Three-time James Beard Award winner Gregory Gourdet brings his Haitian-inspired cooking to Victoria and Vancouver for two chef collaborations this November.
Portland culinary powerhouse Gregory Gourdet is heading north this November, teaming up with Victoria and Vancouver chefs for two special cross-border collaborations celebrating food, culture and the Pacific Northwest.
On November 8, Gourdet will cook alongside chef Corbin Mathany at Ugly Duckling Dining & Provisions in Victoria. The following evening, November 9, he joins Top Chef Canada winner Chanthy Yen at Touk in Vancouver.
Both dinners are part of the Pacific Northwest Dinner Series, presented by the Victoria International Wine Festival in partnership with Travel Portland and Travel Oregon.
For those unfamiliar with Gourdet, there’s good reason to pay attention. The celebrated chef, cookbook author and television personality has built an international reputation for combining the flavours of his Haitian heritage with seasonal ingredients and techniques inspired by his years cooking around the world.
Who Is Gregory Gourdet?
Born in Brooklyn and raised in Queens, New York, to Haitian immigrant parents, Gregory Gourdet trained at the Culinary Institute of America before working with acclaimed French chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten.
He moved to Portland in 2008 and spent a decade leading the kitchen at Departure Restaurant + Lounge, where he developed a distinctive approach to Asian-inspired cooking using Pacific Northwest ingredients.
Television audiences may recognize him as a two-time finalist on Bravo’s Top Chef, including its All-Stars season.
But it was opening his own restaurant, Kann, in Portland in 2022 that brought his culinary vision into particularly sharp focus. Kann celebrates Haitian cuisine through live-fire cooking, traditional Caribbean flavours and the agricultural bounty of Oregon and the wider Pacific Northwest.
The restaurant earned the James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant in 2023, while Gourdet received the foundation’s Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific award in 2024.
His first cookbook, Everyone’s Table: Global Recipes for Modern Health, won the 2022 James Beard Award for Best General Cookbook, completing an impressive trio of honours.
Beyond Kann, Gourdet also operates Sousòl, a pan-Caribbean cocktail bar in Portland, and serves as culinary director of Printemps New York. His cooking is deeply personal, drawing connections between cultural heritage, travel, wellness and the communities producing the ingredients he uses.
November 8: Gregory Gourdet and Corbin Mathany at Ugly Duckling, Victoria
Gourdet’s first B.C. appearance takes place at Ugly Duckling Dining & Provisions in Victoria’s historic Chinatown.
Chef-owner Corbin Mathany has developed a strong reputation for inventive cooking that draws from Vancouver Island’s forests, farms and coastal waters. Since opening in 2023, Ugly Duckling has attracted national recognition, including inclusion in the 50 Best Discovery guide. Mathany also recently won gold at the Canadian Culinary Championship’s All-Star regional qualifier.
For this one-night collaboration, the chefs will create a five-course menu highlighting the culinary connections between Vancouver Island and Oregon. The evening will explore regional ingredients through two distinct culinary approaches, with carefully selected B.C. wines accompanying the meal.
Victoria Dinner Details
- Date: Sunday, November 8, 2026
- Location: Ugly Duckling Dining & Provisions, 543 Fisgard Street, Victoria
- Seatings: 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.
- Experience: Five-course collaborative dinner with B.C. wine pairings
- Price: $289.58 per person, including taxes and gratuity (confirm at checkout)
- Reservations: Book the Victoria dinner
November 9: Gregory Gourdet and Chanthy Yen at Touk, Vancouver
The following evening brings Gourdet to Vancouver for a collaboration with chef Chanthy Yen at Touk Contemporary Cambodian on Alberni Street.
Yen, the winner of Top Chef Canada Season 11, draws inspiration from his Cambodian heritage while celebrating the ingredients available in British Columbia.
The pairing is particularly interesting because both chefs bring personal cultural histories to their cooking while sharing an appreciation for the Pacific Northwest.
Their five-course dinner will explore the intersection of Haitian and Cambodian flavours through ingredients sourced from B.C. and Oregon.
The beverage program will include B.C. wines, including selections from Martin’s Lane Winery, alongside low- and no-alcohol cocktails inspired by Kann.
Dinner will be served in an intimate, communal, family-style setting, creating an opportunity for guests to experience the chefs’ cooking in a more social format.
Vancouver Dinner Details
- Date: Monday, November 9, 2026
- Location: Touk Contemporary Cambodian, 1152 Alberni Street, Vancouver
- Seatings: 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.
- Experience: Five-course collaborative dinner with curated beverage pairings
- Price: $199 per person, with ticketing fees potentially additional (confirm at checkout)
- Reservations: Book the Vancouver dinner
A Culinary Connection Between B.C. and Oregon
Beyond the chance to experience Gourdet’s cooking without crossing the border, these dinners highlight the culinary connections between Portland, Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland.
All three regions enjoy access to exceptional seafood, abundant seasonal produce, independent farmers, wineries and increasingly diverse restaurant communities.
While Gourdet draws on the vibrant flavours of his Haitian heritage, Mathany interprets Vancouver Island’s landscapes through his cooking, and Yen brings Cambodian traditions and techniques to ingredients from the Pacific Northwest.
Across two evenings, diners will experience distinct expressions of the region, with culture, technique and local ingredients providing the common ground.
For B.C. food lovers, these collaborations offer a chance to discover a chef whose cooking has helped reshape the conversation around contemporary American cuisine, right here in British Columbia.
For more culinary events, chef stories and restaurant discoveries, explore Good Life Vancouver’s food and dining coverage.
