The GOODS from Top Table

Vancouver, BC | As founding members of the Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Wise conservation program, Toptable Group restaurants and their chefs have long championed sustainable seafood practices. In honour of the 10th Anniversary of Ocean Wise, each Toptable Group restaurant will feature a showcase of British Columbia’s finest sustainable seafood products throughout the summer season.

West Restaurant will host an Ocean Wise 10th Anniversary Collaboration Dinner on Tuesday, June 23rd. The dinner will see the artistry of West Executive Chef Quang Dang together with the legendary Chef Robert Clark, an Ocean Wise founding chef and currently an owner of Vancouver’s sustainable seafood store and eatery, The Fish Counter. The event begins with a sparkling wine and canapé reception followed by a six-course dinner prepared by the two chefs. Tickets are limited to 70 guests and are $125 per person. Proceeds will be donated to Ocean Wise.

Furthermore, ‘The Canadian Collection’, an anthology of month-long, local specialties, has run to great acclaim at West Restaurant for the past year. The next Canadian Collection menu will celebrate Ocean Wise beginning in mid-June and will be extended to run through the end of August. Priced at $38, this special three-course menu will be featured for lunch every day, and for dinner Sunday through Thursday.

Farm-to-table pioneer Executive Chef James Walt is no stranger to the ocean’s harvest. This June he will feature a $39 four-course prix fixe Ocean Wise menu at Araxi Restaurant + Oyster Bar. The menu is available Sunday through Thursday, from June 1st to 25th. Furthering his commitment to the sustainable seafood program, Walt’s Longtable Dining Series menus will serve 100 per cent Ocean Wise ingredients.

On Thursday, June 30th, CinCin Ristorante will host an Ocean Wise ‘Table on the Terrace’, a striking 40-guest table presented on the restaurant’s beautiful outdoor terrace perched above bustling Robson Street. Executive Chef Andrew Richardson will craft a four-course menu comprised of Ocean Wise ingredients paired with the season’s freshest produce, complemented with optional seafood-friendly wine selections chosen from CinCin’s extensive cellars by Wine Director Shane Taylor. Tickets for the ‘Table on the Terrace’ tasting menu are $79 per person.

For the past decade, Executive Chef Frank Pabst’s menu at Blue Water Cafe has raised the bar on sustainable seafood, as has his well-known ‘Unsung Heroes’ annual seafood festival. Now, following extensive training from Ocean Wise experts, service staff will take on the role of sustainability ‘ambassadors’, focusing on educating guests of Vancouver’s ‘Best Seafood’ restaurant about Blue Water Cafe’s commitment to coastal fisheries and sustainable harvesting practices.

Best known as a master of all things chocolate, Chef Thierry Busset has also committed to supporting Ocean Wise at Thierry Chocolaterie, Patisserie and Cafe, downtown Vancouver’s favourite spot for delicious pastries and coffees. On his menu, Busset will feature a warm-weather lunchtime option: a cold-smoked Ocean Wise sockeye sandwich with cucumber and caper cream cheese, perfectly paired with a refreshing housemade soda or lemonade, or a glass of crispy sauvignon blanc.

Ocean Wise has been a driving force in promoting well-managed coastal fisheries and educating consumers about over-fished and endangered species. For more information on these Toptable Group initiatives, please visit toptable.ca/oceanwise.

ABOUT TOPTABLE GROUP

One of Canada’s leading hospitality groups, Toptable Group has four elegant, yet approachable, restaurants in Vancouver and Whistler: Araxi, CinCin, Blue Water Cafe and West, as well as the chocolaterie, patisserie and café, Thierry. More information can be found online at www.toptable.ca.