GRAVELBOURG — Lt. Gov. Bernadette McIntyre showcased southern Saskatchewan in her recent meeting with King Charles.
McIntyre, who met with the king on May 14 as part of the tradition for newly appointed vice-regal representatives
The 24th lieutenant governor for the province took gifts to the king that reflected our province’s agricultural roots, which included savoury dill pickle mustard from Gravelbourg.
Often royalty receive gifts that end up displayed or archived, so McIntyre wanted to bring something consumable.
On her webpage, the release about the royal visit, cited, “Her honour presented the king with gifts representative of Saskatchewan including:
- Lentil and chickpea snacks from the Three Farmers company of Saskatoon. Saskatchewan is a major producer of pulse crops.
- A jar of Savoury Dill Pickle Mustard from Gravelbourg Mustard. Our province is the world’s largest exporter of mustard seed.
- A green scarf for King Charles and a blue scarf for Queen Camilla, both designed and knit by Mariette Anderson of Gravelbourg from wool produced by the Canadian Fibre Mill located near Caron.
Paul Léost and Matt Sirois of Gravelbourg Mustard say they only found out that their product would be taken to King Charles once the press release came from the lieutenant-governor’s office.
“We do not have any connection to her. We are not sure how she found out about our business, but we are highly visible and people know the brand,” said the business owners. “We are both honoured and humbled by this opportunity. Wonderful surprise!”
Since the news was released about these special Saskatchewan gifts given to King Charles, the business duo said, “We received a lot of personal emails, calls, as well as texts, comments, messages and such on our social media platforms. We would have to say this is the most prestigious place our product has been featured – so far.”
“We are proud of what we produce, from right here in the heart of mustard country. We use only the best ingredients and pride ourselves on the quality and taste of our gourmet mustards. Saskatchewan produces 80 per cent of Canada's mustard and 50 per cent of the world's, so we can assure that people are getting the best mustard available. Proud to be a featured provincial and national product.”
Paul and Matt said they have received a lot of feedback on their social channels about events like this. When it makes mainstream media such as local and national TV as well as online and printed news, it helps spread the word.
“A lot of word of mouth goes a long way as well. We have also noticed an uptake with our online sales from across the country.”
You can find out more about this southern Saskatchewan company that has its product delivered to Buckingham Palace, by visiting their website, www.gravelbourgmustard.ca .
