Top Chef Canada Dale MacKay brings the Prairies to Vancouver for Edible Canada's Coast to Coast Dinner Series

Season One Top Chef Canada winner Dale Mackay is bringing his award-winning talents to Vancouver BC. The renowned chef will be cooking the second of Edible Canada's Coast to Coast Dinner Series on March 2, 2015. Produced by Edible Canada and held at its bistro on Granville Island, the dinner is part of a year-long series celebrating the provinces of Canada (February's Yukon Month dinner sold out). The evening celebrates MacKay's home province of Saskatchewan where he was born and raised. He is currently the chef and owner of the award winning restaurant Ayden Kitchen & Bar in Saskatoon. 

Chef MacKay won the inaugural season of Top Chef Canada and has cooked in some of the country's top kitchens. A former protege of Chef Gordon Ramsay, MacKay took over for Rob Feenie at the now dark but illustrious Lumiere in Vancouver. He returned to his hometown of Saskatoon where he opened Ayden Kitchen & Bar, focusing on modern Canadian comfort food. 

"We are incredibly excited to have Chef MacKay join us behind the stoves as part of this series," said Edible Canada President and Executive Chef Eric Patemen. "Dale is that change-making chef leading the charge in celebrating and defining our food culture." 

MacKay's dinner will highlight the food indigenous to the Prairies and the history and heritage of Saskatchewan. The three-course sit-down feast is open to 75 diners, and each course will be paired with handcrafted cocktails created by Ayden Kitchen & Bar's GM and Mixologist Christopher Cho. 

Tickets for the dinner on Monday, March 2 (6-10 PM) are $125 and may be booked online at Edible Canada. 

Vancouver Island's Wolf in the Fog named Canada's Best New Restaurant by enRoute magazine

A Vancouver Island restaurant came out on top in enRoute magazine's annual Canada's Best New Restaurants. Wolf in the Fog, located in Tofino on the "wild side" of Vancouver Island, bested nine other restos in enRoute's annual roundup of top restaurants in Canada. For those not familiar with enRoute, it is Air Canada's award-winning inflight magazine (and one of my favorites).

Selecting the best restaurants was the mission of food writer Andrew Braithwaite, whose month-long culinary journey took him across Canada from Tofino, BC to St. John's, Newfoundland. The ten winners represented seven of Canada's provinces: British Columbia 2, Ontario 2, Quebec 2, Alberta 1, Newfoundland 1, Nova Scotia 1, Saskatchewan 1.

Chef Nick Nutting of Wolf in the Fog in Tofino on Vancouver Island
 ©JohnCullenPhoto courtesy enRoute magazine 



CANADA'S BEST NEW RESTAURANTS 2014 | Air Canada's enRoute magazine 

1. Wolf in the Fog (Tofino, BC) | "On the extreme west coast of Vancouver Island, where rainforest meets ocean, you stumble up a flight of stairs and into a soaring cedar-clad room above a surf shop where chef Nick Nutting leads a crew trained in the precise details of fine dining." 

2. Farmer's Apprentice Restaurant | Vancouver | "Each small plate -- more often, a bowl -- conjured by owner David Gunawan is a precise jumble of textures and flavours. Digging in is a sort of black magic." 

3. Le Vin Papillon | Montreal | "Long-time Joe Beef guru Vanya Filipovic fills massive chalkboards with organic wines to run with a vegetable-focused cuisine from boyfriend and chef Marc-Olivier Frappier." 

4. RGE RD | Edmonton | "The heart of Blair Lebsack's kitchen is a wood-burning oven that consumes birch and maple at 700F, curing honey ham and smoking Salt Spring Island mussels or even dehydrated local milk during the off-hours."

5. Mallard Cottage | St. John's | "Todd Perrin spent two years restoring a heritage property in Quidi Vidi Harbour for this brilliant mash-up of fine dining and comfort cuisine on the outskirts of St. John's."

Canadian journalist and author Andrew Braithwaite at work.

6. Bar Buca | Toronto | "Rob Gentile's restaurant likes to pretend it's a simple bar for sipping Barolo. You're here to drink, sure, but you're also here to eat things like tiny fried smelt dusted with fennel salt."

7. The Chase | Toronto | "Chef Michael Steh doesn't lean on molecular trickery or audacious ingredients to wow. His food is more direct and more delightful than that, in an atmosphere that makes you want to say yes to things."

8. Ayden Kitchen & Bar | Saskatoon | "Top Chef Canada winner Dale MacKay gambled that Saskatoon was ready for lime- and lemongrass- and ginger-dusted chicken wings. Ayden isn't about showing off Prairie cooking to the world -- it's about bringing the world home."

9. Restaurant Legende | Quebec City | "Northern Quebec is the culinary hunting ground that Frederic Laplante mythologizes at his capital-city bistro. Cornish hen gets a boreal accent from balsam fir fleur de sel."

10. Edna Restaurant | Halifax | "Jenna Mooers' North End bistro digs up treasure from the fertile soils of Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley and hauls it out of the brisk Atlantic waters."

Ayden Kitchen & Bar was awarded the 2014 People's Choice Award, and all the winners are profiled in the November issue of Air Canada's enRoute and online. There you can also find out where the top chefs travel, drool over a "dream menu" and take a quiz to find out where you should eat (I got Chase in Toronto). The top 10 restaurants will receive their official awards during the annual Canada's Best New Restaurants Gala celebration in Toronto on November 20, 2014.

Postcard from BC: Listel Hotel Vancouver welcomes autumn with trio of packages

Sunset at English Bay - July 2014. ©SueFrausePhoto

It has been a beautiful summer in Vancouver. I took Amtrak Cascades northbound to Vancouver in July, spending three days that featured both sunshine and rain. But fall is one of my favorite seasons to spend time in the City of Glass -- the tourists are gone, the pace has slowed down and many hotels are offering reduced rates and packages for guests. With autumn looming on the calendar (September 23), now is a good time to plan a fall getaway.

Among those offering special packages is the Listel Hotel Vancouver, located on Robson Street near the West End (think Stanley Park and English Bay). I've been staying there since the '80s, and with the addition of Forage restaurant in 2012, it just keeps getting better. Heading up the kitchen is Chef Chris Whittaker, who earned the title of Vancouver Aquarium Oceanwise Chowder Chowdown Champion in both 2012 and 2013. You'll find Chef Whittaker's award-winning chowder on both Forage's weekend brunch and dinner menus (they also serve breakfast seven days a week), along with other locally focused food and beverages. Here's a trio of Listel Hotel Vancouver packages for fall, with rates starting at $159. And for what to do when you're not dining and sleeping, go to Tourism Vancouver's website for a list of events.

Chef Chris Whittaker of Forage was named top Vancouver chowder maker two years in a row. ©SueFrausePhoto

Fall Into Savings with Breakfast

(or)

Non-refundable Fall Into Savings with Breakfast & $50 Gas Card

Full breakfast for two in Forage ($40 value). Select from a Standard, Museum or Gallery floor room (rates vary).

Fall Into Savings with Parking

(or)

Non-refundable Fall into Savings with Parking & $50 Gas Card

Underground, secured parking and valet service ($37 value)

Select from a Standard, Museum or Gallery floor room (rates vary)

Fall Into Savings (Room Only)

(or)

Non-refundable Fall Into Savings (Room Only) & $50 Gas Card

Select from a Standard, Museum or Gallery floor room (rates vary)

The Fine Print

Rates must be booked by October 12, 2014 and are available for stays through November 30, 2014.

Non-refundable packages are available for stays through October 31, 2014.

A Gallery floor room's separate bedroom. ©SueFrausePhoto

Chefs for Oceans: Vancouver Chef Ned Bell Cycles Across Canada for Sustainable Seafood

Chef Ned Bell of Vancouver is no stranger to spending hours on a bicycle. On his 40th birthday in 2013, he took off on a 4-day, 900-kilometer bike ride across Vancouver Island. It was all about increasing the awareness of our food system.

But that's a spin around the block compared to the adventure he's beginning July 1, 2014. The Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver and YEW seafood + bar Executive Chef is off on a three-month, cross-Canada journey on his two-wheeler. As the founder of Chefs for Oceans, he's pedaling across the country to support sustainable seafood -- and healthy lakes, rivers and oceans. 

The trip begins July 1 in St. John's, Newfoundland and ends September 11 in Vancouver, BC. Chef Bell will pedal between 140km and 200km each day, and the 7,453km coast-to-coast trip will take 10 weeks to complete. Stopping in major cities along the way, Chef Bell hopes to raise awareness for sustainable seafood through interviews, events and appearances. 

Chef Bell, the father of two sons (Max is pictured above, second from the right), hopes to create a movement that allows Canadians to easily and readily access sustainable seafood. He's also donating a portion of net funds raised from his ride to the Vancouver Aquarium's Ocean Wise program, Sea Choice and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS). Bell is co-founder of the National Sustainable Seafood Day (NSSD) and member of the Chefs Table Society of BC. 

The Chefs for Oceans ride has numerous backers and sponsors, but there's room for more. Individuals and businesses can support the ride by making a donation, signing the NSSD petition, showing up at one of his events this summer or even riding alongside him when he passes through your city. To donate and get up-to-date details of Chef Bell's most amazing bike ride, go to www.chefsforoceans.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @nedbell, hashtag #chefsforoceans.

Forage's Chris Whittaker Snags Top Chowder Prize, Chef Ned Bell Wins People's Choice Award

Creamy BC Spot Prawn Chowder by Chef Chris Whittaker

What a wonderful celebration for Executive Chef Chris Whittaker. On the one-year anniversary of opening Forage in Vancouver's West End, Whittaker once again earned the title of Vancouver Aquarium Ocean Wise Chowder Chowdown Champion.

Whittaker was among 13 Ocean Wise chefs from British Columbia who competed in the ocean-friendly seafood chowder contest at the Vancouver Aquarium on November 20, 2013. His Wild BC Spot Prawn Chowder took first place among the other competitors, including executive chefs from Vancouver's Fairmont and Four Season Hotels, Edible Canada, Coast and C Restaurant. 

His dish, Creamy BC Spot Prawn Chowder, featured the classic flavors of smoked pork hock, white wine and thyme, and was finished with a soft boiled quail egg and pork crackling. It's been on the menu at Forage since Whittaker's initial win last year. "This chowder is so popular that I wanted to keep it on the menu," said Whittaker. "I took a chance and used the same recipe for this year's competition, so it will stay on the menu -- at least for this year!"

Executive Chef Chris Whittaker of Forage

The celebrity judges sampled each chowder, as did the 600 people who attended the event. Ned Bell of YEW Restaurant + Bar was selected as the winner of the People's Choice award. His chowder, The Big Red, was composed of humpback shrimp, pink peppercorn cream and BC Cranberry & Okanagan Apple Relish. Bell's award-winning chowder is currently on the menu at YEW (at the Four Seasons Vancouver).

Beer was also an important element of the evening, and Chef Paul Cecconi of Brodo Kitchen and Catering with CodFathers Seafood Market won the award for best pairing: Outlandish Mussel-Saffron Chowder paired with Red Racer ESB beer by Central City Brewers and Distillers. 

Judges for the sixth annual event were:

• Guy Dean - Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer, Albion Fisheries Ltd.
• Rob  Clark - Co-owner of The Fish Counter and Ocean Wise chef partner
• Chester Carey - Serious Beer program instructor and certified cicerone
• Sid Cross - Food and wine aficionado
• Andrew Morrison - Founder of Scout Magazine
• Tim Pawsey - Food and wine journalist
• Jamie Maw - Food and wine journalist

November is Ocean Wise month, and consumers are invited to join the sustainable seafood movement by eating ocean-friendly seafood to keep the oceans healthy.