We’re just about to sign off for a few days to enjoy some holiday cheer with our families, but before we do I wanted to share some Christmas wishes from folks we’ve bumped into around town over the past week. In the video above you’ll find chefs asking for new kitchen toys, PR ladies looking to chill out, restaurateurs seeking world peace, and marijuana icons asking Obama to keep them out of jail. Enjoy.

I’d also like to take a moment to thank all of you who have adopted Scout as a daily read. It’s been a wonderfully interesting year for us, thanks to you, our readership, but we’re ready to bid adieu to 2009 if only to accelerate the roll out of some new features we’re planning for 2010. Scout 3.0 will include new voices, new guest bloggers, new sections (including the long-awaited “neighbourhood” wiki), and not a few new bells and whistles to improve navigation and reach.

As a handful of you know, I’ve been missing the restaurant business so much that I want back in (it’s been nearly 3 years since I left it, and I still wake up in the middle of the night screaming “I need my mains for table 25 right fucking now!”). Though I won’t say which restaurant(s) I’m hoping to sneak some shifts in, I’m looking forward to doing some moonlighting/blogging from the kitchen in the new year, either washing dishes or doing traffic control at the pass. It’s not that I’m short of work. It’s just that it’s not all the work that I want to do. Writing is an inherently lonely pursuit, and a completely foreign one to me. But that’s neither here no there. If you have any suggestions for new columns or are interested in writing one for us yourself, drop me a line at andrew [at] scoutmagazine [.ca] with whatever it is that you have in mind. Octopus hunting in the Mediterranean? Sure. Please.

Also, encouraged by many of our friends and colleagues in the local restaurant trade, we’re working on a new and proper restaurant awards system, one that will incorporate blindly judged live action cooking and bartending competitions for both the “Chef Of The Year” and “Bartender Of The Year” nods. As per request, you’ll be glad to hear that these awards will be premised on measurable merit and not online polling of people who may or may not have dined in any of the restaurants nominated. You’ll be hearing more on this and other cool works-in-progress after the holidays come to a close.

Lastly, a big thank you to all of our advertisers and members for their support in 2009. Starting and maintaining a new publication in the midst of a recession is never advisable, so this website would clearly not have been possible without help from the following companies:

Abigail’s Party, Araxi, Architectural Photographer, Au Petit Chavignol, Bearfoot Bistro, Bishop’s, Bistrot Bistro, Blue Mountain Winery, Blue Water Cafe, Boneta, C Restaurant, Cabana Grille, Campagnolo, Chambar, Charm Modern Thai, Cioppino’s Mediterranean Grill, Cibo Trattoria, CinCin Ristorante, Crave Beachside, Crave On Main, Cru Restaurant, Dajoji, DB Bistro Moderne, Dirty Apron Cooking School, Elixir Bistro, Ethical Bean Coffee, Fraiche Restaurant, Foodie Photography, Fifteen Group, Flying Tiger, Fuel Restaurant, George Ultra Lounge, Granville Room, Gusto Di Quattro, Hamid Attie Photography, Hart House, Joie Farm, La Brasserie, La Buca, La Stella, Latitude, Laughing Stock Vineyards, Le Vieux Pin, Lumiere, Maenam, Miku Restaurant, Medina Cafe, Mission Hill, Mis Trucos, Nu Restaurant, Pacific Institute Of Culinary Arts, Pied-à-Terre, Quattro On Fourth, Quattro At Whistler, R&B Brewing Co., Raincity Grill, RauDZ Regional Table, Refinery, Road 13 Winery, Salt Tasting Room, Stoneboat Vineyards, Twisted Fork Bistro, Two Chefs And A Table, Van Dusen Gardens, Warner Bros., and West Restaurant.

Thank you all for your continued support!

Of course, there’s always room for more. If you like what we do but haven’t joined us yet, by all means, please do. A few of our prime advertising spaces become available on January 1st or shortly thereafter, so if you want your brand next to ours as we push through the Olympics and beyond, drop us an email and we’ll set you up on the cheap.

I guess that’s all for now. We hope you score what you wished for on Christmas morning, and that you’ve enjoyed Scout in its first year. We certainly and sincerely wish you and your families all the very best in the one to come. Feature transmissions will resume shortly. In the meantime, our HEADLINE feed continues. Over and out.

Yours truly, tra-la-la…

Andrew Morrison | Wicket Keeper & Dungeon Master | Scout Magazine

PS. Be sure to open our presents with us at twitter.com/scoutmagazine