Chef Quang Dang, Top Table Group
Canada’s Great Kitchen Party is the lead up to the Canadian Culinary Championships, and is underway in cities across Canada. 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 Quang Dang from Toptable Group.
Tell us a little bit about your restaurant and/or style of cooking.
In my role, I am very fortunate to be able to cook at many Toptable Group restaurants and work with so many concepts and teams. Every day is a new day!
Where do you eat in your city?
When I’m not dining at our Toptable venues, it’s always fun to find new Asian eateries that specialize in different culinary styles.
What did you eat for dinner last night?
Last night after service, I had a couple of pieces of Romaine lettuce with ham.
What city would you most like to eat in right now, and why?
San Francisco is my go-to due to my love for the Westcoast and the multiculturalism of a Pacific Rim city. There’s so much to discover as culinary trends are embraced with open arms.
What ingredient do you most like to cook with and why? What is your least favourite and why?
As a chef, I don’t really have any favourites. I am happy to cook with the best ingredients at their peak. As for a strong dislike, I’m not a fan of lamb due to a negative childhood experience.
What is your most used piece of kitchen equipment besides your knives?
I would have to say that spoons are my most used tool in the kitchen besides my knives. They are an important yet versatile tool that can perform many jobs and you should remember to never leave home without one.
What’s do you often cook at home?
I love making simple soups, salads and pastas. I also have a soft spot for a good old fashioned sandwich.
What cookbook/s do you most often refer to?
As I have a collection of cookbooks that covers an entire wall in my home, I can’t really pick one over the other. Each book has a purpose and it’s amazing what jewels you can find when you take the time to just enjoy reading a few.
What chef would you like to collaborate with?
I have been fortunate to have collaborated with many great chefs over my culinary career and would be happy to re-collaborate with many of them. Maybe Jeremy Charles from Newfoundland’s Raymonds Restaurant to start the cycle all over again.
What are you preparing for The Great Canadian Kitchen Party (hints are fine)?
I’m working with local fish and mushrooms.
What is your beverage pairing?
I’ve paired my dish with a 2017 Mission Hill Perpetua Chardonnay from the Legacy Collection.
Who is coming with you to assist?
I am so lucky to have an army of culinarians to help me out.
Chef Quang Dang Executive Chef Toptable Group
Chef Quang Dang began his culinary career at West Restaurant, where he worked as junior sous chef. Over the next five years, while honing his technique in some of Vancouver’s finest kitchens, Quang quickly established himself as an advocate of sustainability and a champion of West Coast cuisine, a role that he continues to undertake in defining his approach to modern cookery.
Raised in Calgary, Alberta, with family roots that stretch back to Scotland and the orchards and rice fields of Vietnam, Chef Dang originally moved to Vancouver in 1998 to finish his engineering degree and fulfill a dream to train for the Olympics with Canada’s national field hockey team. Part-time positions in the hospitality industry soon won him over, though, and his culinary career began in earnest. Quang went on to compete in a number of international food competitions such as the Bocuse D’Or in Lyon France, the National Chaîne des Rôtisseurs in Winnipeg and as a Canadian representative at the European Seafood Exposition in Brussels, the largest of its kind.
Quang returned ‘home’ to West as Executive Chef in September 2011 and has since elevated the dining experience to become recognized as Vancouver’s best restaurant in a national poll (National Post, August, 2017). The mountain resort of Whistler would next come calling in October 2017 and take Quang behind the storied stoves at Araxi Restaurant + Oyster Bar as Executive Chef.
Quang currently takes on the role of Executive Chef for Toptable Group and brings his many years of expertise to the brand’s venues. “Every day brings a new adventure,” he says, “defined by the seasons and the extraordinary ingredients available to us in the Pacific Northwest. It is my privilege to work alongside one of the finest culinary and service brigades in the country.”
