Pete Luckett
Encyclopedia
Pete Luckett is an entrepreneur and media personality who is known as a culinary fruit
and vegetable
expert.
Originally a native of Nottingham, England
, Luckett emigrated to Canada in 1979, settling in Saint John
, New Brunswick
. In the early 1990s he moved from Saint John to Bedford, Nova Scotia
and currently makes his home in Gaspereau
, Nova Scotia.
for his Pete's Frootique specialty grocery stores. The first Pete's Frootique store opened in 1981 at the Saint John City Market
. This was followed by a second store that opened on Mountain Road in Moncton. In 1992 the third Pete's Frootique store opened at the Sunnyside Mall
in Bedford
and in 2004 the fourth Pete's Frootique store opened on Dresden Row in downtown Halifax
.
The Pete's Frootique stores are all different in scale. The Saint John City Market store retains its original look as an expansive fruit and vegetable stall. The Moncton store was located in an urban strip development in a former grocery store but has since closed. The Bedford store is the most expansive and up-scale as it houses the following operating divisions: a power juice bar, a gourmet fruit and gift basket shop, a European delicatessen
, a gourmet butcher
and fish shop, a British specialty food emporium named Best of Britain, plus a wine shop.
Luckett operates a farm in the Gaspereau River valley that supplies vegetables and fruit to his two stores in Bedford and Halifax, as well as commercial customers such as restaurants and caterers.
In 1999, Luckett made headlines when he won a court battle against the Government of Nova Scotia when he sought to keep his Bedford store open on Sunday. To circumvent Nova Scotia's Sunday shopping
laws, Luckett registered sections of his Bedford store as separate businesses. He copied this approach at his Halifax store when it opened in 2004. In October 2006 the province's Sunday shopping restrictions were over-turned after both Sobeys
and Atlantic Superstore
copied Luckett's approach to several of their supermarkets, forcing the government to enact restrictions that were successfully contested in court.
television show Midday
.
Upon moving to Nova Scotia in the early 1990s, Luckett became a contributing guest to the Halifax CTV
affiliate, ATV
, where he hosted a bi-weekly segment on fruit
and vegetable
s on the supperhour news show Live at Five
.
Luckett currently hosts the Food Network
series The Food Hunter where he travels around the world.
Luckett writes a column for the Halifax Chronicle-Herald
. He also serves as a consultant for Chartwells, which delivers all food services at Acadia University
, near his current home.
Luckett Also Star On CBC's Steven and Chris
.
Luckett also presents at the OptiMYz Live Health Expo in Halifax
Luckett's catchphrase in his broadcast media appearances is "Toodlee-doo".
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
and vegetable
Vegetable
The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....
expert.
Originally a native of Nottingham, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Luckett emigrated to Canada in 1979, settling in Saint John
Saint John, New Brunswick
City of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...
, New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
. In the early 1990s he moved from Saint John to Bedford, Nova Scotia
Bedford, Nova Scotia
Bedford is a community in the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada. It was an independent town from 1980-1996. Bedford lies on the northwestern end of Bedford Basin, an extension of the Halifax Harbour...
and currently makes his home in Gaspereau
Gaspereau, Nova Scotia
Gaspereau is a Canadian rural community located in Kings County, Nova Scotia.It is located about 3 km south of the town of Wolfville on the Gaspereau River. The name "Gaspereau" is often used to refer to all of the communities throughout the 15 km Gaspereau Valley.The name is derived from the ...
, Nova Scotia.
Pete's Frootique
Luckett is widely known in the MaritimesMaritimes
The Maritime provinces, also called the Maritimes or the Canadian Maritimes, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. On the Atlantic coast, the Maritimes are a subregion of Atlantic Canada, which also includes the...
for his Pete's Frootique specialty grocery stores. The first Pete's Frootique store opened in 1981 at the Saint John City Market
Saint John City Market
The Saint John City Market is the oldest continuing farmer's market in Canada, with a charter dating from 1785. Located in Saint John, New Brunswick and completed in 1876, the current market building has a unique roof structure that resembles an inverted ship's keel. Made of wooden trusses, the...
. This was followed by a second store that opened on Mountain Road in Moncton. In 1992 the third Pete's Frootique store opened at the Sunnyside Mall
Sunnyside Mall
The Sunnyside Mall is an upscale Canadian shopping mall in Bedford, Nova Scotia. The mall is home to the largest indoor market in the Maritimes, Pete's Frootique...
in Bedford
Bedford, Nova Scotia
Bedford is a community in the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada. It was an independent town from 1980-1996. Bedford lies on the northwestern end of Bedford Basin, an extension of the Halifax Harbour...
and in 2004 the fourth Pete's Frootique store opened on Dresden Row in downtown Halifax
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
.
The Pete's Frootique stores are all different in scale. The Saint John City Market store retains its original look as an expansive fruit and vegetable stall. The Moncton store was located in an urban strip development in a former grocery store but has since closed. The Bedford store is the most expansive and up-scale as it houses the following operating divisions: a power juice bar, a gourmet fruit and gift basket shop, a European delicatessen
Delicatessen
Delicatessen is a term meaning "delicacies" or "fine foods". The word entered English via German,with the old German spelling , plural of Delikatesse "delicacy", ultimately from Latin delicatus....
, a gourmet butcher
Butcher
A butcher is a person who may slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat or any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat, poultry, fish and shellfish for sale in retail or wholesale food establishments...
and fish shop, a British specialty food emporium named Best of Britain, plus a wine shop.
Luckett operates a farm in the Gaspereau River valley that supplies vegetables and fruit to his two stores in Bedford and Halifax, as well as commercial customers such as restaurants and caterers.
In 1999, Luckett made headlines when he won a court battle against the Government of Nova Scotia when he sought to keep his Bedford store open on Sunday. To circumvent Nova Scotia's Sunday shopping
Sunday shopping
Sunday shopping refers to the ability of retailers to operate stores on Sunday, a day that Christian tradition typically recognizes as the Sabbath, a "day of rest". Rules governing shopping hours, such as Sunday shopping, vary around the world but some European nations continue to ban Sunday shopping...
laws, Luckett registered sections of his Bedford store as separate businesses. He copied this approach at his Halifax store when it opened in 2004. In October 2006 the province's Sunday shopping restrictions were over-turned after both Sobeys
Sobeys
Sobeys is the second largest food retailer in Canada, with over 1,300 supermarkets operating under a variety of banners. Headquartered in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, it operates stores in all ten provinces and accumulated sales of more than $14 billion CAD in 2009...
and Atlantic Superstore
Atlantic Superstore
Atlantic Superstore is a Canadian supermarket chain of 54 stores in the Maritime provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island...
copied Luckett's approach to several of their supermarkets, forcing the government to enact restrictions that were successfully contested in court.
Media personality
Luckett's TV career started while in Saint John as a frequent guest on the CBCCBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
television show Midday
Midday (TV series)
Midday can refer to:*Midday *Midday *Midday...
.
Upon moving to Nova Scotia in the early 1990s, Luckett became a contributing guest to the Halifax CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
affiliate, ATV
CTV Atlantic
CTV Atlantic is a system of four television stations in the Canadian Maritimes, owned and operated by the CTV Television Network, a division of Bell Media...
, where he hosted a bi-weekly segment on fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
and vegetable
Vegetable
The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....
s on the supperhour news show Live at Five
Live at 5 (CTV TV series)
Live at 5 is a popular hour-long television newsmagazine airing weekdays at 5:00 p.m. on the CTV Atlantic system in Atlantic Canada. The program's official name is CTV News: Live At 5. Before CTV's branding change in 2005, it was officially known as The ATV Evening News: Live At 5...
.
Luckett currently hosts the Food Network
Food Network
Food Network is a television specialty channel that airs both one-time and recurring programs about food and cooking. Scripps Networks Interactive owns 70 percent of the network, with Tribune Company controlling the remaining 30 percent....
series The Food Hunter where he travels around the world.
Luckett writes a column for the Halifax Chronicle-Herald
Halifax Chronicle-Herald
The Chronicle Herald is a broadsheet published in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The largest newspaper company in Nova Scotia, The Chronicle Herald is also the highest circulation newspaper in the Atlantic provinces and is currently the largest independently owned newspaper company in Canada...
. He also serves as a consultant for Chartwells, which delivers all food services at Acadia University
Acadia University
Acadia University is a predominantly undergraduate university located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada with some graduate programs at the master's level and one at the doctoral level...
, near his current home.
Luckett Also Star On CBC's Steven and Chris
Steven and Chris
Steven and Chris is a Canadian television talk show, which debuted on CBC Television on January 14, 2008. The show is hosted by Steven Sabados and Chris Hyndman, formerly of the home renovation show Designer Guys, who host celebrity guests and talk about topics ranging from entertainment, cooking,...
.
Luckett also presents at the OptiMYz Live Health Expo in Halifax
Luckett's catchphrase in his broadcast media appearances is "Toodlee-doo".