at it and I really hope that people will taste my food and want to come back.' " On that note, Westworld set out to discover a few of these off-the-beaten-track culinary hot spots and just what keeps diners coming back. In Forget (named after Saskatchewan's first lieutenant governor, Amédée Forget, and pronounced "for-jay"), another popular restaurant has popped up in an unlikely setting. The former community hall in this minuscule town of 40 has become a thriving rural restaurant with menu items such as grilled salmon with haricots verts and prairie-style jambalaya, which melds seafood with bison. The Happy Nun Café & Music is the brainchild of Don and Shannon Shakotko. About 12 years ago, the scholarly couple was searching for a good reason to stay in Saskatchewan after falling in love with the community of Maryfield, where Don was principal of the school. Destiny delivered them to Forget. The rectory of the town's Catholic church became their new home. And it quickly evolved into a lively gathering place for the Shakotkos and their new friends. Increasing numbers facilitated a switch to the local community hall, which has now been remade into both a restaurant and a music venue featuring open-mic performances from the locals and prescheduled concerts from touring blues and folk artists. Meals at the Happy Nun are not only served with passion and love, they come with a healthy dose of local food grown in , - e e s o s e g . l d e p e " s n . d (Angie Bird) Susan Hill Photography, Christalee Froese p14-17_Getaways.indd 15 w est w o r l d >> fa l l 2 0 1 3 15 13-08-19 9:26 AM