Each tiny seed planted becomes a tree that nourishes us all.

From Problems to Poutine  

Three community dinners in, it’s a great time to reflect on how our team of volunteers has come together, shown up and stepped up. Every dinner has presented little problems–we’ve run out of stuff; had to substitute (turns out mozzarella IS a great substitute for cheese curds!), lost stuff (like a whole container of spices!?)-–but everybody has kept their cool, thought on their feet, and solved the issues on the fly. It’s fantastic seeing how well everybody works together, but hardly a surprise.  Whistler is full of so many very, very capable people.

At our November 17th dinner, we served 112 guests—almost double the number attending our last dinner. At our 6:00 pm opening we had a queue of 45 people, which flowed through smoothly.  It did create an eat-and-run experience that doesn’t match the dinner party vibe ROCKS is aiming for – so we’ll pivot for our next ones.

In total, we have now served 279 hot meals and with the rapidly escalating number of guests, we’re making some changes. To take the time pressure off early-arriving guests we’re moving to two seatings–the first at 6 pm and the second at 7pm.  To facilitate two seatings and more accurately estimate food quantities, we’re also going to try a simple reservation system, with an allowance for walk-ins.

This dinner would have cost us around $2,724, but once again, the amazing contributions from Wildwood Catering (BBQ Bob), WMSC, Slope Side Supply, Whistler Personnel Services, Purebread, and Whistler Cooks, it cost only around $1,352.  Our costs were offset by $778 in donations at the event, meaning that we spent $574—again coming in well under our budget of $1,000 per evening ($10 per meal).

We also handed out bags of split pea and barley soup mixes, packed by the staff at the Delta Hotel. Thank you Delta—the just-add-water-and-simmer soup is perfect for these dank November days.  Giving out something extra at each meal aligns perfectly to our vision.

Let The Good Times Roll – More Dinners and Community Engagement

As we are enjoying ourselves SO MUCH and had such great feedback, we’ve now secured Monday night dinners at the Whistler Mountain Ski Club through until spring.  Knowing how many seasonal workers can’t make it home for Christmas, we’ve also added a dinner on Christmas Eve.

Mark your calendars for ROCKS hot meals:
Dec 8
Dec 24 (On Christmas Eve only, dinner will be served at 4:00 pm instead of the usual 6:00pm)
Jan 19
Feb 9
Feb 23
Mar 9
Mar 30
Apr 13
Apr 27
May 11
May 25

Watch for us in our Community Engagement:

Nov 6 – Natalie was invited to join the Merlin’s Community Dinners as a volunteer, which was a great learning experience.  These dinners ran for 5 weeks in the fall and were very well run.
Nov 21 – The Pique ran an article in the Epicurious section, focussing on our goal of a long term location and the connections that are being made in our community.
Nov 26 – From 2-4 pm, we’ll be at a booth at the Westin Associate Wellness Fair, which will be focussing on workplace wellness, mental health, fitness, nutrition, and lifestyle balance. (Thank you Westin! We’re grateful to be included in such events.)
Dec 2 – Listen in for our interview on Mountain FM.
Dec 24 – Following our dinner on Xmas Eve, after all the dishes are done, all volunteers (and ROCKS friends!) are invited to join us to celebrate how far ROCKS has come.

Follow us on instagram to keep up with progress between newsletters.

Call for Volunteer Head Chefs

With amazing generosity, Whistler Personnel Solutions has paid for Head Chef Glenn Mishaw to oversee our first 3 events. Thank you so much Jacki and Glenn for getting us off to such a smooth start.  From here, ROCKS dinners will be headed up by a series of volunteer head chefs, who’ll help develop the menu, work with their local suppliers and deliver an amazing experience.  We’re thrilled to announce we’ve already booked our first three – Head Chefs Jessie, Leana and Zack are busy designing menus and figuring out the logistics of working in a smaller with limited resources.

Are you a chef or FoodSafe certified cook interested in contributing your culinary talents? Becoming a ROCKStar Head Chef offers huge scope for creativity. To find out more about, email us and we’ll send you the details and work with you.

Volunteers Are Our ROCKStars

ROCKS now has a roster of 95 of volunteers, but with eleven more dinners scheduled we can always use more. We’re a happy bunch—every event, our team is half returning volunteers and half new ones. Some ROCKStars are longtime locals, some are Whistler newcomers who find it a great way to meet people in their new community.  You can sign up for any and all upcoming shifts direct onto our volunteer platform Vome, or via our form link.

It’s a fun volunteer gig and the 2025 Living Wage Report released this month underscores the value of the work we do. In all of BC, Whistler has the highest living wage at $29.60—that’s the hourly wage a full-time, year-round worker has to earn to cover basic needs like housing, food, transportation and childcare without chronic financial stress. It’s almost double the provincial minimum wage of $17.85, it’s significantly more than many locals make, and it’s a big part of why Whistler needs us.

Departing Director

Tatiana Stanev (Tania) got involved in ROCKS when it was just coming out of its seed pod and stepped up as Director when Natalie needed her most. As Director, she collaborated on our pitch to the 100 Women of Whistler, which ultimately gave us our start. Although Tania will stay on as a volunteer she’s stepping down as Director to raise her kids and grow her business, Sourdough on the Go. (For those who don’t Tania’s bread, you don’t know what you’re missing!).  Thanks always, Tania, for your early faith and continuing support.

Thank you for reading and see you soon!

The Whistler ROCKS team