Mixing Up A Ungava Gin G & T With Grapefruit Juice From our pal Karen: I was totally fascinated with Ungava Gin @ungava_gin when the bold and beautiful yellow colour caught my eye in the Gin aisle. This Canadian Gin is named after the Ungava Peninsula found at the northern tip of Quebec. It has natural herbs and berries from the Tundra: Wild Rose Hips – Crowberry – Labrador Tea- Cloudberry – Arctic Blend – Nordic Juniper…………………………………It’s Juniper forward in flavour with floral and Citrus notes and some spiciness. I have served it here with Tonic and fresh ruby red grapefruit juice…
Author: cassandra
Black Box Challenge Ingredients Tough Ones at the #CCC2019 The second challenge at the Canadian Culinary Championships is the Black Box Challenge, where the chefs are given a box of mystery ingredients, access to the Okanagan College Kitchen pantry and then let loose to create a memorable dish using all the ingredients in the Black Box. This year’s ingredients were. Chestnuts – Neighbour Sylvia Koal, Koal Orchards. Quinces – Mikuni wild harvest of Vancouver. Saffron – True Saffron Producers Inc from Northumberland County in Ontario. Sweet Potatoes – Assiniboine Community College. Lion’s Mane Mushrooms – Gruger Family Fungi in Nisku,…
Chef Yannick LaSalle Takes Gold at the Canadian Culinary Championships We were in Kelowna for the Canadian Culinary Championships and it was a grueling few days for eleven of Canada’s top chefs. Chef Yannick LaSalle of Restaurant Les Fougères in Chelsea, Quebec took gold with silver going to Chef Christopher Hill from Taste Restaurant Group in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and the bronze to Chef Dave Bohati from Murrieta’s in Calgary. We’ll have more soon, but for now here are the dishes of the final night. Yannick LaSalle’s Eastern township duck magret & Quebec saffron fennel with sea buckthorn Chris Hill’s “After the…
CHEF TAKASHI ITO RECEIVES PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD WITH HIS PAIRING WITH MYSTERY WINE VISTA’S EDGE CABERNET FRANC FROM MISSION HILL FAMILY ESTATE We are already into day two here and the chefs from the Canadian Culinary Championships have finished the Black Box competition and are preparing for tonight’s finale. Last night’s competition saw Chef Takashi Ito take home the people’s choice award, but the judges have the final say in who takes home the gold. Congrats Chef Ito on capturing the peoples hearts and stomachs! Now to get ready for tonight! The 2019 Canadian Culinary Championships closes off competition #1…
Chef Elia Herrera from Los Colibris in Toronto Today’s the day the Canadian Culinary Championships begin and the chefs are hard at work designing their dish for tonight. Chef Elia Herrera answered our interview questions and we are looking forward to trying her dishes over the next few days. Best of luck to all the chefs! Tell us a little bit about your restaurant. My restaurant is a very traditional regional Mexican cuisine, inspired in my grandmother and my childhood Where do you eat in your city? I eat at Pai thai restaurant, Ufficio Italian inspired restaurant. What would be your…
Chef Takashi Ito From Aura Restaurant at The Laurel Point Victoria The Canadian Culinary Championships are on and I met all the chefs last night! Very exciting things are happening right now in the kitchens at the Okanagan College as they prepare for tonight’s event. Chef Takashi Ito is our local BC winner and I had interviewed him before he competed and won in Victoria, so I’ve copied a bit from that interview and added a bit more from more recent conversations. Best of luck to Chef Ito! Tell us a little bit about your restaurant and/or style of cooking.…
Chef Davina Moraiko From RGE RD in Edmonton The Canadian Culinary Championships start tomorrow and we’ve got a couple more interviews with the chefs competing to publish! Next up Chef Davina Moraiko from RGE RD in Edmonton. Tell us a little bit about your restaurant. RGE RD , Edmonton Alberta. We source ingredients and provisions from farms and small-scale producers across western Canada. Our menu is dictated by the season and we aim to use every part of every ingredient. Where do you eat in your city? I love to eat at Biera, Café Linnea and Woodwork . What would…
Chef Yannick LaSalle From Restaurant Les Fougères, Chelsea, QC The Canadian Culinary Championships start tomorrow and we’ve got a couple more interviews with the chefs competing to publish! Next up Chef Yannick LaSalle representing Ottawa/Gatineau. Tell us a little bit about your restaurant. Restaurant Les Fougères is located in Chelsea Qc in the middle of the Gatineau Hills. Our recently renovated dining room is contemporary gorgeous! Clean lines, local craftsmanship, very little wall with uninterrupted views over gardens and woodland, inviting bar, open kitchen- a fun, beautiful environment for seriously wonderful, hyper-seasonal and hyperlocal food, be it bar snacks, small plates or large.The…
Chef Dave Bohati From Murrietas Calgary As Canada’s top chefs pack to head to Kelowna to compete in the Canadian Culinary Championships, we’re learning a little bit about them before they compete. Here’s some Q and A from Calgary’s Chef Dave Bohati Tell us a little bit about your restaurant. Super electric atmosphere in the heart of the booming business district Stephen Avenue Where do you eat in your city? Mainly in the comfort of my home, but go out for sushi every once in a while What would be your ideal food day? Any day that starts with a…
Chef Christopher Hill From Taste Restaurant Group Saskatoon As Canada’s top chefs pack to head to Kelowna to compete in the Canadian Culinary Championships, we’re learning a little bit about them before they compete. Here’s some Q and A from Saskatoon’s Chef Christopher Hill. Tell us a little bit about your restaurant. I am the Corporate Chef of Taste Restaurant Group. We are a locally owned group currently operating 4 restaurants. UNA pizza + wine UNA Pizza is a neighborhood restaurant serving Californian inspired, thin crust pizza with Mediterranean influenced food and flavors. Bar Gusto Gusto means “to taste”, and as such…
Chef Katie Hayes From Bonavista Social Club Newfoundland This weekend eleven of Canada’s top chefs will head to Kelowna to compete in the Canadian Culinary Championships. We’re learning a little bit about them before they compete and here’s our answers from Newfoundland’s representing chef, Chef Katie Hayes from Bonavista Social Club. Tell us a little bit about your restaurant. Located in Eastern NL, in a town of 30 people, surrounded by gardens and animals that we serve. Located on the Ocean. Where do you eat in your city? No restaurants in Upper Amherst Cove but my night out is to…
Chef Irwin MacKinnon From Papa Joe’s PEI This weekend eleven of Canada’s top chefs will head to Kelowna to compete in the Canadian Culinary Championships. We’re learning a little bit about them before they compete and here’s our answers from PEI/New Brunswick’s representing chef, Chef Irwin MacKinnon from Papa Joe’s. Tell us a little bit about your restaurant. Papa Joe’s is one of if not the busiest restaurants in Charlottetown. We serve a very eclectic style menu with Mediterranean, Indian, Classical and comfort foods with flare in a casual but upscale atmosphere. Where do you eat in your city? I…
Catching Up With Winnipeg Chef Jesse Friesen This weekend eleven of Canada’s top chefs will head to Kelowna to compete in the Canadian Culinary Championships. We’re learning a little bit about them before they compete. Here we throw a few questions out to Winnipeg’s representing chef, Chef Jesse Friesen from The Merchant Kitchen and Pizzeria Gusto. Tell us a little bit about your restaurant. I currently operate two kitchens, Pizzeria Gusto & The Merchant Kitchen. Gusto is a trendy neighborhood restaurant with great guests, a great room and a modern yet classic bar and kitchen offering. The Merchant, who I will be representing…
Canadian Culinary Championships Compete In Kelowna February 1-2, 2019 This year we’ll be heading up to Kelowna again for the Canadian Culinary Championships and are looking forward to hearing back from the chefs as we’ve sent them a series of questions leading up to the big competition to get to know each of them better. Regional competitions were held in eleven cities across the country and the regional qualifiers – called Canada’s Great Kitchen Party – pitted 5-10 regional chefs against each other. In each city, there were three who stood on the podium but only one awarded the opportunity…
VanWineFest Tickets Going Fast The 41st Vancouver International Wine Festival returns for an eight-day celebration of wine and food February 23 to March 3 at the Vancouver Convention Centre and other venues around Metro Vancouver. The 2019 festival features 160 wineries participating in 54 events. This year, the spotlight shines on wines from California, with 53 wineries from the Golden State in attendance. Tickets for all public events go on sale Wednesday, January 9 at 9:30 a.m. Tickets for Trade Days Conference events go on sale Wednesday, January 23 at 9:30 a.m. Tickets are currently on sale for the four International Festival Tastings, Bacchanalia Gala Dinner + Auction, the Delta…
Rocky Mountain Flatbread Does Dine Out Right We headed out to Rocky Mountain Flatbread to check out their Dine Out menu and wondered why we don’t eat here more often. For $25 it’s a great deal, the food is super healthy, fresh, sourced locally AND this is one of the most sustainable restaurants out there. Service is friendly and the kitchen turns out food in no time; perfect for a quick lunch, or more leisurely dinner out and kid-friendly too! The portions are so generous, I’m currently eating my leftovers for lunch! So, what’ s on the menu? HOUSE CRAFT…
Dine Out Vancouver Bookings Open Today Canada’s largest food and drink festival adds breakfast menu offerings in 2019 We got a quick preview of a couple spots and can tell you that Granville Island has some great menus! A couple pictures of Dockside above. These last three are Sandbar. From the news release: Resolutions can wait, but reservations can’t! The full list of Dine Out Vancouver Festival’s participating restaurants and their menus were announced today on www.dineoutvancouver.com. Book your table now and let the feasting begin! With menus from over 300+ restaurants participating in Dine Out Vancouver Festival’s 17th year there’s no shortage of…
Ancora Ambleside – Peruvian-Japanese Cuisine Ancora Waterfront Dining and Patio brings its celebrated brand of Peruvian-meets-Japanese cuisine to the North Shore today when it officially opens its second location at 1351 Bellevue Avenue in West Vancouver’s Ambleside neighbourhood. Open for dinner service from 5 p.m., Ancora Ambleside showcases the same Nikkei-style cuisine, focus on fine wine and cocktails, and nautically inspired décor that has earned the original Ancora False Creek location numerous accolades since it opened in 2015, including consecutive annual placement on the prestigious list of Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants. The latest project for the Viaggio Hospitality Group — which also owns…
Eight of Vancouver’s most innovative chefs are banding together in support of the Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House This extraordinary six-course chef collaboration dinner will be experienced at Torafuku Asian Eatery on January 14, 2019. Inspired by the DTES Neighborhood House’s need to secure more funding for their healthy food programs, Torafuku’s Clement Chan reached out to his chef community in order to create a dinner that would contribute to these programs in a meaningful way. FARE: For the Human Right to Healthy Food – A chef collaboration dinner in support of The Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House January 14, 2019 7pm (6:30pm doors) Torafuku…
Update Your Kitchen Easily With A Few Simple Tricks We sent out Cathy Browne to an event hosted by Best Buy to gather some information on how to get your kitchen in order. Designer Aly Armstrong was on hand with some kitchen styling tips and Chef Ned Bell provided dinner using many of these appliances available at Best Buy. Here’s some tips to help you get a styling kitchen in 2019! Last year Michael and I got married and instead of registering for wedding gifts, we decided to ask for something that we’d find truly helpful, Best Buy Gift Cards.…
