Chef Abhishek Roy - Atithi, Chef Josh Wolfe - Coast, Richard Wolak, Chef Ben Berwick

The Vancouver Foodster 1st Anniversary party was a huge success, held on July 28th at Canvas Lounge in Gastown.

Nimby Burger cooking burgers

Thank you to all those who came out to celebrate, and to taste the fabulous food and drinks from Coast, Sanafir, Atithi, Hapa Izakaya, Maple Grill, Nimby Burger, Rocky Mountain Flatbread Co, Wild Rice, Canvas Lounge, Benton Brothers Cheese, Bonchaz, Cake Tease, Vancouver Brownies, Xoxolat, Kafkas Coffee & Tea, Dao Tea, Vista D’oro Farms, Chandra Winery, Nichol Vineyard, Rollingdale Winery, Desert Hills Winery, and Neck of the Woods Wines.

Lineup outside Canvas Lounge

Guests Mingling inside Canvas Lounge

DJ Pat Lock

Loungy beats were happening thanks to DJ Pat Lock and DJ Jeremy Lim and our MC’s Meena Mann and Charles Zuckermann kept the evening flowing with speeches by Fareeday Rasoul Kim from the Vancouver Food Bank and Richard Wolak, founder of Vancouver Foodster.

Cheese and more Cheese

Shahab & Chef Themis of Vancouver Brownies

Gustavo, Ari & Chef Chris Sanderson of Maple Grill

Chef Theresa of Cake Tease

Blueberry, Basil Chocolates from Xoxolat

Pouring Wine

With close to 600 people in attendance we raised over $1800 in donations for the Vancouver Food Bank Community Angel Food Runners Program.

Alexei Schwartzman,Alisha Mann, Minna Van, Sophia Cheng, Richard Wolak, Ariane Colebrander, Charles Zuckermann, Alejandro Escobell, Lisa Green - the Event Organizing Committee

Yesterday I attended the launch of a new BC based artisan vodka in a penthouse on the 32nd floor of a building downtown Vancouver with a spectacular view of the city skyline. Xfour, is a sipping vodka, made from rye and corn. I had a preview tasting of this vodka in a Strawberry Cosmo served to me at C Restaurant last week and I enjoyed the smooth taste without the bite at the end.

Xfour Vodka

Xfour is distilled four times and the glacier water is retrieved from a 356 foot well. It was great to see Xoxolat pairing their chocolate with the Xfour vodka in a delicious Chocolate Martini that I had the pleasure of sipping.

Here are a couple of recipes for your own enjoyment.

Xoxolat Xpresso martini
2 parts Xfour
1 part chocolate syrup( for best results, use Xoxolat drinking chocolate)
1 part espresso coffee
Shake, pour, garnish with chocolate espresso bean

Xoxolat Chocoalte martini
2 parts Xfour
1 part chocolate syrup( for best results, use Xoxolat drinking chocolate)
Shake, pour, garnish with a raspberry

By: Richard Wolak

Recipes courtesy of Xfour.

Last night I attended a tasting of Desert Hills Wines alongside with tasty bites from The Edge Social Grille and Lounge on Granville.

Desert Hills Wines

Desert Hills Winery is located in Oliver, BC and it was great to have them participate in this tasting in the city.

Pemberton Meadows Beef Sliders

Buttermilk Fried Chicken

Handmade Ricotta Tortellini

My favourite bites from Chef Chris Dignan’s kitchen were the Beef Sliders, Buttermilk Fried Chicken and the Ricotta Tortellini with roasted summer squash, truffle oil and parmesan which paired well with the Desert Hills Gamay and Syrah.

By: Richard Wolak

With many cooking classes taking place around the city, I wondered what the differences were between each of them, and what made each standout. Some classes include copies of the chefs cookbooks, author signings, have celebrity chefs, or are fundraisers for non profit groups. I decided to set out on my own adventure and partake in some classes around the city.

Here is the thrid of many classes that I will be taking. Urban Thai Bistro is a restaurant located in Vancouver.

Participants and the Chefs

On July 17th, I was invited to participate in a Thai cooking class, all I knew was that it was going to be a hands on experience. This new series of Thai cooking classes is being offered by Urban Thai Bistro in Yaletown to celebrate their 10th year of their restaurant. The idea is brilliant, and I truly hope anyone in the city who loves Thai food will partake in one or all of their classes.

I have been particpating in a series of cooking classes during the past few months and this was one of the most unique I have done thus far. There were 6 of us in the class with 2 chefs so that ratio is very good. At the beginning we all sat at a round table and were provided with a very well organized booklet that described the cooking class, the menu for the days class, a dictionary of Thai herbs along with the recipes of the dishes we were about to create. We were each presented with a fancy apron which we were to keep after the class to use in our own kitchens.

Kaeng Kari - Thai Yellow Curry with Chicken

Each of us assembled at our own cooking stations, all the ingredients were pre-measured and set out in front of us making this step easy for all of us. I began to follow the chefs instructions for the 1st dish and cooked up a storm and voila my Kaeng Kari – Thai Yellow Curry with Chicken was finished.

Making the Soup

Tom Yum Goong Soup

On to the 2nd dish and to cooking the Tom Yum Goong Soup adding a dash of this and a dash of that to make it sweeter or saltier of course depending on each of our individual tastes.

Frying the Spring Roll Stuffing

Separating the Rice Paper Wrappers

Rolling the Spring Rolls

Vegetarian Spring Rolls

On to the 3rd dish, making the Vegetarian Spring Rolls I had to make the stuffing first by frying up the rice noodles, vegetables and spices. I then separated the rice wrappers and filled each with the mixture and then rolled each spring roll carefully, I had quite a knack for this process having had made many cheese blintzes years ago.

Som Tum - Papaya Salad

On to the 4th dish and the last dish of this Thai meal the Som Tum – Papaya Salad. In a huge clay pot bowl, I smashed garlic and red chilli paste along with peanuts and other ingredients.

After we all finished cooking our dishes we regrouped and ate our way through each of the wonderful dishes. This was my first time cooking a home cooked, well almost home cooked Thai meal. Personally I hope you all take one or more of these cooking classes offered by Urban Thai Bistro. The classes are being offered every Saturday morning at 10:30am throughout the Summer, make sure you reserve in advance.

Ticket prices range for the classes. For tickets and info call 604-408-7788, Urban Thai Bistro is located at 1119 Hamilton Street in Yaletown.

By: Richard Wolak

Photo Credit: Noam Dehan

Q4 recently launched their summer menu with a brand new pizza oven firing off traditional thin-crust pizzas every night. They also have great summer specials including an Antipasto sharing platter and prosecco on the new patio. A friend joined me for a wonderful dinner tasting some of their new dishes as well as some old time favourites.

Dungeness Crab and Arborio rice Croquetta

Baby Arugula Salad

Spaghetti Quattro & Garganelli

Pistacchio crusted wild Alaskan black cod & Pan seared Pacific halibut

Cherry Tart, Fudgey Brownie & Tiramisu

To begin we shared the Dungeness Crab and Arborio rice Croquetta ($14.95) which is a bit too dense for me with a caper and lemon aioli served with a shaved fennel salad. We then shared the very tasty and refreshing Baby Arugula Salad ($8.95) with julienne of pear, shaved parmigiano reggiano, pink peppercorn and honey vinaigrette. We then shared a couple of half portion pastas, we both loved the Spaghetti Quattro ($17.95 for full portion) and the Garganelli ($19.95 for full portion) with tiger prawns, fresh avocado in a light lemon cream. For our main entrees, we shared the outstanding Pistachio Crusted Wild Alaskan Black Cod ($32.95) with a fire roasted red pepper sauce and the Pan Seared Pacific Halibut ($32.95) found this a bit too dry, with a plum tomato, shaved garlic and olive, caper ragout. We were both quite full but had to try some of their desserts so we had 3 of them and loved the outstanding Cherry Tarte ($8), the gooey Chocolate Brownie ($8) and the Tiramisu ($8).

Recently I attended a Bastille Day Cheese and Wine Tasting lead by Allison Spurrel the cheese master.

Vive la France: With Allison guiding us all through each of the 4 plates of cheeses that were carefully paired with wines from France we had a chance to explore some of the many regions from France. This tasting offered an insight to best that France has to offer, and included some classic cheese pairings with wines from the Alsace, Loire valley and Bordeaux.

Anyone who loves cheese and wine should look out for upcoming tastings at Au Petit Chavignol. Costs of their tastings range in price and often fill up in advance. You can check out their schedule online or phone 604-255-4218 for upcoming tastings and classes.

By: Richard Wolak

As you can imagine I have been to many different types of dinners of the years, some of my most memorable meals had been while I was off travelling. Last night I had one of the most memorable dining experiences ever in my own city, Vancouver.

Shannon Ronalds

There is a back story that takes us back about 4 months or so when Shannnon Ronalds had an idea to start a foundation called School of Fish with its ultimate goal to raise $100,000 with the money to be used to train and educate chefs around the world about sustainability in our oceans. Shannon knew the right people, his friend and former boss Harry Kambolis (owner of C Restaurant and a leader himself in Sustainability) and Chef Robert Clark (Chef at C Restaurant and one of the best chefs in North America also a leader in Sustainability). The foundation was co-founded by Shannon Ronalds & Chef Robert Clark. The idea was born and is an amazing fete, I dined on the Floating Dining Room on opening night on July 24th with Shannon Ronalds leading the way, he was our Sommelier, Server, and Guiding Light to me and my fellow diners (in all we were 12 members of the media guests of Shannon Ronalds for the night).

Eating in the dining room

After we assembled at C Restaurant, we all made our way down the seawall, gangway to the dock and walked to the Floating Dining Room that is somewhat anchored next to the dock. The dining room measures about 20 feet long x 8 feet wide and the floor is made up of 1700 plastic bottles rescued from the ocean, the structure was designed by Matt Kirk-Buss of Loki Ocean and built by Shannon Ronalds and a couple of friends who donated their time to the project. It is constructed entirely of renewable, recycled, reclaimed and/or re-purposed materials, seats only 12 and is a fully outfitted formal dining room complete with fine china, and crystal. Clear walls and ceiling shield patrons from the elements while affording them a very unique perspective on False Creek and the views beyond.

Chef Robert Clark

The 6 courses dinner was paired with 6 wines, the menu for the dinner was created by Chef Robert Clark using sustainable seafood including BC Spot Prawns supplied by Organic Ocean. The wines were selected by Sommelier Shannon Ronalds from many wine tastings to choose the right wines for this dinner pairing.

BC Spot Prawn Sunomono Salad

1st Course
BC Spot Prawn Sunomono Salad paired with the New Zealand Mud House Sauvignon Blanc.

Ultra rare scallop

2nd Course
Ultra rare scallop finished at the table with a dashi broth paired with the Summerhill Pinot Gris.

Farmed Tilapia with a lobster saffron cream

3rd Course
Farmed Tilapia with a lobster saffron cream paired with the Twisted Tree Marsane Rousanne.

Northern BC Wild Coho Salmon

4th Course
Northern BC Wild Coho Salmon paired with the California 2008 Bensinger Chardonnay.

Tiger blue cheese from poplar grove, romala cheese from naramata

5th Course
Tiger blue cheese from poplar grove, romala cheese from naramata with blueberry and apricot compotes + honey paired with the Pacific Breeze “GSM” (or Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre)

Berry Fool with chocolate shavings

6th Course
Berry Fool with chocolate shavings paired with the Tinhorn Creek Late Harvest Kerner 2008 dessert wine.

Our group was fortunate to be able to see the Celebration of Light Fireworks (Spain) over the burrard bridge while enjoying our dessert, it was as magical as it was memorable.

Servers from Northwest Culinary Academy

Started July 24th the floating dining room will host 60 nights of exclusive dining. Each candle-lit dinner includes a six-course sustainable seafood meal prepared by multi-award winning Chef Robert Clark of C Restaurant. Mr. Ronalds, a former sommelier, will carefully choose wines to compliment each course. The price for this once-in-a-lifetime dining experience? There is a discount for ordering early ’ $195 (plus taxes) per person if ordered prior to July 31st (for any date). Starting August 1st the price goes up to $215. Group discounts will also be offered for those who wish to book the entire 12 seats for a private function. Each dinner will be personally presided over by Mr. Ronalds.

Reservations are a must and can be made by calling 778-997-6977 or emailingcontact@schooloffishfoundation.org Dinners proceed rain or shine and all ticket sales are final due to the limited time frame of the experience. If you find you cannot attend, you may transfer your ticket to someone else.

By: Richard Wolak