Cruising Nova Scotia by sea on a Superyacht may sound like a fairy-tale, but let me take you along with me… picture deep dark blue seas, moderate temperatures and fluffy clouds, breaching whales, abundantly fresh seafood, gigantic berries with the most intense concentrated flavor, and quiet breezes… lots of quiet.

Being one of Canada’s Maritime Provinces on the eastern coast of the Atlantic, it is a water playground abound with both sea sports and sea life. It is a beautiful destination spot for the summertime, with many small towns scattered along its coasts to explore.

My itinerary included stops in the capital city of Halifax, Lunenburg, Chester, and Peggy’s Cove to name a few.

The Halifax waterfront boardwalk follows the water’s edge along the harbor and passes many unique shops, restaurants, and quaint nooks. The ferry crosses the harbor to the Dartmouth side, which has more galleries, shops, pubs, and cafes but truth be told the best seafood shop I found was right in the Dartmouth ferry terminal called, Evan’s Fresh Seafood, where I loaded up with delicious fresh catch from quahogs and crustaceans to Halibut, Cod, Haddock, Redfish, and Sea Trout. For the top sites in Halifax, TripAdvisor has you covered.

Deck crew giving a washdown of the yacht upon arrival to port in Halifax.

Nova Scotia is the perfect location for the adventurous traveller, while cruising the eastern and southern shores, there were opportunities to go harvesting for mussels, sea kayaking tours, surfing, sailing, cycling, hiking, historic landmarks like Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse and tall ships in port, wine tours, and shopping and dining along the scattered small coastal towns.

Nova Scotia’s flavorful and wide variety of berries inspire dessert dishes that showcase them. Simple and straight-forward was my approach to most of the desserts that I created on this trip and let the berries and fruits speak for themselves.

Berry Flavor Pairings & Affinities~

bright citrus and fruits (meyer lemons, feijoas, oranges, mandarins, pomelos and limes)
spices such as cinnamon, sumac, and ground ginger
white chocolate, dark chocolate
fresh herbs such as basil, oregano and mint

Canadian Raspberry Trifle~ layered raspberry sorbet, mascarpone fluff, pomegranate-sumac syrup, meyer lemon

Hazelnut blackberry and blueberry no-bake tart with fresh oregano

Dark chocolate espresso layer cake with white chocolate buttercream, fresh blueberries, blackberries, lemon and chocolate shavings

Playful with Food~

Stay playful when travelling and creating dishes. Let each region speak for itself by prioritizing local organic farmers markets and seafood mongers over larger grocery chains. The locals always know~ so make friends and don’t be shy to ask questions. Dory Mates Seafood Shop in south shore port town of Lunenburg, were the friendliest, kindest and knowledgeable locals that I could hope for. They were quick with a relatively large order that I needed ASAP, they gave suggestions on where crew and guests should go in town, and they even helped me walk all of my provisions down to our tender for my pick-up dockside. The products that they sourced were phenomenal, and seafood truly does not get fresher than what they had to offer me, so MAKE FRIENDS! Make connections to make good food!