A no messing around guide to the coolest things to eat, drink and do in Vancouver and beyond. Community. Not clickbait.

Calling All Restaurant People Who Could Use A Good Night Off

image001

Meet a very happy Frank Georgas. He’s just had a lift installed in his home courtesy of the BC Hospitality Foundation. The 68 year old retiree was once upon a time a dishwasher, cook, chef and business operator. He has suffered from ALS for the past 5 years, and in his time of need, the BCHF was there for him.

As many of Scout’s readers are aware, the hospitality trade is without a safety net. While the BCHF can’t help everyone, it has come to the aid of many in dire need. It’s a great organisation that is quietly going about doing great things for industry people and their families. Unfortunately, because its events are usually fundraisers that are priced too high for restaurant staff to afford, few of the people in the business that I speak to even know it exists.

Take this Monday’s event at the snazzy new Vancouver Convention Center (6.30pm-9.30pm), for example. Dubbed Dish n’ Dazzle, it certainly sounds like a very good time. Tickets, however, cost a whopping $250 each, which is more than a lot of dishwashers get tipped out in a month. We’d like to draw as much attention in the trade to the good works of the BCHF as possible, so we’re giving away a pair of tickets to two people who could use a night off.

We’re asking all managers, chefs and restaurateurs to let us know via email (y’all have my email, right?) which of their employees – for one reason or another (you tell us) – would really appreciate being dished and dazzled on Monday night. It could be a busser, a server, a bartender, a garde manger, a line cook – it doesn’t matter just so long as they go, have a fine time of eating and drinking, and come away understanding that – should they ever need it – there is an fantastic organisation of caring people that are capable of helping them out in times of major crisis.

I’ll put all the names into a hat and draw two on Sunday morning. Full event details here.