Celebrity Chef Cooking Classes Ripe for the Picking
The Arts Club Theatre Company is pleased to announce a fall series of its 2010 Celebrity Chef Cooking Classes from October 19 to November 22. This season marks the 10th anniversary of this delicious fundraiser that combines cooking instruction by renowned Vancouver chefs with great wine at gorgeous private homes around the city. Due to popular demand, the Arts Club has lined up this fall session, in addition to the usual spring session, that will take advantage of seasonal delicacies.
Each fun and information-packed three-hour class starts with a glass of bubbly, before guests takes part in the creation of a decadent three-course meal. During the evening, the chefs impart their culinary wisdom and treat guests to kitchen stories, hints, and tricks of the trade that will benefit any home cook from beginner to gourmet. Two special evening classes are scheduled this fall: one class will be held at a beautiful classic home decorated by boutique interior design firm McIntyre Cresswell Design Group, and guests at “The Singing Chef” Lillooet Fox’s class will enjoy live jazz, sung by the multi-talented chef herself, while they sip wine and gain culinary expertise.
The chefs for 2010’s fall Celebrity Chef Cooking Classes are: October 19, Laurent Devin from Bistro Bistrot; October 29, Lillooet Fox, from Love That Chef; November 1, Quang Dang, from Diva at the Met; November 10, Alain Rayé, from La Relegadé; November 16, Jeremie Bastien, from Boneta; and November 22, Tina Fineza, from Flying Tiger.
IN BRIEF: The Arts Club Theatre Company’s Celebrity Chef Cooking Classes run from October 19 to November 22 in private homes throughout the city. Tickets for each of these fundraising events for the Arts Club are $125 and include a $50 tax receipt. For tickets and info, call Christine Overvelde at 604.687.5315 x248. A full list of chefs and dates is available at artsclub.com
Due to the intimate nature of these events, tickets for media may come available for the occasional class. Please contact Christine Overvelde, Manager of Special Events, at covervelde@artsclub.com if you are interested in participating in a class.
LAURENT DEVIN—Bistrot Bistro
Laurent and his wife Valerie opened Bistrot Bistro in December 2007 drawing inspirations from their childhood memories in provincial France. Having inspirational styles of French country fare, their dishes are invented to share with friends and family over long, cozy conversation. True to tradition, the wine program must be essential, focused on food compatibility, diversity, and above all else, value.
TINA FINEZA—Flying Tiger
Following graduation from Dubrulle Culinary Institute, Tina worked at Lumiere under the tutelage of Chef Rob Feenie and Chef Frank Pabst, Star Anise with Chef Julian Bond, and Diva at the Met under the guidance of Chefs Michael Noble and Chris Mills, before becoming the Chef de Cuisine at Bin 942 when it opened in 1999. In 2004, Chef Tina followed her passion to the United States and joined the highly acclaimed Relais & Châteaux property, the Ryland Inn in Whitehouse, New Jersey. In 2006 and 2007, Chef Tina visited Asia on a research trip. This was the motive in opening The Flying Tiger; creating a menu of Modern Asian Street food, unparalleled in this city to date. This led Chef Tina to join the faculty at The Art Institute of Vancouver Culinary School, instructing Asian cuisine.
LILLOOET FOX—Love that Chef
An experienced and valued private chef, Lillooet Fox is the menu designer and owner of Love that Chef. Fox received her culinary education at The Dorothy Wright Culinary School of the Arts (her mother’s gourmet kitchen!). It was there that she received her priceless “Masters in Yummy,” her passion for food, and the connection between delicious cuisine and comfort that makes her cooking so delectable. Love That Chef caters to busy executives and families who want to enjoy the best food possible but don’t have the time to prepare it. One call does it all—whatever your culinary needs are, Love that Chef will fulfill them.
QUANG DANG—Diva at the Met
Modern. Avant-guard. Cutting edge. Quang Dang, executive chef of Metropolitan Hotel Vancouver’s Diva at the Met, brings his Pacific Northwest style to the table with a contemporary flair. After completing a 3-and-a-half year apprenticeship at Diva at the beginning of his career, he also participated in a number of international food competitions such as the 2003 Bocuse D’Or in Lyon, France and the National Chaine des Rotisseurs in Winnipeg in 2002, catching the attention of David Hawksworth of West who made him the restaurant’s Junior Sous Chef.
In 2006, with the buzz surrounding Quang growing, he moved on to become Executive Chef de Cuisine at C Restaurant where he, arguably, produced the most definitive seafood restaurant in the country. Today, Chef Dang has come full circle, returning to the very place he began his career. His expertise and ballsy approach bring a new definition to one of Vancouver’s most elegant dining rooms. Dang has brought even greater influences of sustainability to the restaurant, including sustainably harvested seafood, local farmers, and hand-crafted ingredients from the Pacific North-west.
JEREMIE BASTIEN—Boneta
As one of Canada’s youngest executive chefs, Jeremie Bastien has the restaurant industry in his blood. His father, Chef Richard Bastien, is the chef/ owner of three of Quebec’s most popular restaurants: Café des Beaux Arts in Montreal’s Museum of Fine Arts, Lemeac in Montreal, and Le Mityoen in Laval. At just 16, he helped his father open Le Café des Beaux Arts and after high school graduation Jeremie attended IT HQ in Montreal to study culinary arts. During this time, Jeremie worked for his mentor, Ian Perreault at Area Restaurant, where he fondly recalls learning to fillet his first fish under the watchful eye of Chef Perreault.
After graduation Jeremie worked in France for David Zuddas at the Michelin-starred L’Auberge de la Charme, at Area in Montreal, and with Nancy Oaks at Boulevard in San Francisco. A call from Lumiere restaurant in Vancouver inspired Jeremie’s move northward where he met his future partners Mark Brand and Neil Ingram. After three years working at the Relais Gourmands property, Jeremie signed on as Executive Chef at Boneta restaurant.
ALAIN RAYE— La Régalade
Alain Rayé is an award-winning chef who worked in gourmet restaurants throughout France before moving to Vancouver. People flock to the comforting French country fare served at his award-winning bistro, La Régalade. Alain has written two cookbooks, Un table pour deux and La Régalade: Simple French Bistro Food at Home.
