B.C. Coastal Grilling Planks are enjoyed everywhere for all types of occasions
PARKSVILLE – B.C. Coastal Grilling Planks Ltd. is about more than just making Western Red Cedar grilling planks.
The company manufactures cooking wraps, grill scrapers, beer and wine appetizer plates, boxes, crates, charcuterie serving boards and seasoning rubs, notes owner Jim Moore.
Famous for its flavour injection while cooking salmon, cedar grilling planks are also tasty additions to prawns, scallops, halibut, trout, chicken, beef and vegetables.
“Cedar plank cooking can be done in an oven, not just on the barbecue,” he says. “It’s not all about burning up the plank on a barbecue, but releasing the flavour of the West Coast Rainforest. “We kiln dry the cedar planks to remove the moisture for packaging which allows the customer to soak in whatever liquid they want – generally it’s water – that steams into the food that is being cooked, keeping it moist and flavourful.”
Jim Moore and Donna Livelton of B.C. Coastal Grilling Planks Ltd.
Jim, Vancouver Island born and raised with a background in all aspects of the forest industry, started the business 17 years ago with his wife Donna Livelton, who leads the way in design, marketing and sales.
They make almost all of their products from Island wood, mostly sourced from another Island company, Aquila Cedar Products and are located in the same Value-added Wood Processing complex.
“We specialize in private labelling and custom logo wood branding on cedar grilling planks, and most all of our other products: Wine and beer appetizer plates for events like Brewery & the Beast, Culinaire, the Cheese & Meat Festival and many others have been the most successful and helps us utilize the shorter lengths of wood.
Vancouver’s Cheese and Meat Festival used B.C. Coastal Grilling Planks
“Last year we made 260 custom charcuterie boards for Sheila’s Catering for an event in White Rock called ‘Charcuterie on the Pier’ that got into the Guinness Book of World Records for being the longest charcuterie board. The boards were made of 1×10” x 24” Red Alder sourced from another local, Paul Beltgens of Jemico Enterprises in Chemainus.”
B.C. Coastal Grilling Planks own labels are distributed by Inter-City Packers, B&C Food Distributors and Centennial Foodservice out west and sold at Save On Foods, Thrifty Foods and Canada Safeway among others. They also supply Private Label products to Meridian Farm Markets for all of their stores in the Lower Mainland, Federated COOP throughout Canada and Canac Hardware stores in Quebec. They’ve also shipped containers to Australia and into Russia prior to the Ukraine war.
“The company has grown every year and is always increasing its production capacity and range of products,” says Jim. “In March we will have our full E-commerce website launched with all of our products so we can sell directly to consumers who have not been able to purchase many of our Plank Gift Sets since we stopped doing Christmas shows in 2017.”
In addition they supply planks to companies currently selling Amazon and hope to have their own products listed very soon.
40 Knots Winery in Comox, which won a Vancouver Island Business Excellence Award Feb. 1 in Nanaimo, also has Custom made products produced by B.C. Coastal Grilling Planks.
“We’re on a real mission to tell people that B.C. Coastal Grilling makes more than grilling planks, and everything we do is based on wood utilization,” he notes. “Our knowledge of wood helps make us successful, as it doesn’t have to cost more to have a quality, beautiful product. Also, our commitment to customer satisfaction is a key. We give our customers what they want, when they want it.”
Business Examiner Staff
