SHAUNAVON — From the shores of Vancouver Island to an old schoolhouse in the middle of the prairies, a new-to-Shaunavon business is shining the light on gluten-free food.
El Faro Market owners Deryk and Becky Gooding relocated to Shaunavon from Vancouver Island just six months ago in the fall of 2024. Their move to Shaunavon is a homecoming of sorts since both Becky and Deryk spent significant periods of their life on the prairies (Calgary and Moose Jaw). Friends from British Columbia had relocated to Shaunavon and encouraged them to consider moving too; they eventually began to explore the idea. Whitey Somers and Andrea Smith are musicians who moved to Shaunavon from British Columbia and who played at the El Faro location in Parksville, which also served as a music venue.
When asked about the name “El Faro,” Becky explains, “When we first opened on Pender Island, B.C., we focused on tacos. We were located right down by the water in Hope Bay, where all of the restaurants and shops were. The name ‘Lighthouse’ was an option we thought of, but who wants ‘Lighthouse Tacos’?” she says with a laugh. “Deryk discovered that ‘El Faro’ means lighthouse in Spanish, and so our first company, El Faro Taqueria, was born.”
A lighthouse on the prairies is ironic, although the province is home to one physical, working lighthouse in the Resort Village of Cochin on the shores of Jackfish Lake. El Faro's location in Shaunavon is not a lighthouse, but a former schoolhouse. North Instow School was moved from approximately 11 kilometres north of Shaunavon to its present location on 3rd Avenue in 1948. A second building on the east side of the property is the former Leitchville School, moved from northwest of Shaunavon, most likely in the early 1950s. The property just happened to come up for sale during a visit the couple made to Shaunavon to scope out possibilities.
Their name and location fit with their self-defined purpose. Becky says, “Our driving force has always been what is different, what is unique, what can we bring to the market that is a niche, that is going to excite people? If it doesn’t excite them, then why would you be in the industry?”
Becky was diagnosed as celiac in 2012, and she also has Hashimoto's disease, an autoimmune disorder affecting the thyroid gland. Becky says, “I was extremely sick for a very long time. I was sitting at home and could barely function. I said, if I can ever get out of this, I will make it my mission in life to heal other people, whatever that looks like.” She adds, “Owning a restaurant was a dream of mine, but I didn’t think it would ever happen. My mission is to talk with people about their health and to share my own experience and try to help people. I feel privileged to have open, honest conversations and try to help people along the way. Autoimmune diseases are a lifelong battle.”
Tired of tasting gluten-free flour that either didn’t rise, had gritty texture or wouldn’t bake/cook properly, Becky began to experiment with her blend in 2019. In 2020, when flour products of all varieties became scarce, she returned to her formula and began to try it in recipes. “I tried it in scones,” she explains, “They fluffed up and were big, and when you broke them open, they were like a regular, glutinous scone. I said to Deryk, ‘This can’t be.’ It was amazing; we were dancing around the kitchen! I offered it to people in Pender to try the blend themselves. I gave them a pound of it, asked them to take it home and bake with it and let me know if it was going to work for them. If it was going to work for everything they could dream of making, I knew it would work for everyone.”
They proceeded to the necessary steps to make the blend for commercial purposes. They put it out to grocery stores, and its distribution continued to grow. Part of their reason for keeping the El Faro brand is that people from all over Canada had come to the Island and been introduced to their products. “It’s difficult now to get it back to Vancouver Island for a reasonable shipping price, but we are shipping all across Canada.” Their flour components come from a 100% gluten-free mill in Ontario.
Deryk brings years of restaurant experience to the venture and is a self-proclaimed ‘foodie’. He says, “My Mom was a nutritionist and even released her cookbook, so I grew up with that mindset. I looked into herbology and herbal medicines, the Chinese system of food cures and how different combinations of food affects your body and metabolism.” He adds, “There’s more awareness today. People want to know where their food comes from. We go with very clean, healthy food. Saskatchewan has a high quality of local food sources compared to the Island.” He adds, “We thought, how hard can it be to be gluten-free? There are other ways to do things, without flour; a few adjustments here and there. I’m not gluten-free, so if it tastes good to me, that’s the test.”
The couple describes several instances in their journey where fate intervened and doors were opened that they were compelled to step through. Becky says, “You can paddle up the stream against the flow, or you can turn around and let the stream take you, and then life becomes easy. But the thing is, you have to let go. You have to let go of your expectations and let go of what you wanted. If you fight against them, you’ll never know the experience of what could be.”
There is another aspect to their business in Shaunavon: ‘The Barn’, situated in the old Leitchville school and ‘The Dove’s Nest’ in the back half of the restaurant building, houses thrift store items. The buildings were recently reopened for the season. Becky says, “When we first bought the property and were doing renos, I went into the ‘Barn’ and the last box I opened had a pastry cutter inside that was identical to one I had found on Pender Island. We didn’t have much money at that time, and I bought that one for 50 cents and said that I was going to make cornish pasties for the Farmer’s Market and make some money. That’s really how it all started. That was seven years ago...now I have a restaurant AND a thrift store. I still use that 50-cent pastry cutter. Life has a way of evolving and making you laugh. You just have to be open to where it’s going to take you. Life will guide us.”
Almost like a lighthouse, one might say.
