Posts Tagged ‘Chef Ned Bell’

2011 Ocean Wise Chowder Chowdown

November 24th, 2011 admin

Local Lounge Chefs team WINNERS

The 4th Annual Ocean Wise Seafood Chowder Chowdown was a huge success at a great event hosted by the Vancouver Aquarium on November 23rd. This event saw a packed house sampling many or all of the twelve chowders from BC’s top twelve Ocean Wise restaurants from around the Vancouver, and the Okanagan, all of the chowders were paired with BC brews and the suggested beers were listed along each of the restaurants chowders.

Local Lounge- 1st place Winner - “Smoked Outlandish Oyster Chowder”

Judges voted: 2011 Chowder Chowdown Champion Local lounge Chef Paul Cecconi for his “Smoked Outlandish Oyster Chowder”

Best Oceanwise Chowder and Beer Pairing was awarded to Chef Ned Bell of Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver

Chef Ned Bell of Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver "Smoked Black Cod and Gala Apple Chowder"

Driftwood Beer pouring their Farmhand Ale

Best Oceanwise Chowder and Beer Pairing was awarded to Chef Ned Bell of Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver & Driftwood Beer Farmhand Ale!

Since I have been to this event in 2009 and 2010, I noticed that the 2011 event had a much better layout than in previous years for easier mingling, however, the serving bowls were wider and better last year. I sampled my way through all the 12 chowders and these are MY favourite chowders.

My Vancouver Foodster Top Picks

My 1st Place: Chef Paul Cecconi of Local lounge for his “Smoked Outlandish Oyster Chowder”

My 2nd Place: Chef Chris Whittaker of O’Douls’s Restaurant for his “McLoughlin & Steele Whiskey Cured Bacon & Dungenous Crab Chowder”

My 3rd Place: Chef Ned Bell of Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver “Smoked Black Cod and Gala Apple Chowder”

Participating restaurants: COAST Restaurant, Codfather’s Market, Edible Canada, Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver,  Hapa Izakaya, Local Lounge, Noodle Box, O’Doul’s Restaurant & Bar, Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts (PICA), Sunset Bay Yacht Group, Westward Ho! Public House, and the Vancouver Aquarium.

O’Douls's Restaurant "McLoughlin & Steele Whiskey Cured Bacon & Dungenous Crab Chowder"

Red Truck Beer

Chef Jenn Dodd (L) of Edible at the Market

Lighthouse Beer

Ocean Wise is a program that was launched by the Vancouver Aquarium in 2005 to educate consumers on ocean-friendly seafood choices, this local initiative has become a national program, learn more at www.oceanwise.ca

By: Richard Wolak

Posted in Competitions, Latest Tags: , , , , , , , , , , No Comments »

Chef Meets Grape

September 23rd, 2011 admin

Chef Ned Bell of the Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver

Last night I attended Chef meets Grape, the largest annual celebration of BC VQA wines and local food with 75 BC wineries sharing their new fall releases, delectably paired with inspired dishes from 12 top Ocean Wise partner restaurants.

Each of the twelve restaurants, renowned for their delectable wine and food pairings, each created appetizer-sized portions of a dish using BC ingredients, paired with their selected BC VQA wine.

YEW Restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver "Salmon 3 Ways" & Painted Rock Chardonnay 2009.

I sampled all the dishes tasting my way around the room and my favourite and most impressive dish was “Salmon 3 Ways” created by Chef Ned Bell and his team from YEW Restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver which was perfectly paired with the Painted Rock Chardonnay 2009.

Fraiche with their Confit: Thiessen Farms Pheasant & Wild Mushroom Tart paired with Laughing Stock Portfolio 2008

Miradoro with his Angus Beef Meatball paired with Tinhorn Creek Oldfield series Merlot 2008

O’Doul’s with his Pinot Noir cured Pacific Provider Wild Pink Salmon paired with Garry Oaks Pinot Noir 2009

The other dishes that I enjoyed the most were Chef Jefferson Alvarez of Fraiche with their Confit: Thiessen Farms Pheasant & Wild Mushroom Tart paired with Laughing Stock Portfolio 2008; along with Chef Jeff Van Geest of Miradoro with his Angus Beef Meatball paired with Tinhorn Creek Oldfield series Merlot 2008; along with Chef Chris Whittaker of O’Doul’s with his Pinot Noir cured Pacific Provider Wild Pink Salmon paired with Garry Oaks Pinot Noir 2009.

Ethical Bean's Emily Sproule and their Chocolate Toffee Explosion Donuts

Guests were able to taste over 250 award-winning Wines of British Columbia, as well as treat themselves to Apple Pie Ice Cream cones from Miradoro, chocolates from Daniel Chocolate Belge along with Fair Trade Donuts and Coffee from Ethical Bean.

Organized by the British Columbia Wine Institute (BCWI), ChefmeetsGrape is proud to support the Vancouver Aquarium Ocean Wise program, the event was held at the Vancouver Convention Centre.

By: Richard Wolak

Posted in Food & Wine Events, Latest, Tastings Tags: , , , , , , , , No Comments »

The Waldorf Hotel Opening

November 3rd, 2010 admin

On Saturday October 30th, some of my friends and I attended the Waldorf Hotel opening in Vancouver. This multi-room Halloween party showcased the entire complex including their renovated hotel rooms and lobby, two dining areas, a freshly restored 1950s tiki bar and both nightclub and banquet spaces (the Cabaret and the Leeteg Room). This was an opening party like none other and I have been to many restaurant openings in the past, produced in collaboration with some of Vancouver’s most interesting artists and musicians.

I sampled some of the food and drink, favourites were the Ceviche, Beef Taquitos and Chicken tacos.

Musician Thomas Anselmi and restaurateur Ernesto Gomez have taken over operations of the hotel, working with Scott Cohen to reimagine the property. Collectively the team had turned the Waldorf into a creative hub in the heart of East Vancouver where contemporary art, music, food and culture convene under one roof. I am especially looking forward to Executive Chef Ned Bell and his cooking, his menus will be Latin American inspired in both the dining room and café! A Chefs in Residency program will see chefs from around the world coming to the Waldorf to develop collaborative menus in the Waldorf Dining Room.

Paul Wong (middle)

We took in all the features of the party that night including our favourite, the  Installation by Paul Wong dubbed “The Hotel”, that took place in the rooms in the hotel, each room had a different theme and the costumed guests were welcome to enter any of the rooms to be a part of that theme. There was room 115 which we liked, there was the Chelsea Hotel, The Maid, the Knotted Sheets, The Crossdresser, the 5 minute show and more.

Paul Wong, is self-invented video pioneer and one of Canada’s most renowned multimedia artists, he is an award-winning artist, curator, and organizer of events and public interventions since the mid-1970s. Wong’s work is varied and eclectic, ranging from conceptual performances to complex narratives, meshing video, photography, installation and performance with rare Chinese-Canadian meets cutting edge counter culture perspectives. Described as a Chinese-Canadian Warhol, Wong’s work is in your face, radical, eccentric, sexy, campy, shocking, experimental and spontaneous.

See more photos @ Flickr

The Waldorf Hotel is located at 1489 East Hastings in Vancouver and online at www.WaldorfHotel.com

By: Richard Wolak

Photos by: Noam Dehan

Posted in Openings Tags: , , , , , 1 Comment »

A Canadian Food and Wine Spectacle

March 5th, 2010 admin

Last month I attended a wonderful event that showcased our areas notable chefs along with vintners and their foods and wines. The event took place on February 14th during the Olympics in Vancouver at the BC Pavillion.

Chef John Bishop and his team

Chef John Bishop of Bishop’s prepared a cold plate of Jerusalem artichoke pastry with yukon potato cubes, celery root, and roasted red pepper relish.  Nk’mip Cellars wine was paired up with the Bishop’s dish.

Chef Brian Misko - House of Q

Chef Brian Misko created a couple of plates, my favourite was the Barbqued Beef Brisket on a sweet potato latka. LuLu Island Winery paired up one of their wines with the brisket from House of Q.

Chef Hidekazo Tojo (left) - Tojo's

Chef Hidekazu Tojo of Tojo’s made a Pink Salmon Sushi (garnished with asparagus and salmon row). Quails Gate Estate Winery paired up one of their wines with the sushi from Tojo’s.

Chef Vikram Vij (left) of Vij's

Chef Vikram Vij of Vij’s served a chicken curry with mint mango chutney. Therapy Vineyards paired up one of their wines with Vij’s Chicken Curry.

Cioppino's and their Cranberry and Blueberry Salad

Vista D'oro Farms Winery and their wines

Cioppino’s and their Cranberry and Blueberry Salad with grains topped with Buffalo mozzarella. Vista D’oro Farms Winery paired the salad with their Pinot Noir.

Chef Ned Bell (left) - Cabanna Bar and Grille

Chef Ned Bell of Cabanna Bar and Grille made a wonderful dessert, Cheesecake with cubed Fujiya apples, apple sorbet, red sugar and a white chocolate heart.  Tinhorn Creek Vineyards Chardonnay was paired with the Cheesecake from Cabanna.

Guests had a rare opportunity to meet with farmers and fisherman who supply these acclaimed chefs and their restaurants. I enjoyed sampling all the foods, tasting their paired wines and talking with each of the chefs about their creations.

By: Richard Wolak

Posted in Culinary Adventures, Olympic Celebration, Parties & Events, Stories Tags: , , , , , , , , No Comments »

  • Sponsors

  • General Info

Switch to our mobile site

echo get_option('motion_footer') . "\n";