GOODS: Butter On The Endive Gets Cooking In Gastown At “The Found & The Freed”

Vancouver | Squamish | Whistler | 778-989-9349 | info@butterontheendive.ca | www.butterontheendive.ca

The GOODS from Butter On The Endive

Vancouver, BC | Join us as Butter on the Endive and The Found and the Freed present a night of food, drink and antiques. Chef Owen Lightly will be cooking seasonal delights to warm the heart and welcome the coming months of cozy times. We’re very excited to be partnering with The Found and the Freed, Vancouver’s hottest pop-up shop that features re-purposed authentic antique collections found across Canada and the States. Drop in before the Sweater Season Event to say hello to the lovely ladies on their official re-opening, on November 18th. Details after the jump… Read more

A POUND OF BUTTER: On The Mystical Appeal Of Quince (And What To Do With It)

by Owen Lightly | For the uninitiated, quince is a magical tree fruit resembling an oddly shaped apple or pear. Golden in colour and covered with a thin veil of fuzz, it has a pleasant scent that will easily fill a room when given the chance. The flesh of the fruit is, for all intents and purposes, inedible in its raw state – only with time, heat, and a little sugar, does it reveal its true powers.

Until I started working in kitchens I had never seen a quince. A relic of the fruit world, there are very few orchards that grow them nowadays. Steeped in mythical lore (argued to be the golden apple that Paris gave Aphrodite), my best luck in finding them has been by asking around at the farmers markets, or by keeping my ear to the ground and listening for people with trees in their yards that might otherwise go unpicked. My supply this year came after a chance encounter with man named T.K. in a Penticton restaurant. My friend casually mentioned to him of our need for some quince, and the next morning we were perched on stepladders plundering his tree. We drove home with over a hundred pounds. Read more

VANCOUVERITES: Eleven Minutes With Chef Owen Lightly Of “Butter On The Endive”

(photo: Michael Sider) Owen Lightly is as good a guy as they come. A quintessential British Columbian (not many people have a spring salmon tattooed on their forearm), he was raised on Gabriola Island and formally trained in Nanaimo before working his way through many of our kitchens – among them West, Au Petit Chavignol, Araxi, Market – before going into business for himself. Today, he runs his own catering business, which is named after his popular food blog, Butter On The Endive (kitchen code for “a good looking woman just entered the restaurant”). As regular readers are aware, he has contributed to Scout as a food writer in the past, but you’ll be happy to learn that he is about to launch a regular column on these pages called A Pound of Butter. In advance of its debut, we thought it prudent to ask a few questions of him, for you…

Your first memory? Campbell’s Tomato Soup.

Your ancestry? Welsh and Scottish.

The three books that you read that made an impact on you in your formative years? The Soul of a Chef by Michael Ruhlman; Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres (the movie was terrible!); Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson.

Your favourite word? Caramelize.

Your favourite curse word? Fuck.

Your major character flaw? Neuroticism.

The character flaw in others that you can’t abide? Not delivering what was promised.

The first three things that you do every morning? The three s’s.

What are you listening to as you answer these questions? Feist’s new album, Metals.

Your role model? Growing up I had a neighbour named Laurie. He was about the same age as my parents and always gave me the straight goods. He wasn’t afraid to drop some heavy philosophical shit on me from time to time as well, which never hurts.

Three things about your Mt. Pleasant that make you want to live there: Good restaurants and bars within spitting distance; I can see the mountains when I wake up and there’s lots of cool, creative people doing their thing.

What is the thing you’d like to change about Vancouver? More open spaces for people to congregate.

The Vancouverite that you admire most and why? Brad Miller (owner of the The Red Wagon) for showing me you can be successful in this business on your own terms. Read more

GOODS: Outdoor “Sunwolf Supper” By Butter On The Endive Going Down This July 30th

Vancouver | Squamish | Whistler | 778-989-9349 | info@butterontheendive.ca | www.butterontheendive.ca

The GOODS from Butter On The Endive

Squamish, BC | Come enjoy the simple flavours of summer with Chef Owen Lightly as he sources local sea-to-sky ingredients for a four-course, outdoor dining experience on July 30th. Nestled in the Squamish Valley, the Sunwolf property is the perfect place to chill out by the river, adore the mountains, and enjoy a fabulous meal with friends and community. The price is $60 for four-courses of delicious local food. Call 778-238-9600 or email info@butterontheendive to secure your spot. Menu after the jump Read more

GOODS: New Local Caterer “Butter On The Endive” Has Joined The Scout Community

We’ve invited local chef Owen Lightly’s new catering company, Butter On The Endive, to join our GOODS section as a recommended local business that is well worth checking out. They’re now a proud member of Scout, and as such we’ll be publishing their news front and center and hosting a page for them on our curated list of independent goodnesses. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank Owen for his support of Scout and for making Vancouver a better place to live…

CHECK ALL THE GOODS

DINER: “Chewie’s Steam & Oyster Bar” To Open Up From Kits Beach By Summer’s End

by Andrew Morrison | Restaurant trade watchers and bivalve addicts might remember that long-time Rodney’s Oyster House fixture Richard Chew (aka “Chewie”) left the Yaletown icon after five years of shucking toil this past January.

He did so – together with Shine vets Jamie and Mel Haddad – to pick up the original Adesso Bistro space at 2201 Yew Street just up from Kits Beach (vacated last Fall by “Karv”). Chewie gave me a shout over the weekend and spilled the beans:

“Finally, our permits in order for the new space [...] We start our renovations shortly and look to be open by the end of the summer. We are opening a Cajun/Creole-inspired oyster and steam bar.”

If an ex-Rodney’s guy named “Chewie” opening a proper oyster joint next to the beach doesn’t sound quite cool enough, chef Owen Lightly (ex-Araxi) of Butter On The Endive is on board doing the food concept and menu design. Owen is a pretty awesome fellow and a great cook. This is his first big gig as an independent consultant, so I don’t expect he’ll deliver anything short of awesome.

The end result (this September, fingers crossed) will be a 2,300 square footer called Chewie’s Steam & Oyster Bar. Expect 60 seats inside and another 36 on the streetside patio. They’ve just received their development permit. Demolition permits are in the mail.

ALL ANTICIPATED OPENINGS

Vancouver Food Blogs: What’s Out There That’s Worth A Read?

I’m teaching a class on Food Writing and Modern Media at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts this Fall (details forthcoming) and I’d like to know what new(ish) local food and drink sites I should be referencing when it comes time to talk about the local blogosphere. I have my own favourites – City Food, Tiny Bites, Cherries & Clay, Foodists, Butter On The Endive – but the number has mushroomed over the last couple of years and I could use some guidance from readership. If you know of any good ones worth checking out (or own one yourself), please share the url in the comments below. Much obliged.

The Last Good Summer Night At Owen Lightly’s Sunwolf Supper

photo: Brenda Lowe

by Owen Lightly | My friends Jake, Jess, Slater and Tanya recently purchased the Sunwolf Outdoor Centre. The property, sitting right on the Cheakamus River in the Squamish Valley, includes ten cabins, a conference centre and a small licensed cafe with seating for 50. Not long after the purchase, I went over to check it out. The second I saw the cafe I was in love; it’s nestled under a massive walnut tree with the seating outside on beautifully weathered picnic tables. During the day they provide lunches for sunburned river-rafters and the occasional wandering local. At night the cafe sits empty. Hearing this I had a crazy idea: what if I rented out the space one lovely summer evening and held a dinner? Together with my lovely lady friend Naomi Horii, we would like to invite you to… Read more

Vancouver Lexicon: Butter On The Endive

Butter On The Endive | website/expression | 1.) An expression that cooks in restaurants with open kitchens use to let their fellows know that they have seen an especially attractive woman enter the room for dinner. 2.) A very good food blog by local chef Owen Lightly.

Pronunciation: “But-er-on-thee-en-dive”

Usage: “Can I please get some butter on the endive for Table 56!”

Owen Lightly And The Beautiful Peyote Dream Of Street Vendors

the stuff of dreams: organic chickens on the left and porchetta (roast pork loin and belly) on the right, both giving up their drippings to potatoes resting below the rotisserie...

By Owen Lightly | Downtown 2am. I am a little drunk and very hungry, making my down Granville Street in a daze. I am looking for something but I don’t know quite what. I haven’t eaten since my staff meal back at the restaurant and that was many, many hours ago. The five beers I drank at the bar on an empty stomach are starting to do a number on my belly. I need food, fast and I don’t feel like pizza. I probably shouldn’t have smoked that peyote as well. Read more

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