The Second Annual Chef's to the Field

A little overdue, but the Second Annual Chef's to the Field event held in Richmond was another huge success! This year, I was able to take quite a few photos and sample a lot of wonderful food. One of the prettiest food samples, I thought, were these edible flowers designed by one of the competitors, Pan-o-Pan.

Soon after the chef's had their harvest orientation, they were racing through the fields gathering all the needed produce. They had only 90 minutes to create 4 dishes.

 

The mystery ingredient this year: fresh B.C. sardines!

The first-place winner of the coveted "Green Cuisine Award" was Raincity Grill. Using local produce and ingredients is certainly not foreign to them. Just visit their restaurant to sample some delicious Pacific Northwest cuisine. Congratulations also go to Aurora Bistro for their 2nd place finish and Tapenade Bistro with 3rd placement. You can visit Terranova's website for more detailed information about the event.

It was great to see so many people come out and support Ian Lai's vision and the Terranova Schoolyard Project. Click here for more pictures from the day and see you next year!

Tagged as: [ competition culinary organic richmond terranova ]

Chef's to the Field | Sunday, August 10 (11am to 4pm)

It is incredible that almost a year has gone by! It's time to join Chef Ian Lai for the 2nd Annual Chef's to the Field event on Sunday, August 10. Come out and support the Terranova Schoolyard Project and sample some of the best gourmet food in town. Twelve teams are going head to head this year to win the 'coveted' green cuisine award.

Location: Terra Nova Rural Park (2631 Westminster Highway, Richmond, BC)
Date: Sunday, August 10, 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 culinary nwcav organic ]

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:

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.

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 ]