Chef Welbert Choi From Forage Restaurant
The Great Canadian Kitchen Party, the lead up to the Canadian Culinary Championships, is underway in cities across Canada and Vancouver’s competition takes place Friday, October 4, 2019 at Rogers Arena. We’ve asked the chefs a few questions to get to know them a bit better and here’s the results from Chef Welbert Choi from Forage Restaurant in The Listel Hotel.
Tell us a little bit about your restaurant and/or style of cooking.
Forage Restaurant focuses on supporting local farmers, fishers and foragers. The menu changes almost daily as local seasonal ingredients are delivered to the restaurant by our partners. My food philosophy is simple; respect our land and water, use local suppliers, small farms and sustainable wild food.
Where do you eat in your city?
I like to try out new restaurants around town. I also have my old favourites and love to grab a good bowl of pho.
What did you eat for dinner last night?
A few bites here and there while working the Passions Fundraising Gala event.
What city would you most like to eat in right now, and why?
Probably Hanoi or Bangkok. Some place with a great street food scene. I am intrigued by the flavours and excitement these cities offer.
What ingredient do you most like to cook with and why? What is your least favourite and why?
It’s hard to name just one favourite. Maybe my homemade herring fish sauce? It adds the perfect amount of umami to dishes. Or elderflower, it adds an intoxicating aroma to desserts and even savory dishes. I don’t think I have a least favourite ingredient, there are some that are more difficult to work with, but I love a good challenge.
What is your most used piece of kitchen equipment besides your knives?
Spoon…it is always in my apron.
What do you often cook at home?
Fried rice – use up whatever is in the fridge!
What cookbook/s do you most often refer to?
I refer to Phoenix Claws and Jade Trees: Essential Techniques of Authentic Chinese Cooking quite a bit, it’s a fantastic resource. Also, the new Noma Guide to Fermentation.
What chef would you like to collaborate with?
Chef Chris Whittaker from Quaaout Lodge. He was my long-term Chef and also my mentor. I’d love to cook with him in any given time.
What are you preparing for The Great Canadian Kitchen Party (hints are fine)?
It’s a secret! But I’ll tell you it’s a follow up to my last culinary competition win.
What is your beverage pairing?
Difficult! It took a lot of effort to find the perfect pairing, a lot of thought was put into it.
Who is coming with you to assist?
Craig Sung
Margot Baloro
Meighan Makarchuk
Bio Chef Welbert Choi
Chef Welbert Choi is quietly driven. Everything he does is steeped in his innate creativity. As a Chef he brings a humble, but generous spirit to everything he cooks. His main motivation as a Chef is to have his food be a part of memorable moments.
Welbert was born in Hong Kong. He and his family moved to North Burnaby during his teenage years. He trained at Dubrulle Culinary Institute. His resume includes catering at the Hilton Burnaby, working in the kitchen at Opus’s former restaurant Elixir, and he helped open Forage in 2012 as Pastry Chef. After 2 years, he was given the title of Forage’s Chef de Cuisine. He has run daily operations in the Forage kitchen since that time. Now he is the Executive Chef of Forage, Timber, and Forage Catering.
Fostering the menu at Forage has deepened his relationships with local producers. He believes that it is the responsibility of all Vancouver chefs to help build long term farming, fishing and foraging legacies in BC for generations to come by working closely with local producers.
Food for him should bring people and families together, build communities, and be a flavourful part of gatherings and celebrations. He chooses his ingredients with respect, considers the environmental impact of what he brings into the kitchen, and approaches food in a way that celebrates the whole ingredient.
