Checking In With Chef Jeff Park Just Before Victoria’s Culinary Championships

Chef Jeff Park weighs in on our interview questions. Great restaurant, we visited this summer in Squamish!

Tell us a little bit about your restaurant and/or style of cooking.

The Salted Vine’s menu focuses on small share plates that place a premium on fresh, sustainable and seasonal ingredients. I like to represent the very best of the Pacific Northwest with my cooking.

Where do you eat in your city?

On my days off, you can usually find me dining at other restaurants in Squamish, like Sushi Sen.

What would be your ideal food day? 

My ideal food day would be having dim sum and pho in the city. For dinner, it’d have to be pizza and pasta with the kids at home.

What ingredient do you always have on hand?

Cilantro. I love the colour and freshness it adds to dishes. Also, pork belly — at home and at the restaurant.

What’s your go-to recipe when you’re eating at home? 

I like to slice up pork belly and roast it in Korean BBQ sauce. Then I load it up into some fresh lettuce for a quick lettuce wrap.

What equipment do you wish you had in your kitchen?

An ice cream machine!

What cookbook would you suggest for a gift for your foodie friends this year?

Cincin: Wood Fired Cucina, by my friend Andrew Richardson.

Erin Vickars What were their most formative struggles to over come.

I had a late start to a career. When I was 29, I decided I wanted to become a chef. I had to start over, develop a new set of skills and get over a very steep learning curve. I wanted to learn faster than my peers to catch up to some of my contemporaries. It’s been 14 years and I’ve overcome that, and now I’m a co-owner and chef of my own restaurant. I always tell people now that it’s never too late to pursue a dream.

Kendall Ballantine Maybe who their favourite local food producers are (farms, cheese makers, etc)?

Nutrient Dense Farm for proteins and Two River Specialty Meats for cured meats.

Tara Mintenko If you could go anywhere in the world to eat all the foods they eat, where would you go?

Japan. For sure.