Dinner by the Province’s Best Chefs – Les Dames Summerdine Fundraiser Supports Women’s Education, Project Chef and Growing Chefs I’m part of this amazing organization and each year we present a dinner party across the province created by our region’s top chefs. This year it’ Wednesday, August 16th when Les Dames d’Escoffier BC Chapter presents Les Dames Summerdine – fabulous food and glorious wines on one day only at more than 30 different restaurants, wineries, cooking schools and culinary venues across BC. Most are dinners, with one exception – a very special luncheon at Sea Cider Farm and Ciderhouse on Vancouver Island.…
Author: Cassandra Anderton
Tasty Treats Showcase On At Metropolis at Metrotown If you’re a fan of sweets, get down to Burnaby as from August 11th to 20th, Metropolis at Metrotown will be hosting Tasty Treats, a mouth-watering and whimsical exhibit featuring larger-than-life food art displays, sampling from sweet & salty snack retailers, and daily contest giveaways. Looking for something to do with your kids, stuck with someone else’s, or just feel like being a kid yourself? Need a sugar rush? This is the place for you. From the press release….. During the 10-day exhibit, shoppers can snap endless selfies in front of the…
Mix Up a Cardamon Mojito With Bacardi We often mix up Mojito and have mint readily available on our balcony at GLV headquarters! So, what is a Mojito and why do you need one? Mojito’s were born in Cuba, but there’s often arguments over the actual inventor. “La Bodeguita del medio”, a restaurant in Havana, Cuba claims to be the cocktail’s birthplace, the very spot that Ernest Hemmingway’s sipped on this drink. The African slaves working in the Cuban sugar cane fields created the drink from sugar cane alcohol and it made it’s way to the bar. The other story we’ve…
What’s There To Do Around Vancouver This Week? Pig Roast at Library Square – Saturday July 8th Library Square is keeping summer rolling on Saturday with the “Juluau”— a pig roast and Tiki drink party which kicks off on their patio at 3pm. Tickets to the event are $25 and include: Pig Roast and all the fixings A Parallel 49 Filthy Dirty IPA Fun in the sun, with South Pacific décor A menu of delicious Tiki cocktails will be offered for just $9 each including Mai-Tais, Ricky Ricardos, and Daiquiris. Tickets are available here. Fets Pig Roast, Catfish and Whisky Dinner…
Okanagan Wine Country – Naramata and a Bit Beyond Thanks to the ever-charming Chef Victor Bongo, the ever-ready to travel Tess G. and I got an invite to the Naramata Bench for the launch of the chefs new menu and the wines Bongo created in conjunction with Serendipity Winery. We live in delicious times I tell you! You can check out the full story on the launch right here. While we were there we managed to sneak a little bit more into this Okanagan Wine Country visit. The Honda CRV was perfect for cruising up from Vancouver with a ton…
Chef Victor Bongo Launches New Menu at The Naramata Inn and Releases Enchanté by Bongo Wines A few months back we joined Chef Victor Bongo in Vancouver to sample items for his new menu (details here), and now that he’s fully installed in Naramata he kindly asked us to join him for a Bongo-style weekend. Bongo likes to celebrate and does everything with flare, so it was no surprise the weekend was rather special. Tess and I drove up and checked into the Apple d’Or Bed and Breakfast (more on that soon), a spectacular boutique accommodation on the Naramata Inn…
Mix Up Some Absolut – ly Delicious Cocktails For Canada Day To celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday, Absolut collaborated on a limited edition bottle with Canadian textile artist Libs Elliott and I was fortunate enough to be sent one to play with. Through her quilts, she’s revitalizing a craft with a deep legacy by incorporating modern technology in her methods . Through coding, Libs generates random geometric designs –and then manipulates and refines them further to create a quilt design. Each quilt ends up being a one-of-a-kind variation of colour, shape and fabric – a fitting metaphor for Canada. “We’re also all…
Dine Out For a Cause – Les Dames d’Escoffier August 16, 2017 As a proud member of Les Dames d’Escoffier, I’m always eager for each year’s Les Dames Summerdine, a concurrent dinner party held all over the province raising funds for our scholarship and outreach programs. This year the fundraiser is on August 16th and you’ll find fabulous food and wines at more than 30 different restaurants, wineries, cooking schools and culinary venues across BC. Most are dinners, with one exception – a very special luncheon at Sea Cider Farm and Ciderhouse on Vancouver Island. I’ll post more about all of…
Let’s Get Ready to Celebrate Canada in Vancouver – 150 PLUS YEARS I’m tagging this Canada Day #Canada150plus because Canada has been here a lot longer that 150 years! Nevertheless, we’ve got a country to celebrate and more and more reasons to celebrate as we find new ways to unite, merge and define our own versions of this great country. We’re over on Vancouver Island, exploring our province once again, and Michael’s Dad has just returned with fresh crabs from the ocean in Qualicum which we will boil up tonight. Our country is tasty and full of so many offerings…
Honda Accord Hybrid Touring – Touring the Okanagan If you been watching our recent antics, we’ve been on the road a lot lately and this April were cruising around the Okanagan pre and post wedding testing out the newest Honda Accord Hybrid, the 2017. The Accord is roomy and comfortable, perfect for packing everything up we needed for the nearly three weeks away. The rear seats don’t fold, but the trunk is spacious nevertheless. The two-motor system includes both combustion and electric engines, a combination that meant the stops at the gas pump were few and far between. Definitely a plus. There…
Chatting Cocktails With Danielle Jeckel at RauDZ in Kelowna We were up in Kelowna several times this spring for our wedding planning and festivities (no I won’t shut up about that yet) and I met up with bartender Danielle Jeckel of RauDZ restaurant for an interview about their cocktail program. This Kelowna favourite has superb food and a drink list with salutes to locally spirits, wines and beer. Danielle whipped up at Pistachio Rose Gimlet with Long Table London Dry Gin. Simply divine! To listen to the segment on TSN1410 Pistachio Rose Gimlet 2 oz Long Table London Dry Gin…
Fry Bread Recipe With Serving Suggestions Lately I’ve been extremely fortunate to have several experiences where I’ve learned just a little bit more about Indigenous culture. I was first invited to share in a Cooking For Reconciliation Feast at Skwachays Lodge with Chef Rich Francis who had recently spent his first visit in British Columbia’s Aboriginal communities filming a series about the spirituality, culture and history of the Yuquot, a coastal area of Nootka Island where the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nation call home. More recently I joined one of the Talking Trees Cultural Experiences at the Sea to Sky Gondola and Michael and I…
What To Do In And Around Vancouver This Week It’s the first day of summer and I’m feeling rather out of sorts for some reason. It’s actually the kind of weather I like today, so that can’t be it, although I know a lot of my friends would be happier with a little more sunshine. However, I’ll soldier through and maybe I just need a night at home or a hug or something. As for my recommendations, there’s lots this week. I’ll be heading off to Chase to a Bison Ranch and catching up with what’s new in Kamloops this…
Open Apron Brings Chefs To Your Home For Exceptional Meals We were lucky enough to win a dinner for Valentine’s Day this year with Open Apron. Open Apron is a catering service where you can search out chefs and meals and have them come to your home and cook you a meal. Our Chef was Jonathan Chang and his menu was absolutely fabulous, all the items thoughtfully chosen and delicious. First up a trio of oysters. Our kitchen is open and as we’re pretty friendly folk, we chatted with him as he prepared the meal, observed the process and learned…
Head to Metropolis at Metrotown for a contest – $1,000 grand prize/$250 weekly We partnered with Metropolis to bring you some news on this exhibit that sounds like a pretty cool way to get to know Canada! And they’re easy to get to via sky train too! Thinking we’ll head out and try to nab that grand prize too! From June 12 to July 3, Metropolis at Metrotown will be hosting Canadian Compass: Adventures in Every Direction, an interactive, virtual reality 360° exhibit that takes shoppers on a cross-country adventure and allows them to experience the sights and sounds of Canada’s iconic landscapes.…
Events For You And Dad For Father’s Day It seems people tend to plan a little further ahead for Mom, but good old Dad doesn’t seem to mind more last minute plans. I’m still getting emails on events that aren’t yet sold out, so here’s a few for you should you not have decided on where to celebrate your Father this Father’s Day. Sadly mine is in Kelowna, and Michael’s on the Island, so we’ll have to celebrate and give hugs later, but we’re still crashing Chef Juno Kim’s event, and going farther-less. Hope no one minds, but the deal…
A Few Events We Recommend In and Around Vancouver – What’s Good Well it’s been a busy couple months for us and I finally feel I am getting somewhat caught up after the wedding, but then I find a whole lot of other things I want to do! I’ve been trying to stay home more, and get our home together as it’s a bit of a disaster lately. It’s never dirty, but there’s lots of stuff around that I just can’t seem to get rid of. Good news is that there’s a Les Dames d’Escoffier Culinary Garage Sale coming up in…
Keep Cardiovascular Health Top Of Mind And Stay Healthy With Loblaws CityMarket I’ve been a little more liberal with my food choices since I completed my weight loss challenge, but I’m still keeping healthy eating a priority. Recently I met up with Brittany Thomas, one of the in-store dietitians available at local Loblaws CityMarket. I live right by the Arbutus store, so it’s super convenient for us to pop in there for groceries, and this time for some additional shopping advice. The dietitians offer one-on-one consultations tailored to your health needs, can provide heart-healthy recipes, do cooking demos, and can assist…
Unique Father’s Day Gifts Whenever we ask our Dad what he wants for Father’s Day, he says socks, and we listen, but we know that there are some Dad’s out there that really don’t want or need another pair of socks, so we’ve sussed out a few other things that sophisticated Dads might appreciate. Here’s a few culinary gems as well as some suggestions should Dad need some pampering. SousVide Supreme You may have seen some behind the scenes cooking at our house as we’ve got this magical device and recently Michael just made some ribs that were to die…
UBC Food Services Chef Steven Yzerman From UBC Food Trucks Recipe For Tuna Atop Slaw Last week I ventured out to UBC to visit my husband Mich just to make sure he’s behaving at work. Okay, not really, it was actually to witness a food demo that UBC Food Services, the department he works for. I know he’s generally well behaved, and I don’t need to check up on him, but it was fun to see him at work again. Chef Steven Yzerman is in charge of the menus for the food trucks out at UBC and they’re just switching up…
