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Martock Glen

Past pastoral duck ponds, grassy hillocks and grazing cattle, you'll come upon Oulton's Fram, where everything is free range, free roaming and all the animals live well.

On the outskirts of Windsor, Nova Scotia lies a hidden jewel. Nestled on over 1,500 acres is Oulton’s Farm, lying comfortably snug in the lee of Martock’s well-known ski hill. In the fall, this land undulates with crimson and russet beauty, chock full of ripe apple orchards, gardens brimming over with produce and the season’s fresh fauns, ewes, and other creatures new to the world this year. In winter you can hear the rattle and hum of nearby Ski Martock. Spring brings an explosion of apple blossoms and summer a cool breeze always seems to waft up the Avon River and over the hills, making it feel cooler than anywhere else nearby. To me (originally from Chester), Mike Oulton’s Meats sits on the Windsor Road—to someone from Windsor, the Chester Road.

As you drive up the half-kilometre drive you pass a pastoral duck pond filled to overflowing with quacking waterfowl, espy to your left horses frolicking on grassy hillocks, go a little further and spot cows grazing languidly on the dales and finally pass patriarch Mike’s pert brick house to the left. As you enter the parking lot of the unassuming building that houses the store and other facilities, you cannot miss the bird pen with emus, the occasional peacock and geese, guinea fowl and ducks side by side.


Nearby barns hold chickens, pigs, lambs and quail; in an adjacent area the wild boar skittle about in their two acres of muddy playland, and if you walk around the property, as we did on a beautiful summer day least year with a group of Slow Food members, you can spot exotic fauna (antelope, llamas, yak!) romping happily through the fields. Mike Oulton’s farm is as far as you can get from industrialized meat production. Everything is free range, free roaming, no constrictive pens, all animals living well until the reaper finally calls.

Our visit last year with Slow Food brought to the fore the ultimate truth, what food really is. When you visit a large retail grocer, it is antiseptic, packaged, sterile. The truth of the background and production of food eludes you. Oulton’s is a full-circle establishment run with pride and passion. Life is both brought into the world and dispatched to become food. It is hard to evade the knowledge that both life and death occur here, but in a base way it is an important life lesson to comprehend as modern society becomes more removed from the food chain.

Wayne, Mike’s son and the modern interpreter of farming in the new age, has become a friend of mine in recent years. He exemplifies the new farmer—bringing to market new and exotic product, setting new levels in animal husbandry (ethical treatment of animals) and giving chefs, and those daring and knowing few who make their way to his shop at the farm, a choice of meat, poultry and game products unmatched anywhere in eastern Canada.

When I cooked my recent James Beard Dinner in New York City, Wayne supplied me with the feature product (Rack of heritage pork), helped me process it and package it, and when it seemed the FDA might cause me problems importing it into the U.S., suggested ways to help me get it to New York.

When fire closed my restaurant in October, the Oulton family was the first to forgive my outstanding invoices to them until I was back on my feet. This is cooperative business at its finest.


The Oultons have been farming this land for generations. Wayne’s great grandfather W.G Oulton came to work on the farm under other ownership and when those owners went bankrupt, he purchased a portion of the farm, eventually securing it into full family ownership. Now they have 15 employees. Their knoll-top homestead has expansive views over the rolling Avon River Valley. There are generations of other Oultons in this area, indeed the whole of the eastern Annapolis Valley. Diane, Wayne’s mom, sometimes delivers our order to Tempest, sometimes Wayne, sometimes an employee. When I visit the shop in person I am greeted with a hearty personal welcome, like family. I love it.

With a little help from my friends
On March 19, 2007 my friend and fellow chef Craig Flinn of Chives organized a fundraising dinner in Halifax to help raise money to rebuild my restaurant after the devastating fire of October 23, 2006. Along with Bill Pratt and a full slate of fellow chefs representing the finest restaurants in Nova Scotia, we put on one of the finest dinners this province has seen in recent years. When I first went to Wayne and spoke about this dinner, he was excited to showcase any product I desired from what he had available.

Chef Sean Doucet of the Delta Barrington and I prepared the main course—a duet of veal—Pomegranate-molasses-glazed rack of Oulton’s free-range veal with porcini, and red wine-braised veal shank, accompanied by double-roasted barley risotto, foie gras-infused thyme demi-glace and a golden beet and goat cheese napoleon with Yin Yang asparagus.

Chef Michael and friends prepare a feast for a Tempest Fundraising Dinner.

One of our signature dishes at Tempest is star anise and orange-braised Heritage Pork Bellies with port-infused cherry chutney. Wayne and family smoke the pork with their own apple wood (they have acres of apples that they sell to Scotian Gold). They have the most wonderful selection of smoked sausages as well. But they supply simpler foods too, like ground beef and T-bone steaks, pork and lamb at well below supermarket prices, free range chickens and ducks that you can see with your own eyes live a stress free life. It is easy to put together a fabulous dish when you are presented with the range of choices from what I consider the best meat, poultry and game purveyor in this entire region of Canada. I am proud to have them as a supplier, and if you ever happen to be driving up the Windsor (or down the Chester) Road—Nova Scotia Highway 14—stop by and pick up your favorite cut and rush on home!!!

Oulton’s Farms
5246 Hwy 14,Windsor
(Martock), NS
(902) 798-4734