Vancouver Cooks 2 Wins Gold At The Canadian Cookbook Awards

Today is Scout’s 2nd birthday, and I could have asked for no better present than the news that has just arrived from Toronto. I am thrilled (and not a little proud) to announce that Vancouver Cooks 2 – the cookbook that I edited with Jamie Maw and Joan Cross for the Chefs’ Table Society of BC – has won Gold at the Canadian Culinary Book Awards. A billion thanks and sincere congratulations to the 70+ local chefs that contributed recipes, and to all the participating restaurants that have been pushing its sale, the proceeds of which go to financing bursaries for emerging culinary talents, culinary education programs in BC schools and sustainability events like the annual Spot Prawn Festival. Read more

A Night Of Fine French Food And A Screening Of “Ratatouille”

The Chefs Table Society of BC continues its fine fundraising work with the next installment of their Cinema To Savour series. From their release:

“On Monday November 22, 2010, the CTS and the Vancouver International Film Centre will host Cinema to Savour at the Vancity Theatre, for a family friendly evening of film and food. Guests will enjoy delicious French fare prepared by Chef Scott Jaeger of the Pear Tree Restaurant, and get a taste of his talents before enjoying the Disney Pixar animated classic, Ratatouille.”

Get all the details after the jump… Read more

“Vancouver Cooks” On The Short List For National Award

Well this is a very pleasant surprise!

The Chefs Table Society of BC’s new cookbook, Vancouver Cooks 2, which sees recipes from over sixty of this province’s top chefs (edited by Jamie Maw, Joan Cross, and Andrew Morrison), has been shortlisted in the Canadian Culinary Culture category of the Canadian Culinary Books Awards. Winners are to be announced in Toronto on November 5th, 2010.

Our publisher is pretty excited, and so are we. Wish us luck.

2010 Canadian Chefs’ Congress To Host “Mystery Chef Feast”

News from the Canadian Chefs’ Congress

Vancouver, BC | On Friday July 30, 2010, tour the plates of some of Vancouver’s top chefs in support of the 2010 Canadian Chefs’ Congress. Located at the beautiful Vancouver Club, one of Vancouver’s oldest Heritage buildings, this beneficiary will raise funds for the Canadian Chefs’ Congress to support theCanadian C education of 500 chefs from across the nation about the health of our oceans.

This Mystery Chef Feast is a formal sit down dinner affair of seven courses prepared by seven of Vancouver’s leading chefs, specially paired with world class wines. Which culinary icons will be preparing the cuisine at the July 30th dinner? What’s on the menu? It’s a mystery – guests will find out the night of the event! Those who are determined to figure out the mystery before arrival, the Canadian Chefs’ Congress will be dropping hints through their website, Facebook group page and through Twitter. Read more

Seen In Vancouver #244: A Chef Who Sings As Good As He Cooks

Last night’s Cinema To Savour screening of Big Night was a big success. The food was outstanding (especially the timpano – worthy of tears), and the crowd was better than any of the organisers could have hoped for. I was a little too busy to be messing around with a camera but I did manage to catch the one shot that mattered using my phone.

The likelihood of ever again seeing chef Pino Posteraro of Cioppino’s singing Italian folk songs with Frederico of Frederico’s Supper Club on guitar can only be calculated by the most pessimistic of statisticians. A hundred jaws were dropped in unison, their impromptu performance garnering more applause than the wonderful film that preceded it.

Thanks to all who came out to support the Chefs’ Table Society. We’ll be doing it again in the Fall, with a new chef and a new movie. I wonder if Vikram sings…

Vancouver’s Chefs Launch New Film Fest: “Cinema To Savour”

John Bishop broached the idea of a chef-run film fest at a Chefs’ Table Society board meeting a couple of months ago and we immediately voted it a green light. I love a good food movie, and I especially love Big Night (my favourite scene above – Sir Ian Holm is a genius!). When you combine the film with food from all-star chefs who’ve been inspired by it and then pair both with good wine, beer and coffee (plus a free copy of our book, Vancouver Cooks 2, which you can have signed by the dozens of chefs in attendance), a good time is sure to follow. This is the official release, sent out to the media this morning (please post if you didn’t receive it). The theater has a massive mailing list of thousands of local film buffs who will be sure to pounce, so buy your tickets today if you can. I think we have room for about 150 people, and I fear it will sell out mighty fast. I’ll be there helping out, and hope to see not a few Scout readers in attendance. Details after the jump… Read more

Field Trip #581: Digging The Rad Fruits Of Island Collaboration

We recently took a kid-less trip up to Tofino to see and celebrate the launch of the Tofino Ucuelet Culinary Guild, the just-baptised association of west-Island cooks and restaurateurs.

First off, how awesome is it that Tough City and Ukie now have their own organised collective of “like-minded chefs, restaurant entrepreneurs and culinary visionaries whose mission is to work closely with each other and regional farmers, foragers and fishermen to provide, support and promote a unique culinary experience that relies on sustainable farm-to-table practices and the freshest local ingredients prepared with integrity and passion”? That’s pretty cool.

At first blush you probably wouldn’t think chefs would be great collaborators, especially here in hyper-competitive BC where many tend to be dictators in suspiciously guarded fiefdoms of their own making. Cooperation would seem anathema to the job description. But I’ve seen it work splendidly in Vancouver with the Chefs’ Table Society of BC (witness their Spot Prawn Festival, underway now, and the two Vancouver Cooks cookbooks). I also know that the bonds of kitchen camaraderie are some of the strongest in the human experience, somewhere on the band of brothers (and sisters) ladder between firemen and soldiers. So what if the towns are small and membership in the Guild is consequently limited? The fruits of their zeal and common purpose matter most, and I was therefore very keen to witness the TUCG’s first pluck, a fundraising dinner held at Tin Wis. Read more

Start Salivating Now For The Fourth Annual Spot Prawn Fest!

The Chefs’ Table Society of BC is pleased to announce the Fourth Annual Spot Prawn Festival. Lasting for the duration of the season, the six to eight week Spot Prawn Festival will kick off on Saturday May 8th from 12pm – 3pm with a community and family-friendly event at False Creek Fishermen’s Wharf.

This rain or shine launch will feature delicious spot prawn dishes, spot prawn specials at the award-winning Go Fish, a gathering of Vancouver’s chef and restaurant community, and the arrival of the season’s first spot prawns as local fishermen return to the wharf with their catch. Get all the details after the jump… Read more

Who Are All Of These Chefs And Why Are They In The Same Room?

How many of BC's top chefs can you recognise? Put names to the faces at the bottom of this post.

The other night at the Dirty Apron cooking school, the Chefs’ Table Society hosted a launch party for their new cookbook, Vancouver Cooks 2. Several contributing chefs served up samples of their recipes from the book using the school’s many stations, while dozens of guests from the media and the restaurant world sipped on Mission Hill wines, R&B Sun God Wheat Ale, and bottles of Chambar’s signature brew… Read more

Vancouver’s Top Toques Line Up And Sign At UBC Feast of Fields

Chefs Table Society president Pino Posteraro signs a copy of Vancouver Cooks 2 at Feast of Fields

Attendees at last weekend’s Feast of Fields on UBC Farm were given the first opportunity to purchase the new Vancouver Cooks 2 cookbook and have it signed by a dozen of its 70 chef contributors. The book, which features 120 recipes from BC’s best restaurants, “officially” goes on sale in mid-October, but can be purchased in advance at Barbara Jo’s Books To Cooks and those participating restaurants that have sequestered cases of their own (be sure to ask when making your dinner reservations this week).

Many thanks to Tiffany Soper for the following photographs. Click through to see who turned up… Read more

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