It was a dream and a promise fulfilled.
On December 7, 2022, 240 VIPs looking forward to food surprises gathered in Vancouver to participate in the finale feast of “Famous Chefs x Feast 2022” hosted by the Chinese Restaurant Awards. This is the re-launch of the China Restaurant Awards, a celebrity chef project, integrating the award banquet series, inviting three famous chefs from Hong Kong to Vancouver, and working with three Vancouver famous chefs and new generation chefs who are brave enough to try Chinese cuisine. An unforgettable nine-course feast that showcases the delicacy and depth of traditional and modern Chinese cuisine.
It is a grand feast that gathers the energy of the catering industry and only focuses on the most extreme dishes. This kind of occasion has not been seen in Vancouver for a long time.
The famous chef Tang Zhiqiang of The Peninsula Hotel presented the bamboo fungus stuffed bird’s nest with Yongda three yellow chicken sauce, which absolutely surprised the audience that night. Carefully selected wild bamboo fungi, top-grade swallows, and three yellow chickens that are only supplied by Yongda Farm in Vancouver, all the distinguished guests who have tasted bamboo fungus stuffed swallows say that this is the most extreme product.
This feast goes beyond pure culinary exchange and discussion. More importantly, famous chefs cherish the deeper meaning of cooperation through this one-only feast. Each dish that each chef is responsible for must have a personal soul, and at the same time, it needs to echo from beginning to end in terms of taste, vision, and order to meet the expectations of VIPs.
It is the original intention of this feast to allow the new generation of chefs to communicate with experienced chefs, accept creativity, and accept enlightenment.
One episode, one meeting on the road of cooking
Representatives of famous chefs in Vancouver this time include Alex Chen, an iron chef who specializes in French cuisine and is proud of Vancouver from Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar and Wild Blue Restaurant; Manpreet Sethi, executive chef of PARADOX Hotel in Vancouver, and freshmen Chen Zhenyue, chef of L’ABATTOIR branch.
Two famous chefs of Cantonese cuisine who came from Hong Kong include Li Wenxing, the executive Chinese cuisine chef of 32 Mansion Group, who leads the group’s eight high-quality restaurants around the world, including the newly opened Dubai branch; Deng Zhiqiang, the Chinese food and beverage consultant of The Peninsula Hotel, won the Michelin one-star award for the Cantonese restaurant Qifengtai of the Peninsula Hotel in Tokyo, Japan from 2008 to 2009, and then helped the Yilong Court of the Peninsula Hotel in Shanghai to win two Michelin stars from 2017 to 2018. star award. The dessert chef Su Yuhang of the Asian catering group Maximal Concept also came to Vancouver to present two kinds of desserts that night.
Born in Penang, Malaysia and settled in Vancouver, the light of the Chinese – Iron Chef Alex Chen Zeng Zijing is already one of the best French chefs in Canada. The dishes presented this time combine French cooking skills with his favorite Cantonese cuisine , for him, is being able to reveal one’s original roots while enjoying achievement.
Master Chef Deng Zhiqiang of The Peninsula Hotel (right) and Executive Chinese Cuisine Chef Li Wenxing of 32 Mansion Group (left) came from Hong Kong, and the cooperation with the new generation of chefs is the power of inheritance.
One of the two dishes presented by Iron Chef Alex Chen is golden soup, which uses Iberian ham instead of Jinhua ham, and top grade A geoduck from Canada to make a golden broth, and then served with local fresh sea urchin And geoduck crystal thin slices, the method of serving is the French cooking soup technique, this time the soup is poured with Chinese tea pot.
Feel sincerity from the new generation
The feast is not just about celebrity chefs who have already made their mark, but also casts the spotlight on the future of the culinary world. This group of post-80s and post-90s may not have made amazing achievements in the eyes of others. After all, it is not easy to make 240 VIPs, but they are still willing to cherish this rare opportunity to show their strength. Take their names now.
Jimmy Soo
Dessert making is another subject of knowledge. Jimmy’s insistence on the quality of the products, he was able to lead the students of the Pacific Culinary Institute to present two desserts that were well received that night during the short period of his visit to Vancouver. You will never doubt that this post-80s strength.
The Pine Nut Lime Sea Salt Sesame Chocolate Tart was created by Jimmy when the epidemic was at its worst. It was inspired by the Petits fours he learned while working in a Fine dining restaurant. This time, he added some Chinese elements. The creation of cotton meringue almond tea is just because I like cappuccino very much, and I think it would be interesting to change the Chinese almond tea into cappuccino.
From Hong Kong, Jimmy Soo, dessert chef of Maximal Concept Group and 32 Mansion, is an outstanding representative of young chefs in the dessert industry. He trained in Lasarte, a three-star restaurant in Barcelona, Spain, and worked in The Drawing Room in Hong Kong and Chin Agiku in Shanghai. Through these experiences, he learned and mastered international dessert essence.
Cotton meringue almond tea pine nut lime sea salt sesame chocolate tart
Li Bo Li Bo
Li Bo is the founder and head chef of Fisherman’s Restaurant in Richmond, Vancouver. He was the winner of the Rising Star Award last year. At only 38 years old, he has accumulated 20 years of professional cooking experience. His restaurant Fisherman not only won the Best Restaurant of the Year and the Best Sichuan Cuisine in the “Vancouver 20 Best Food Awards”. In-depth understanding has won him the Food Critics Award in 2018 and 2021. Li Bo’s perseverance in pursuing improvement and his passion for cooking can be seen in his creative Sichuan cuisine masterpieces that incorporate elements of Cantonese or Japanese cuisine, allowing diners to experience his dedication to food while leaving their teeth fragrant.
Representatives from Canola Eat Well presented three awards to Li Bo.
The key delicacies of the reception were tasted by Fisherman Chef Li Bo, winner of the New Culinary Star of the Year Award, who brought pan-fried swimming scallops, sea urchin, BC crab salad and steamed swimming scallops. The picture shows sea urchin BC crab salad with pan-fried swimming scallops.
Chen Zhenyue Toby Chen
One of the 9 dishes on the feast night invited the new generation chef Toby Chen to participate. The 24-year-old new generation chef Toby officially graduated from the Culinary Arts Department of Vancouver College in 2020. He has actively participated in the Chinese Restaurant Awards during his studies Activities follow celebrity chefs to learn. He has worked as an intern at 1886, a high-end Chinese restaurant and Minami, a Japanese restaurant in Yaletown. He is currently working as Chef de Partie at L’Abattoir, a famous French restaurant in Gastown. Toby works hard to study cooking skills. Although he is currently focusing on learning French cuisine, he is also constantly trying to improve his Chinese cooking skills in many aspects.
Behind the stage, the chefs silently assisted each other in completing each dish. The picture shows Toby’s dishes before they are served, with Toby on the right and Li Bo on the left.
Crispy black pork belly, pork blood cake, family heirloom marinade, green apple sauce <br />The black pork belly is made of Iberico pigs from Yuanchu Foods. It is also the only supplier of fresh Iberico pigs in BC. Homemade pork blood cake It is a surprise experience for VIP guests. The brine juice is a formula developed by the Toby family, which contains the essence of Chaozhou brine juice and the faint fragrance of plums. The green apple sauce is the finishing touch of the appetizer.
Howard Chen
This feast is a stage for a new generation to debut, and the focus of the night also falls on Howard Chen, who is also a chef and bartender. Howard specially created two modern cocktails for the reception, using Fenjiu, the top Chinese liquor brand, to add more color to the ultimate feast.
Howard was born in Taiwan. At the age of 17, he started his career as a bartender at a bar with no cocktail list in Taipei. This challenge also laid a good foundation. The bar handles the mix of cocktails. Sufficient resources allow him to show his strengths.
Fortune
Red represents auspiciousness and good fortune in Chinese culture. This drink uses the flavors of three kinds of red fruits, strawberry, pomegranate and cherry. The concept of bartending is to make strong alcoholic wine into an easy-to-drink taste, enriching the fruity taste, which is also very popular among VIP guests.
Backyard Garden
Fenjiu is a famous light-flavor liquor in China. The taste of this glass of wine is refreshing and smooth, with the taste of chrysanthemum and rosemary. The inspiration comes from imagining that in a fine weather, with a glass of drink in hand, looking out the window at the flowers and green plants in the back garden of my home, I feel a sense of peace in my heart.
