On Sunday, October 6th, finalists from across Canada gathered in Vancouver for the Hawksworth Young Chef Scholarship competition – an afternoon of black box challenges designed to highlight each contender’s skill and creativity in composing both a main dish and dessert. Of these national finalists, West Restaurant + Bar’s Sous Chef Ben Miller clearly stood out from the crowd with his entree, Roast and Mousseline of Sea Bream with fennel, confit daikon, almond vierge, and creamed Swiss chard and his sweet finale, Orange and Passion Fruit Mousse with dark chocolate crumble, salted almond ice cream and young pumpkin puree. The panel of ten judges awarded Chef Miller second place and a $5000 cash prize along with the accolade of the Young Professionalism Award and an additional $2000 presented by Gordon Food Service. Our Toptable Group family couldn’t be more proud. 
 
“I just can’t believe that what I love to do day in and day out allows me to participate in such amazing opportunities within the culinary community,” enthusiastically says Ben. “I’ve learnt so much from my competitors and mentors about myself and what one can do when they put their mind to it. Congrats to Camilo Lapointe-Nascimento and thank you to the Hawksworth Young Chef Scholarship organization!” 

The success of our next generation of chefs is a testament to the strong support of the culinary community and the significance of mentorship in our industry. The future certainly is bright. 

After almost 20 years as the jewel in Vancouver's culinary crown, West Restaurant + Bar will close its doors at the end of 2019. Follow West's social for farewell events and offerings.

Escape to the mountains for Araxi Restaurant + Oyster Bar’s 38th anniversary $38 five-course menu, Il Caminetto’s $39 fall four-course prix fixe and Bar Oso’s bocadillo lunch and $25 three-course dinner menu. Enjoy these limited edition offerings while they last!

Chef Thierry's pistachio inspired collection is available now! Sample new offerings like his Pistachio Chocolate Cherry Macaron Cake, Pistachio Chocolate Mousse Cake, and Pistachio Chocolate Macarons. And don't delay, pre-order your Thanksgiving tarts today!

The team at West Restaurant + Bar invites you to spend Thanksgiving around their table of plenty. Savour Chef Bobby Milheron’s menu of festive dishes, including Roasted Fraser Valley Turkey with crispy bread pudding, Brussels sprouts, cranberry sauce and Madeira gravy.

Il Caminetto’s Wine Director Leagh Barkley welcomes you to an evening of food and wine excellence featuring the beautiful vintages of Brancaia paired with Chef James Walt’s Italian fare.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! CinCin Ristorante + Bar’s annual month-long Mushroom & Truffle Festival returns with its legendary Truffle Dinner on November 6th. 

A TASTE OF TOPTABLE

PASTRY CHEF AARON HEATH

Experience the sweet side of Araxi’s farm-to-table cuisine with Pastry Chef Aaron Heath’s much celebrated Apple and Almond Tart Recipe!

Vancouver, B.C. (October 9th, 2019) – It’s been almost twenty years since the multiple award-winning West Restaurant + Bar welcomed its first guests in Vancouver’s iconic South Granville neighbourhood. Toptable Group, known for creating elegant yet approachable dining, announced today that West will close its doors at the end of December as its lease comes to an end.

“West has been so honoured to play such an integral role in the city’s vibrant restaurant community,” said Michael Doyle, President, Toptable Group. “Home to so much talent over the years including David Hawksworth, Thierry Busset, and Sabrine Dhaliwal – just to name a few – we are proud of, and grateful to, all of the amazing men and women who have contributed to our success including being named Vancouver Magazine’s Restaurant of the Year.”  

From now until the end of December 2019, West plans to host a line-up of collaborative alumni dinners with Executive Chef Bobby Milheron and Restaurant Director Owen Knowlton to celebrate many of the spectacular menus that have been crafted for this room over its time. Watch for updates via West's social media regarding special guest appearances and events.

Wewould also like to thank Founder, Jack Evrensel and all of the alumni such as Quang Dang (Executive Chef), Warren Geraghty (Executive Chef), David Gunawan (Chef de Cuisine), Rhonda Viani (Pastry Chef), Brian Hopkins (Restaurant Director), David Wolowidnyk (Bar Manager), and many more for their contribution to the restaurant’s accomplishments.

Since acquiring Toptable Group in 2014, Aquilini Restaurant Group Inc. has grown from five locations to its current eight in both Vancouver and Whistler. Now, looking forward, Toptable Group is slated in two weeks to launch Oceans, a locally and globally sourced seafood restaurant in New York. In addition, expansion of the group includes a Victoria opening with Executive Chef Kristian Eligh at the helm for next spring and a second Thierry Cafe location in Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant neighbourhood as well as a new exciting concept for the Five Bentall Centre on Burrard Street. 

As one of Vancouver’s longstanding restaurants that’s truly been a part of the fabric of the city’s dining scene, we hope to have the opportunity to welcome guests back for a final good-bye before the last dinner service on December 31st. Reservations can be made by calling 604 738 8938 or online at westrestaurant.com/#reservations.

TORONTO (October 9, 2019)– Smoke’s Poutinerie, the World’s Largest & Original Poutinerie, is bringing the most EPIC Poutine Party in Canada to Toronto’s Yonge-Dundas Square this October 19^th, 2019.  After a decade of endless Poutine, countless PLAID NATION Fans, and 100% SMOKE-IFIED Entertainment, the Smoke’s Poutinerie World Poutine Eating Championship (WPEC) is celebrating its 10^th Anniversary!

WPEC 2016 & 2018 Champion and Record Holder, Joey ‘Jaws’ Chestnut

WPEC comes from humble beginnings, starting in 2009 when they featured a single table with a banner hanging from a brick wall. Fast-forward to 2019, WPEC has been established as the ULTIMATE ROCK N’ ROLL Stage Show that welcomes upwards of 20,000 Fans, serves 8,000 FREE Poutine a year, and has raised over $250,000 for charity just in the past three years alone!

The LARGEST Poutine Eating Competition and second largest Professional Eating Competition in the world, WPEC is sanctioned by Major League Eating (MLE). This year, the event will feature the Professional Eat-Off, and the CEO Charity Eat-Off which will include an impressive assembly of some of Canada’s highest profile CEO’s participating for a great cause.

The CEO Charity Eat-Off raises donations to benefit the brand’s national charity partner, Friends of We Care, who raise funds to send children with disabilities to fully accessible summer camps. 40 executives will train for the showdown and push themselves to their Poutine crushing limits to raise this year’s goal of $120,000. Even more dollars will be raised for the kids through beer ticket sales inside the Brock Street Brewing Company Beer Lounge and t-shirt sales featuring limited edition, custom shredded, designer tee’s.

“When we launched this puppy back in 2009, it was all about the eating, and entertaining our fans in a totally unexpected way!” says Ryan Smolkin, CEO (Chief Entertainment Officer) of Smoke’s Poutinerie and the creative mastermind behind WPEC. “Now, even though we bring our own brand of entertainment to our Fans, it’s truly all about the kids - about contributing over $250,000 so far to charity, that’s why we throw this ROCK N’ ROLL Stage Show!” 

Returning to defend his title for WPEC2019, the world’s #1-ranked and legendary professional eater, Joey “Jaws” Chestnut of San Jose, California, currently holds the Poutine Eating World Record of 25.5 pounds eaten in 10 minutes. Chestnut will again go up against a stacked roster of top-ranked eaters including, #2-ranked Geoffrey Esper from Oxford, MA, #3-ranked Matt Stonie from San Jose, CA, #4-ranked Darron Breeden from Orange, VA, and the top female eater in the world and #6-ranked overall, Miki Sudo from Tucson, AZ.

Other top Major League Eating athletes will include #8-ranked Nick Wehry from Torrington, CT, #10-ranked  Michelle Lesco from Tucson, AZ, #12-ranked George Chiger from Pocono Pines, PA, #13-ranked Adam Moran from Leeds, UK, #18-ranked Ronnie Hartman from Depew, NY, #21-ranked Eric “Badlands” Booker from Selden, NY, and #27-ranked Darrien Thomas from Orillia, ON.

"A favourite of our Major League Eating circuit, this unique competition has always brought electrifying energy and our eaters can only expect an even louder crowd for the tenth year," says Sam Barclay, emcee of Major League Eating. "The finest eaters in the world will have to prove their skill in pursuit of the Smoke’s Poutinerie World Poutine Eating Championship title.”

There will be no shortage of lumberjack plaid and 80’s glam rock tunes as the amps are turned up to eleven!  Toronto’s iconic radio personality Dean Blundell will be taking the stage as emcee to keep the crowd FIRED UP through the day, while KISS cover band Destroyer ROCKS the square with LIVE music! As always, Fans can also indulge in FREE POUTINE, exciting sponsored activations, selfie spots, prizing + more!

This year, Fans will also get a sneak peek of what the future holds for the legendary annual WPEC event. In the summer of 2020, WPEC will transform into an event unlike any other in Toronto when Smoke’s Poutinerie launches SMOKE-A-PALOOZA! The Rock N’ Roll Psycho Circus event will take WPEC to a whole other level with more WEIRD, WILD and WACKY entertainment, more Poutine, and it will become the new Smoke’s Poutinerie signature event.

To learn more about Smoke’s Poutinerie and #WPEC2019, please visit www.smokespoutinerie.com

Vancouver, BC; October 8, 2019 – On October 24, Cactus Club Cafe Chef Rob Feenie will be teaming up with the city’s most renowned chefs to present Chefs on Deck for Camp Goodtimes. The charity dinner will be hosted at Cactus Club Cafe’s iconic English Bay location with all ticket sales proceeds benefitting Canadian Cancer Society’s Camp Goodtimes.

This sit-down dinner will feature a multi-course tasting menu from Vancouver’s most notable chefs with wine-pairings from two of Vancouver’s decorated sommeliers. Presented by Iron Chef Rob Feenie, Chefs on Deck is a collaboration with local culinary talents, including Alex Chen of Boulevard, Andrea Carlson of Burdock & Co., JC Poirier of St. Lawrence, Lee Cooper of L’Abattoir and Coquille Fine Seafood, and Mike Robbins of Annalena. They are joined by sommeliers, Sebastian LeGoff of Cactus Club Cafe and Shiva Reddy of Savio Volpe.

“Chefs on Deck is a special night for us,” says Chef Rob Feenie. “Not only is it a creative collaboration by some of the most talented chefs in the city, but it’s for a cause that we all believe in and rally behind.”

Camp Goodtimes offers year-round recreational programs for children whose lives have been changed forever by cancer. The camps provide an unforgettable and empowering camping experience for nearly 600 children, teens and family members each year.

“We’re very grateful to be the beneficiary of this wonderful evening,” says Camp Goodtimes Manager, Danielle McVicar. “It is through the generosity of our donors that we are able to make the magic of Camp Goodtimes a reality.”

Chefs on Deck started in Toronto in 2019 raising $90,000 dollars for various charities including Camp Oochigeas.

What: Chefs on Deck for Camp Goodtimes

Where: Cactus Club Cafe English Bay, 1790 Beach Avenue

When: Thursday, October 24 at 6:30 pm

Tickets: Available at Eventbrite for $215 per ticket + 18% gratuity