Travel Blog

18 Mar

Celebrate BC Produce at Vancouver’s Healthy Chef Competition & Dinner

Vancouver is fortunate to enjoy a bounty of fresh produce from the many local farms in the region. For example, currently available are vibrant ingredients, like kale, beets, parsnips, apples, Asian pears, radish, and spinach. They can be found at farmers’ markets, grocery stores, and on restaurant menus across the city.

In celebration (and perfectly timed with the start of spring), the BC Produce Marketing Association (BCPMA) and BC Chefs’ Association (BCCA) are holding their annual Healthy Chef Competition and Dinner on Wednesday, March 21, 2018.

For the nineteenth year, the Healthy Chef Competition and Dinner event will be bringing chefs, producers, and the public together in a lavish and fun fresh produce event and competition. This year’s event takes place at the Hyatt Regency (655 Burrard Street) from 6:30pm to 9:30pm on March 21, 2018.

Once you arrive, you’ll have the opportunity to mingle with fellow guests, celebrities, and food industry professionals in the decorated Hyatt ballroom. You’ll also be given a secret envelope. Inside you’ll discover your food destination and what you’ll be eating for the night. This element of surprise definitely adds to the enjoyment of the night. Plus, if you attend with a group of people, you can sample each other’s dishes and experience a spectrum of tastes. Guests will also take home a swag box of items, including fresh produce for incorporating in your own cooking.

The main event is a chef competition between ten hotels, resorts, restaurants, and culinary schools. This year, ten groups will be competing: Beach Grove Golf Club, Delta Hotels Burnaby Conference Centre, Executive Plaza Hotel Metro Vancouver, Carver’s Steakhouse, Hyatt Regency Vancouver, Sandpiper Resort-Clubhouse, Vancouver Airport Mariott Hotel, Vancouver Community College, Vancouver Island University, and White Spot.

Each entrant will be creating an entrée and dessert that showcase fresh fruits and vegetables, to be carefully evaluated by BCCA chefs. The four trophies to be awarded are the Healthy Half Your Plate Entrée Award (includes a $1000 cash prize), Best Dessert, Best Table Showcase (selected by food and event bloggers), and the People’s Choice Award.

Last year’s competitors entered dishes such as sous vide venison loin with pickled mustard seed, lingonberry sauce, Yukon potato pavé, savoy cabbage, mushroom duxelle, king mushrooms, shallot jam, turnip celeriac purée, baby carrots, and French green beans (Vancouver Community College); and olive oil almond and rosemary financier cake with white chocolate mousse, apricot coulis, macerated berries, dark chocolate soil, and beet meringue (Vancouver Airport Mariott Hotel). In other words, expect really inventive and well-crafted items.

Besides the competition, there’ll be live and silent auction items to bid on, DJ music, roaming entertainers, presentations, and the chance to take a selfie with Freggie (the official mascot of the fruit and vegetable industry). The Master of Ceremonies this year will be CTV’s weathercaster, Marke Driesschen. Proceeds will be going towards the Canadian Cancer Society, BC Heart and Stroke, and the BCCA Scholarship Program.

Tickets are $90 (includes appetizers, dinner, dessert, and a swag box of goodies) and can be purchased by calling 604-785-0765 or emailing info@bcpma.com. There are only 500 tickets available, so don’t delay! Further information can be found on-line.

Article source: http://www.insidevancouver.ca/2018/03/15/celebrate-bc-produce-at-vancouvers-healthy-chef-competition-dinner/