December 2018 - West Coast Food

Recipes December 21, 2018

Recipe: Kipferl Cookies

By Thomas Haas Chocolates & Patisserie Kipferl cookies originated in Austria and are traditional in Germany, Czech, Slovakia, Romania, and Hungary. Makes approx. 2 dozen cookies. INGREDIENTS Cookies Soft unsalted butter (2/3 cup) Icing sugar, sifted (1/3 cup) Ground almonds (1/2 cup) Bread flour (1 cup) Vanilla bean (1) Salt (a pinch) Vanilla sugar Vanilla Sugar Granulated sugar (4 cups) Used vanilla pod from the cookie dough DIRECTIONS Cookies 1. In a mixer fitted with a paddle, mix the butter, icing sugar, and salt till smooth at medium speed. Scrape the sides of the bowl frequently to prevent lumps. 2. Split the vanilla bean in half and scrape to remove the seeds. Reserve the pod for later use. Add the seeds to the butter mixture and mix till thoroughly combined. 3. Whisk together the bread flour and ground almonds. Add all the dry ingredients into the butter-mixture and mix on…

Asian December 20, 2018

A Chef Shares Richmond’s Delicious Chinese Food Court Finds

Sai Woo head chef, Keev Mah shares some of the best Chinese food that is surprisingly found at the food courts of Richmond, BC, Canada.

Festivals & Events December 18, 2018

Re-Charge your Holiday Delight with Snacks at Glow in Langley

By Natalie Marcotte Whether you’re a fan of winter weather matters not at Glow, an immersive festive display of over 500,000 lights under the protective cover of a massive greenhouse in Langley. Work up an appetite exploring the light gardens and traversing the musical light tunnel, and then have your pick of food from the Christmas market, food trucks, and of course, a bar for the adults. A must-try for the kids is a festive lightbulb drink will re-charge the kids between a gift scavenger hunt and snowing bubbles, and allow you to explore the marketplace of boutique wears, decorations and locally made goods. Grab your flashing cranberry drink from Donners’ Bar in a re-usable lightbulb for $8. The outside food truck courtyard features wood-fired pizza, Greek food, tornado potatoes, kettle corn, mac n’ cheese and baked potatoes including a holiday dinner complete with turkey, stuffing, gravy and cranberry sauce.…

Chef Stories December 17, 2018

Chef Dan Leung and Wanda Lai: Behind the Global Fusion Cuisine at Vancouver’s The Rise Eatery

By Kathy Mak For chef Dan Leung, the unexpected road to a successful catering and restaurant business started as a teenager. Leung’s first restaurant industry job was in the kitchen of Vancouver’s legendary Elbow Room Café. The job, he says, sparked his interest in food and cooking. After a sharp career detour to the field of electronics, Leung circled back to follow his true calling as a professional chef. He graduated from Dubrulle Culinary Institute (now The Art Institute of Vancouver) and gathered experience at various restaurants and caterers before starting his own catering company, Danz Gourmet, with wife Wanda Lai in 2003. Fittingly, Leung’s desire to expand his culinary ingenuity led the husband-and-wife duo to open their restaurant–The Rise Eatery – in 2017. Located in the well-appointed neighbourhood of South Granville, their unique cuisine champions unconventional, global-fusion which Leung describes as the art of blending and balancing flavours/ingredients despite…

Recipes December 16, 2018

Recipe: Classic Pecan Pie

By: Mario Pelletier, Pastry Chef, Railtown Cafe and Railtown Catering INGREDIENTS (Recipe yields two pecan pies) Sable Base Flour, 470 grams Ground almonds, 60 grams Butter, 240 grams Icing sugar 180 grams 2 eggs Salt, 1 tsp Crumble all dry ingredients together except eggs in a mixing bowl. Slowly add eggs and combine until smooth. Line the base mixture in two 10-inch circle tart tins. Place tins in the oven at 170°C (roughly 340°F) and blind bake (using beans on top of the crust) for approximately 20-25 minutes until the crust is half cooked. Pecan Filling Eggs, 9 Demerara sugar, 500g Golden syrup, 612.5g Butter, 125g Pinch salt Pecans, 1kg DIRECTIONS Preheat your oven to 175°C (roughly 350°F). Melt the butter. In a mixing bowl and slowly mix in the eggs, sugar and syrup. Incorporate the butter, salt and then the pecans. Divide the pecan filling between the two…

Recipes December 15, 2018

Recipe: Judy’s Potato Latkes

By Judy Frankel, Executive Director of Tourism New Westminster Latkes are traditionally cooked on Hanukkah, along with other fried foods, to commemorate the miracle of the menorah oil in the Jewish Temple. Although typically prepared using potatoes because they were readily available, they can also be prepared using shredded vegetables or sweet potatoes. INGREDIENTS Russet potatoes (3 lbs) Eggs (2 large) Onion, coarsely chopped (1 medium) Kosher (coarse) salt, or to taste (1-1/2 tsp) Black pepper (1/8 tsp) All-purpose flour or matzah meal (1/4 cup) Peanut or canola oil, for frying Sour cream and/or applesauce, for serving DIRECTIONS Wash the potatoes well. Using a food processor, shred the onions and potatoes. If you don’t have a processor, you can use the largest holes on a box grater. In a large bowl, add the shredded potatoes, eggs, flour and salt and pepper and mix well. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a…

Festivals & Events December 12, 2018

Dine Out Vancouver Welcomes Chefs from Britain, Australia and Germany

By Alexis Baran The Dine Out Vancouver Festival graces plates from January 18th – February 3rd and along with three-course meals, culinary tours, classes and tastings all over the city, guest chefs from all over the world will be cooking up inspired collaborations. Each chef from abroad will be in the kitchen with a Vancouverite, and the pairs will work together creating something that shakes up the tastebuds. Look who’s teaming up: London, Great Britain Who: Chef Warren Geraghty and Vancouver’s Chef Felix Zhou Where: Heritage Asian Eatery When: January 22, 2019 Details: The two accomplished culinary stars first met working on the line at Vancouver’s acclaimed West Restaurant and later teamed up across the pond at Michelin-starred restaurant Galvin La Chapelle in London. During this one-night-only event, Zhou and Geraghty will work in tandem to prepare an internationally inspired multi-course tasting menu that showcases their respective global experiences. Sydney, Australia…

Sweets December 4, 2018

Holiday Treats from Thomas Haas on Vancouver’s North Shore

by Catherine Dunwoody Chocolatier Thomas Haas has revealed their brand new holiday collection of Christmas-themed chocolates and candies, plus stocking stuffers and baked goods. A long-time resident of North Vancouver, Thomas and his wife Lisa own two patisseries, one on Harbourside (where the production kitchen is as well) and the other on Broadway in Kitsilano. The holiday goodies include Santa’s Belly — a chocolate crafted Santa belly filled with an assortment of salted dark chocolate caramels, cocoa nib crunch and caramelized almonds and hazelnuts dipped in dark, milk and white chocolate. An internationally acclaimed pâtissier, Thomas Haas gained experience in Michelin-starred restaurants in Europe and North America before settling in Vancouver in 2005. Haas is a fourth-generation pâtissier, and has held stints as Executive Pastry Chef at the Four Seasons Hotel, Executive Pastry Chef at chef Daniel Boulud’s flagship eatery Daniel on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, and has been singled…

Cheap Eats December 3, 2018

The Happiest Hours in Vancouver

By Wade Kinley Since happy hour became a regular thing around Vancouver just a few years ago (thanks to nifty adjustments to some by-laws) local restaurants in the city have embraced the opportunity to showcase some of the incredible food being created in the city, without those big-city prices. Here are four of the happiest hours in Vancouver, to fuel that second round of urban rambling. Tuc Craft Kitchen As the name suggests, there’s always some innovative and exciting work being done within the rustic walls of this well-loved Gastown eatery. Think comfort-food with the wow turned up to 11, and some of the most alluring cocktail ideas in the city and you’ll get an idea why Tuc has remained at the top of “Vancouver’s Best” lists since they opened in 2013. Luckily, tastes of both are on offer at happy hour, every day from 4 to 6 PM. Classic…