Chefs to the Field | A Fruitful Event

This post is somewhat delayed, but the numbers have been tallied. Chefs to the Field drew an impressive crowd and managed to raise a whopping $12,000.00 in approximately 5 hours! The day, while a bit of a whirlwind for the volunteers, was a complete success. I didn't get to see too much of the competition, but the food looked wonderful, and Chef Jason Lloyd from Terminal City Club won first place in the Black Box Competition. If you didn't get a chance to come out this year, don't worry...Ian Lai is already planning for the second annual Chefs to the Field, which will surely be bigger. It's wonderful to see Ian's project continue to blossom.

Urban Diner posted a press release yesterday if you'd like to read more.

Tagged as: [ blackbox competition organic restaurants ]

Chefs to the Field | Tomorrow! Richmond, BC

Chefs to the Field is tomorrow! Please join us from 11am to 4pm at the Terra Nova Rural Park in Richmond, BC. This fundraiser will help support the Terra Nova Schoolyard Society and the Organic Friends of the Future.

 Below is the program for the day:

11AM		Gates Open
		Children's Activities (located at entrance to site)
		Silent Auction opens
11AM - 2PM		Food Sales - Summer Lunch
11 AM		Farm Tour (Richmond Fruit Tree Sharing Project)
		Please meet at north side of the site
11:30AM - 3PM		Live Music (located at south side of site)
11:30AM		BONKERS!
12:45PM		Company B
2PM		Evan Arntzen Trio
12NOON		Farm Tour (Richmond Fruit Tree Sharing Project)
		Please meet at north end of site
1PM		Opening Ceremony (Brad Reid, MC)
		Cynthia Chen, Acting Mayor of Richmond
		Mike Redpath, Manager
		Parks, Programming & Design
		Joan Glossop, Richmond Fruit Tree Sharing Project
		Ian Lai, Host - Terranova Schoolyard Society
1:30-3:30PM		Green Cuisine Competition
1:30PM		Chefs garden orientation and harvest
2:30PM		Cook-off
3:30PM		Judging
3:30PM		Silent Auction Closes
4:30PM		Awards and Closing
		Cynthia Chen, Acting Mayor of Richmond
		Ian Lai, Host

Click here to see the impressive list of what's up for grabs at the Silent Auction table (sorry for the poor scan)! Double click on the document to zoom in.

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Location: Terra Nova Rural Park (2631 Westminster Highway, Richmond, BC)
Date: Sunday, August 19, 2007
Time: 11am – 4pm
Parking: Limited. Please try to bike or walk. A shuttle bus is being provided from the City Works Yard (5599 Lynas Lane, Richmond, BC) to the event every 15 minutes.

Tagged as: [ blackbox competition organic restaurants ]

Chefs to the Field | Sunday, August 19th - Richmond, BC

Time flies! Chefs to the Field is less than one week away. Please join us from 11am to 4pm on August 19th, rain or shine, at the Terra Nova Rural Park in Richmond, BC. This fund raiser will help support the Terra Nova Schoolyard Society and the Organic Friends of the Future. Aside from obtaining some fabulous giveaways just for attending, these wonderful items have been secured for the silent auction. Here are just a few teasers from the list:

• Memberships for online culinary instruction
• All-inclusive weekend yoga retreat in Tofino (some restrictions apply)
• A round of golf for two (power cart included)
• Gift certificates for restaurants, caterers, and gourmet/pastry shops
• Specialty food baskets and culinary/cultural tours
• A year of CHOCOLATE
• Massage therapy
  

Chefs to the Field will also feature live entertainment and children’s activities. General admission is free, however, between 11am and 2pm, and for only $3.00 per plate, you can sample food from some of Vancouver's finest restaurants and schools.

In addition, come out and watch the exhilarating Black Box Cook Off. Chefs have recently received a list of what will be available to harvest from the field for the competition. In addition to the participants listed below, two more have joined the match to compete for the coveted Green Cuisine Award. They are: Wild Rice and Tapenade Mediterranean Bistro.

The competition commences at 2pm. Teams of professional Chefs and one culinary student will be given one mystery ingredient just before starting. They will have one hour to quickly harvest produce from the field and use those items to create four separate dishes. Teams will be judged on: the care they took while harvesting the garden, flavor, presentation, originality, and organization. Come and see how these Chefs strut their stuff! It will be a fantastic competition to watch some of Vancouver's top Chefs in action.

Learn more about what Chef Ian Lai (founder of the Terra Nova Schoolyard Society) has been busy creating by joining us on Sunday and referring to these past posts:

Location: Terra Nova Rural Park (2631 Westminster Highway, Richmond, BC)
Date: Sunday, August 19, 2007
Time: 11am – 4pm
Parking: Limited. Please try to bike or walk. A shuttle bus is being provided from the City Works Yard (5599 Lynas Lane, Richmond, BC) to the event every 15 minutes. 

I will be the on-site volunteer coordinator. If you would like to participate by being a volunteer, please contact me as soon as possible.

Tagged as: [ blackbox competition organic restaurants ]

Northwest Culinary Academy of Vancouver Blog

If you haven't noticed already, the Northwest Culinary Academy of Vancouver has launched their very own blog! It is a fantastic way for past students to remain connected to the school and read about what is going on. For future students, it will also provide an insight of the views and the genuineness of the people that run it. Student or not, I suspect in the process of reading their blog, not only will you learn something, but you'll be quite entertained by the entries that are contributed. Add NWCAV's blog to your reader now!

Tagged as: [ blogs culinary nwcav pastry school ]

Cobre Restaurant - Nuevo Latino Cuisine | Gastown, Vancouver, BC

Marcelo and I stumbled upon the week-old Cobre Restaurant a few days ago. Their intriguing menu, which fuses the cuisines of Argentina, Cuba, Brasil, and Mexico, lured us to try it out with a couple of friends this evening. This lofty-style restaurant, situated in a Gastown heritage building, is very warm and relaxing. The decor is gorgeous and I love how they expose the old brick walls.

Most importantly, the food is amazing. We ordered 10 tapas-style plates to share and each had their own unique and phenomenal flavors. The menu has many highlights. I plan to go back just for a bowl of the pozole oxtail soup, followed by the vaca frita (flash seared skirt steak). The blue corn crusted chicken thighs, served with delicious plantain and marinated okra, were a big hit. We also tried three different kinds of tacquerias: pulled duck, poblano chili, and pork saddle. Another gem was the refreshing halibut ceviche, which literally melted in your mouth. I'm getting hungry all over again just thinking about it. I don't need to say any more. Just go.

Tagged as: [ cuisine restaurants review ]