Julia Child Celebrates 100th at Pastis

Pastis is one of Vancouver’s top French bistros and when it came to celebrating Julia Child’s 100th Birthday they stepped up and recreated many of the items from her epic cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking and are still doing so until September 2. We attended the August 16 dinner, which was both a cooking…

The Westin Grand – Pop Up Patio

Act quick to check out the latest pop up at The Westin Grand at Homer and Robson Street.  Sit poolside and catch the last rays of summer amongst the gardens with music from their live DJ.  On every Thursday and Friday while the weather lasts. The menu is created by Executive Chef Matthew Richmond and…

Best of The West

For the second year in a row The Harmony Arts Festival presented Best of the West. The event was hosted again by Michaela Morris and Michelle Boufard of house wine, who did a spectacular job of pairing up West Vancouver’s best restaurants with stellar BC Wines. Held at the Ambleside Pier at the foot of 14th Street,…

Celebrate BC with White Spot

White Spot may come easily to mind if you are thinking burgers or breakfast, but the rest of the menu is also worth exploring.  This summer they’ve launched a Celebrate BC menu featuring dishes with local ingredients such as mushrooms, tomatoes, goat cheese, salmon, blueberries as well as their new 100% BC VQA wine list….

Sol Sun Belt Cookery Opening Night

Our friends Gord Martin (Bin 941, Go Fish) and Abdel Elatouabi (Bravo Bistro, Marrakesh) opened up Sol Sun Belt Cookery unofficially last night and we stopped in for some drinks and dinner.  They were still piecing the room together, but the bar and kitchen were ready to go. The menu here is Mediterranean in style. We…

Gastown Craft Beer ‘n Bites Tour

From Monday to Sunday for $69 Vancouver Food Tours offers a tour of Gastown’s craft beer scene on their beer-centric culinary tour. If you think you know beer, great, but your guide will certainly teach even the savviest of beer drinkers something, and you’ll sip local craft brews alongside a variety of food pairings. Your guide will teach…

Black Widow Wines at Central Bistro

Lucky for me my friend Dan Schell reps a number of great BC Wines and is kind enough to offer me a seat when one’s available.  Black Widow winemaker, Dick Lancaster, was in town this week to present his wines along food pairings from Chef Nick Gazdag at Central Bistro.  A steal of a deal…

Kraft Peanut Butter Truck Hits Town

The Kraft Peanut Butter Truck #KraftPBTruck  is travelling across Canada this summer and will be in Vancouver on July 1, 2012 at Canada Place.  Check out where the truck is stopping next at www.spreadthefeeling.ca or on the Kraft Peanut Butter Facebook page at www.facebook.com/kraftpeanutbutter Kraft sent some samples of PB S’More, PB Belgian Waffle, PB…

Anna Olson at Edible Canada – Recipes

Anna Olson is now on her seventh cookbook, Back to Baking – 200 Timeless Recipes to Bake, Share, and Enjoy.  Last Saturday she joined Edible Canada at The Market, at their bistro to demo recipes from this cookbook and others. The team from Edible Canada, Chef Tom Lee, Sous Chef Jack Lin and the kitchen crew…

Cooking For A Cause – Chef’s Celebrate the Great Bear Rainforest

The Gitga’at First Nation and King Pacific Lodge  have partnered to form Guarding the Gifts charitable organization in order to protect Great Bear Rainforest on BC’s northern coast which is in jeopardy as  projects such as the proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline Project threaten to destroy this pristine country. On May 11 Cooking for A Cause at the Georgia Cannery…

Amber & Friends – Have Culinary Training Society Dinner with Kayla Dhaliwall of House Guest

Have (Hope Action Values Ethics) Culinary Society is an amazing culinary training school providing foodservice job training and job placement to individuals in Vancouver who have had many life issues that have made finding work difficult.  There are students with mental and physical disabilities, those facing poverty or addiction issues or homelessness.  Over the past…

Vancouver’s Easter Treats

It’s good Friday in Vancouver and another long weekend when those with real jobs take time off and us freelancers catch up on our never ending to do lists or organize our taxes (and some of us a few years of taxes).  I am working all weekend and not really even a huge fan of…

Terra Breads Hot Cross Buns

Hot Cross Buns remind me of my childhood.  We had them at Easter every year, but they weren’t always my favourite.  I hated the ones with the candied and coloured fruit in them and used to pick those out, and preferred the icing over the other strange plastic-like topping some had.  Later on in life…

Where to Eat Before the Game – Vancouver – Rogers Arena (Hockey)

Here’s a quick list.  I will be updating and flushing it out, but I had several people in need immediately, so here goes (I’ll be perfect another time, ok?) As always open to suggestions, please comment below. Chambar – French/Belgian fine dining, but casual feel (always packed go early) 562 Beatty Street http://www.chambar.com/ Verace –…

Vancouver Does St. Patrick’s Day

Vancouver makes a big deal of St. Patrick’s Day, so I thought I’d give you some hints on how to celebrate the day locally. Here’s some local, pubs, beers and Irish treats available around town.  AND PLEASE NO GREEN BEER.  Also check out my article on Daily XY for St. Patrick’s Day Suggestions. Local Irish…

Prestons Dinner (First ImPrestons) with @VanEats

VanEats has once again released a dining package, this time for Prestons in the Coast Coal Harbour.  For a mere $21 the restaurant has put together a menu that delivers a lot of bang for your buck – you will not leave hungry. Purchase now on VanEats and use from February 29 to April 29, 2012….

Chef Marc Lepine – Atelier – Ottawa – Gold Medal Plates

#goldmedalplates Chefs from Canada will meet in Kelowna from February 9-11, 2012 to compete in the Gold Medal Plates Canadian Culinary Championships.  I sent them some questions prior to the challenge. Here’s the scoop on Chef Marc Lepine for Atelier in Ottawa. What was your first food memory? Trying to make ‘pudding aux chomeurs’ on my own…

Suika Me Silly

Suika, an Izakaya on Broadway near Fir, has partnered up with VANEATs.ca for a promotion called #SuikaMeSilly, a $16 menu running from Oct 1-31.  VanEats asked me to preview the tasting menu and post my thoughts. I had been meaning to go to Suika, the sister restaurant to Kingyo  Izakaya, one of Vancouver’s top Izakaya’s on Denman Street….

Hyatt Gingerbread 2010 – Winners Announced

The lobby of the Hyatt Regency Vancouver is home to the annual gingerbread contest (exhibit runs until December 26), an event where culinary schools, high schools and corporations compete to craft the best gingerbread house.  Points are given for originality, level of difficulty, overall appearance, and attention to detail.  I have judged for the past two years…