Vendor Spotlight: Haven Forest & Farm

Behind every homemade pie, jar of preserves, savory pastry, fresh vegetable and fruit, and seasonal creation at Haven is a story rooted in family, fresh ingredients, and a lifelong love of cooking. 
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Skye Ellis may be newer to farming, but she’s spent much of her career in the kitchen. Before moving to Norfolk County, she worked as a professional cook in Toronto, building experience in restaurants, hotels, catering, and weddings. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she and her partner made the move to her parents’ farm, where she now combines her culinary background with the adventure of growing food. 

Skye's parents purchased the farm nearly 20 years ago after moving from Hamilton to pursue their dream of farming. As they got older, Skye returned to spend more time with family and help carry that dream forward. While she jokes that she’s, “still learning the growing part”, her passion for food is evident in everything she creates. 

Nearly everything you’ll find at Haven begins right on the farm. From strawberries and rhubarb that become homemade pies to vegetables and fruit transformed into preserves, Skye grows so much of what she sells herself. Many of her canned goods are made entirely from her own harvest. When a crop doesn’t produce enough, such as blueberries, she sources additional ingredients locally and organically. “I grow all the produce myself,” she says. “Farming seems to be throwing a lot of crap at the wall and seeing what sticks.” It’s a learning process, but one she genuinely enjoys. Friends, neighbouring farmers, and her dad have all shared advice along the way, and each growing season brings new lessons. 

If you’ve ever visited Haven’s booth at the Horton Farmers’ Market, you’ve probably noticed just how beautifully everything is displayed. That’s no coincidence. “I’ve travelled a lot, and cooked in other places, and you really do appreciate aesthetics, and what that looks like in other cultures,” Skye says. Having lived and cooked in Europe, she developed an appreciation for the care that goes into presenting food. She recalls visiting butcher shops in France where, “the fridge cases look like a Rembrandt painting, displayed with such care.” Combined with years spent working in Toronto’s catering and wedding industry, creating beautiful food has become second nature. Whether she’s decorating pies or setting up her market table on Saturday morning, Skye believes that good food deserves thoughtful presentation. ​

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One of Haven’s most unique offerings this season has also become one of its biggest conversation starters. While many people know spanakopita as a spinach and feta pie, Skye grew up learning a more traditional Greek version from her yiayia. Called hortopita, it uses a variety of wild foraged greens instead of relying only on spinach. ‘Horta’ is literally the Greek word for ‘greens’. Growing up, it was common for Skye to see women on the side of the highways with little bags and knives, picking wild greens out of the grass. Her grandmother taught her how to recognize edible plants that many people simply walk past. “People in this country do not know how much food surrounds us,” Skye says. "There is so much food everywhere.” The type of wild green depends on where you are and the season. 

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When her spinach crop struggled this year, she decided to return to those family traditions. She wasn’t sure how customers would react to a pie made with wild greens as, “they’re just weeds to everyone else,” but the response surprised her. “People are so jazzed at the idea of foraged greens when I tell them,” she says. She points out that wild plants are often even more nutritious than cultivated ones, and the excitement from customers has inspired her to begin planning future foraging class offerings in addition to her fresh produce and products. “Foraging knowledge is something that has greatly been lost,” she says. “I am trying to bring some aspect of it back.”

For Skye, sharing food also means sharing knowledge. She believes supporting local food systems has never been more important. “If we stop supporting local we are lost, because then you have no choices,” she explains. Farmers’ markets create opportunities that grocery stores simply can’t. Customers can meet the people growing their food, ask questions, and better understand how it’s produced, where it comes from, and the time and care put into each product. As a true farmers' market and a producer based market, The Horton Farmers' Market requires that vendors grow, raise, or make the bulk of what they sell - no resellers and no mass-produced goods - just authentic, local products straight from the source. “The single best thing that a market like the Horton Farmers' Market does is put the producers right up with the customers, so they can have conversations,” she says. Skye has always done the city markets for her parents, so after spending years working markets throughout Toronto, she says Horton Farmers’ Market stood out in the best possible way.

Skye’s favourite part about Horton? "The other vendors – they’re awesome,” she says. She also credits the Horton Farmers' Market team for creating such a welcoming environment, noting that she’s never experienced management so invested in supporting their vendors. “Without a word of a lie,” she says, “one of the best markets I’ve done in my life.” 

Beyond the market, Haven continues to grow. Along with the gardens, fruit orchard, and a farm full of goats, ducks, and chickens, Skye also welcomes guests for farm stays and is looking forward to expanding her educational workshops focused on growing food and foraging. 

When asked what advice she would give someone thinking about starting their own business, her answer is simple: follow your passion and don’t be afraid to learn as you go. “At this juncture of my life, for me it’s more about the joy in what I’m doing,” she explains. “I like being around other people who also take joy in what they are doing.” That philosophy is reflected in every pie she baked, every preserve she jars, and every conversation she has across the market table. “I just love doing this,” she says. “I love food. I love feeding people good food. I love it when they enjoy it and come back to me saying how much they enjoyed it.”

Whether you leave Haven with a homemade pie, a jar of preserves, some freshly grown vegetables and fruits, or a newfound curiosity about foraging, you’ll leave with something grown and made by someone who truly loves what she does – and who is passionate about sharing that love of food with the community. 

​Be sure to stop by Haven's booth and say hi to Skye the next time you’re at the Horton Farmers’ Market. While Skye doesn’t currently have a website or social media, you can follow the Horton Farmers’ Market on Instagram and Facebook to see when Haven and your other favourite vendors will be at the market each week. Haven can also be found vending at the Port Rowan Farmers’ Market, Friday afternoons from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

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Kate Hanslip, Summer Marketing Assistant ​

Kate is a recent social sciences graduate from Western University and currently a marketing student at Fanshawe College. Having grown up in St. Thomas, she brings a love of history and storytelling to her work where she enjoys highlighting the people, businesses, and stories that shape the community. In her free time, she enjoys watching movies, exploring local trails, and experimenting in the kitchen.