See who’s cooking at the 2012 BC Foodexpo

27 01 2012

                        

Ten local chefs to compete for BC Chinese Chef of the Year at BC Foodservice Expo

The woks will be steaming and the fish sauce flying when 10 local chefs compete to be crowned the first ever BC Chinese Chef of the Year. This iron-chef-style live competition will take place Jan. 29 and 30 on the Discover Presentation Stage at the BC Foodservice Expo.

MetroVancouveris among the top destinations outside ofChinafor outstanding Chinese cuisine. The BC Chinese Chef of the Year Competition aims to recognize culinary professionalism in local Chinese restaurants and to raise the profiles of Chinese chefs within the wider chef community. While other restaurant awards acknowledge winning restaurants’ cuisine excellence, the BC Chinese Chef of the Year will endorse the individuals behind the gourmet dishes.

The competing chefs are members of the Canadian Culinary Federation (CCFCC) and the BC Chefs Association. Ten teams have been selected to date, based on merit and experience.

  • Gordon Ping Wah Chan of Always Seafood Restaurant
  • Sam Ka Bo Leung of Dynasty Seafood Restaurant
  • Wing Ho of Fortune Seafood Restaurant
  • Anthony Shy Wing Leung of Grand Dynasty Seafood Restaurant
  • Joseph Jiang of The Jade Seafood Restaurant
  • Kent Wong of Red Sun Seafood Restaurant
  • Chun Lum Ma of Shiang Garden Seafood Restaurant
  • Keng Wai Ng of Vivacity Restaurant
  • Todd Bright of Wild Rice Modern Chinese Restaurant
  • William Tse, Chinese Chef Consultant 

“The competition will surely be the highest-profiled professional Chinese chef event for the Chinese chef community in this province,” said Chef Donald Gyurkovits, CCFCC president and one of the event organizers. “I am so proud of my colleagues in the Chinese community for stepping up to this exciting challenge. I look forward to witnessing the making of Canadian culinary history!”

Over the two-day event, the chef teams will be engaged in multiple rounds of competitions with the quarter-final, semi-final and final rounds of competition carried out in a blackbox-style format.

 “This competition offers chefs a brilliant opportunity for both professional and personal development,” said Chief Judge Alex Chen, Canada’s representative to the Bocuse d’Or and one of Canada’s top chefs. After getting his own competition start at the BC Foodservice Expo over 10 years ago, Chef Chen is delighted to come full circle and to be judging here for 2012.

 With over 250 exhibit booths featuring new products, foods, ideas and services, the BC Foodservice Expo isBritish Columbia’s largest hospitality trade show. Industry professionals who register will join more than 5,000 attendees who travel from the Lower Mainland,FraserValley,Vancouver Islandand the Okanagan to attend two days of focused trade show, seminars and chef competitions. For detail information: www.bcfoodexpo.ca

Register online and take advantage of the special advance discount – $20 off the on-site registration fee.

 

 


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Categories : Food Notes

My first Asian-recipe cookbook – East Meets West

24 01 2012

Stephanie Yuen

                                                                                                                                                                   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My sincere thanks to the chefs and friends who never stop to send me their encouragements and supports from day 1, and to my colleagues,  friends in the hospitality industry and readers who want to know when and how to get hold of a copy! You are the true inspiration!

Well, here is the information!

Official book title: East Meets West

Traditional and Contemporary Asian Recipes from Acclaimed Vancouver Restaurants

http://www.dmpibooks.com/author/stephanie-yuen

March, 2010 came the first email from Lucy, Senior Editor at Douglas & McIntyre inviting me to meet with her to discuss a book project. The luncheon meeting took place soon after. Yes, we agreed that it’s time for the great food cityVancouver to dedicate a cookbook to local Asian restaurants and chefs!  We agreed to meet to discuss further details upon my return from a working trip to Hong Kong andMalaysia in May.

June, 2010: Lucy and I met again and drafted out a synopsis for the book. And that, officially kicked off my 20-month long book project – the 200+ pages cookbook!

July, 2010: Embarked on a recipe-seeking journey. Many desired recipes, including regional ones were those I tasted and always enjoyed, some are signature dish, some are newly-created master pieces.

September, 2010:  Sent out verbal and/or email invitations to Asian chefs for their favourite recipes and to Western chefs for their unique Asian-themed recipes. As a matter of fact, quite a few recipes were obtained through way of stenography – chef dictated and I scripted! Love chatting with the chefs who gave me tons of cooking tips!

October, 2010: Visited restaurants and chefs to deliver the invitations in person. Though there were more than expected refusals, there’re lots of welcoming smiles and opened-arms.

November, 2010: Received the first lot of recipes and started working on the  editorial and recipe-testing.  Thank goodness, my kids and their friends, neighbours and their friends were always-ready tasters! 

The rest, as they say, is history!!

While online pre-order is already available, ‘East Meets West’ will be published April, 2012.

 

 


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Categories : Asian Culinary Culture

The Chileans are taking centre stage at the 2012 Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival

11 01 2012

    Henry Yuen

          Want to change your impression on New World wines? There is  an  important event you don’t want to miss – the 2012 Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival!

This year’s festival will run from February 27 to March 04.  Awaiting all levels of wine consumers and trade personnel is an exciting line up of wine dinners taking place at top notch restaurants in town; pin-pointing seminars for wine lovers to raise their wine proficiency; and fun-filled food and wine pairing functions where close encounters with the wine pros are the highlights.  And of course, the three days colossal International Festival Tasting is a must attend event for many tempting reasons. Let’s start with these numbers: 1700+ wines, 180+ wineries, 64 events, 15 countries and 25000+ attendees!

Secondly, Cabernet lovers will be thrilled to find out that a special tasting program with global emphasis on Cabernets and around 185 different Cabernets and Cabernets blends are waiting to be swirled and tasted.  The International Sommelier Guild will be there to provide guidance and share their expertise on anything Cabernet. What an awesome opportunity to not only sip some beautiful wines but to take a journey into the world of Cabernets.

This year’s themed wine country is the increasingly popular Chile, meaning that an array of outstanding Chilean products, perhaps including your favourite labels, will be on hand for everyone to try. Talking about Chilean wines, who do not have a bottle or two at home these days?  No one will argue the Chileans have done a great job in producing and marketing their wines!

Since the 16th century when the Spanish explorers discovered this land and found it to be a viticulture haven, Chile has been a grape growing region. Now, it is one of the major players in New World wines!  Both the wine production and the export volumes are on a constant rise. Chile is currently the fifth largest wine exporter in the world!  Taking centre stage at the upcoming Vancouver Internal Wine Festival is no doubt the testament to their viticulture effort and winemaking practice.  A drum roll indeed to showcase their solid progresses that make Chile one of the not-to-be missed wine regions.

Geographically, Chile has wine growing regions stretching length-wise from south to north to provide friendly appellations, great diversity and distinct characteristics. The natural mountain barriers and Mediterranean climate are ideal for practicing organic viticulture. But it is their forward thinking wine philosophy, supported by modern technology; years of experiences and most of all, the passion and their belief to be able to produce good-drinking wines! These put Chile on the global wine consumers’ map, and now, the shining star of the upcoming 2012 Vancouver International Wine Festival!

Wine drinkers who love to explore cannot afford to miss this annual food and wine extravaganza! Chile will surely provide a different perspective of what New World wines entail. For those wine drinkers who are familiar with Old World wines but willing to listen, taste and expand their wine horizon; and for anyone wishing to fine-tune their wine knowledge, get your tickets early! Go on-line at tickets.vancouverplayhouse.com.


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Categories : Bottles

Let the magic of BBQ Duck enchant the New Year tables

31 12 2011

Peking duck is a delightful party food great for New Year celebrations, at home!

Stephanie Yuen

No matter how it’s done – roasted, curried, braised or barbecued, with or without the bone – duck has always been my meat favourite.  So when it comes to holiday celebrations or festive meals, there has to be one or couple duck dishes.

When there is more time on hand, I would start off from scratch.  The best place to buy frozen ducks is at Asian supermarkets where they charge less than $20 for one.  After defrosting and cleaning the duck, prepare a double soy marinade by mixing brown sugar, a tablespoon of red wine and 2 oz each of light and dark soy sauce and brush evenly on the inside and outside of the duck, and marinate for at least 6 hours and hang it dry overnight (place a large bowl underneath to catch the dripping).  The next day, deep fry the whole bird till golden brown.  While waiting for the duck to cool down, stir fry 1 cup of glutinous rice, 1 each of diced lap cheung (Chinese sauce), deiced shitake mushroom and 1 tbsp of dried shrimp till the rice is semi-cooked. Stuff inside the duck and steam for 4 hours.  Yes, this is one time and effort consuming recipe, but the tender fall-off-the bone duck meat and the amazing-flavoured sticky rice are worth every minute!

What about one very easy, fun-to-do and great party food (each duck is good for around 10 people) and very appealing duck recipe – a DIY 2-course Peking duck: Duck skin wrap and lettuce wrap.

To kick start, go to your favourite Chinese BBQ shop and purchase a BBQ duck; make sure you tell the butcher not to cut or chop the duck. You also need 1 head of lettuce, a bundle of green onions, 1 Japanese cucumber, 1 carrot, 1 medium onion, 1 red pepper and 6 shitake mushrooms. Don’t forget to pick up a package of 10” flour tortilla！For seasoning, you’ll need both light and dark soy sauce, hoisin and oyster sauce, and a small amount of peanut sauce.

Place the duck on a large plate once home. Line a baking pan with tin foil and put the wire rack on top of the foil.  Use a pair of scissors and a paring knife, remove the skin while cutting into 2” X 1.5” pieces and place them onto the rack.  Cover lightly with wax paper or foil, put aside. Remove as much meat from the duck, the carcass is great for making congee (or soup), so save and freeze it. Dice the meat and put in a bowl. Put aside.

Cut 4 pieces of tortilla into 4 even quarters, stack and foil-wrap them and put aside. You can prepare more later when needed.

With the help of a pointed knife, carefully take the lettuce leaves apart.  Try to keep the leaves intact since they will be used as containers for the 2nd course.

Julienne the white parts of 3 green onions and the cucumber; put them into 2 separate bowls. Small-dice and place everything else in separate bowls.

While start serving your guests with dips and cheese, preheat the oven to 300F. .

For an easy peking duck sauce, just squeeze it out of the hoisin sauce bottle. But for a better-tasting sauce with the right texture, this is a good time to make your own. Bring 2 oz of water, 1½ Tbsp of brown sugar, 2 oz of peanut butter, 1/2 cup of hoisin sauce in a saucepan on medium high heat to a soft boil, stir in 1 tbsp of sesame oil. Turn off heat and empty sauce into a serving bowl.

When the oven is ready, remove the wax paper or foil cover, place both the duck skins and the foiled-tortillas inside and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. While waiting for the skins and tortillas to be re-heated, why not cook the duck meat?

Place wok on high heat. Bring 2 tbsp of cooking oil to a medium boil. Add diced carrot, onion, red pepper and mushroom respectively at 10-seconds intervals and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add 1 tsp each of hoisin, oyster sauce, dark and light soy sauce, brown sugar, cold water and mix well.  Add duck meat and sauté for another minute, empty into a large bowl and serve with lettuce leaves and peking duck sauce.

Place a whole tortilla on a large round plate.  Remove duck skins from the oven and transfer the skins onto the tortilla (to absorb the grease) and serve with the quartered tortilla.

Enjoy these fun duck courses and help yourselves to a delicious, healthy and happy 2012!


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Categories : Asian Culinary Culture, What's on my plate

Harmony in traffic chaos – a tourist’s survival guide

15 12 2011

                           

   By: Henry Yuen

          Where and how do you find “Harmony in Chaos”? The traffic in Hanoi, Vietnam  is surprisingly fitting.

 

          Everywhere you go, trucks of all sizes, buses old and new, vans big and small, cars mostly imports, motorbikes and bicycles often with drivers and cargoes, and hand-carts gather together on the same road, going at all directions.  Amazingly, the accident rate is extremely low here – according to my observation during my recent 5 days of stay, I saw only one fender bender.

 

Little markings; if any at all, and limited crosswalks are ignored by drivers and pedestrians. You cross the road whenever and wherever you desire and make turns as pleased. Crisscrossing amongst pedestrians and vehicles is regarded as a must.  Driving on pavements is normal during rush hour. Despite all these mayhem on the road, however, everybody – drivers, bikers, hawkers and pedestrians – all share the same road in harmony! There are no visible stress and very little confusion.  Locals seem to take in the traffic with good spirit and flow along smoothly. Albeit slower from our standards, the traffic always moves along without stoppage and congestion unlike what we encounter in high-traffic cities in North America.

 

Honking in Hanoi is absolutely normal and necessary for good reasons: To manoeuvre around the traffic and as an audio signal to fellow drivers.  Nobody honks senselessly or annoyingly, and the honking receivers never seem to mind but know exactly what direction to swerve to and at what speed. If you are in a hurry, you drive a bit more aggressively; and if you are not in any rush, you allow other vehicles to pass at ease.  Unlike the civilized North Americans, honking seldom elicit a finger from the other drivers, not even mean words, let alone swearing, even tailgating is occasional and without fist fights. Everybody accepts this crazily over-flown traffic as part of the daily living. Road rage, what road rage?

 

Pedestrians and hawkers are at ease finding their momentums and step in and out the sidewalks without ever frowning.  They never hesitate or run, but simply walk into and slide swiftly through the sea of vehicles.

It’s easy to walk from point A to point B in Hanoi, crossing the road is therefore inevitable. The first few attempts would obviously be scary. You may even ask yourself, “How am I going to do this?” or simply refuse to try.  But do not be despair or alarmed, to successfully cross the road in Hanoi is easier than J-walking in Vancouver, BC!

 

As tourists, crossing the road is a surely challenge at first, but do spend some time watching how the locals do it. Follow them closely as they are the ultimate survivors, day in and day out.  It won’t take long for you to pick up on these essential road-crossing techniques:

 

1) Walk with a steady pace no matter how chaotic the traffic is, but don’t run!

 

2) Never stop and go while crossing the road – it is suicidal. Hesitation only interferes with the flow of the wave of  traffic  – drivers are not good at guessing games. So be firm, take a deep breath and stride.

 

3) From your body language and the speed of your pace, drivers and bikers know how to adjust and avoid blocking or hitting you. Have confidence, let them do their job.

 

4) Drivers are used to be surrounded by other vehicles, mopeds and bikes alike. They know how and where to shift and even slow down just enough to allow you to cross, but they will not STOP! Stopping creates blockage and will likely cause the following vehicle to jam up or pile up.

 

5) Be sure to look all 4 ways because traffic comes from different directions, even on one way streets and sidewalks.

 

6) Don’t take sidewalks for granted because they are the extra lane during rush hours, be vigilant!

 

7) Absolutely no eye contact with the oncoming traffic! This is to avoid splitting up everyone’s focus and allowing what you see to disturb your pace. 

 

Last but not least – good luck and have a wonderful time in Hanoi! Just a reminder – make sure you purchase full travel insurance before you go!

 

      

 

 

 

 

 


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Categories : Travels

This is the season to be giving

10 12 2011

It is not always about getting and receiving! This holiday season, let’s remember the less fortunate ones and do a bit more to help out the community!

Gifts that give back – CANADAHELPS GIFT GUIDE

CanadaHelps is urging Canadians to forget the mall line-ups and instead give the gift of giving to those on your list. CanadaHelps.org is a one stop shop for giving that allows Canadians to donate to any Canadian charity with a few simple clicks. With over 86,000 Canadian charities listed on CanadaHelps, you can find the perfect present for mom, dad, grandparents, friends, clients/ colleagues and a favourite teacher all in one spot.

Make a donation in someone’s name to an issue or cause that is near and dear to their heart. If you’re not sure which charity to choose, you can purchase a CanadaHelps Charity Gift Card and recipients can donate that value to any Canadian charity through CanadaHelps.org.For more information and to search for your charity of choice, log onto www.canadahelps.org.

Help Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society

With the giving season upon us, residents in Metro Vancouver can help support local food banks by purchasing a limited edition box of PC Blue Menu Deluxe Cheddar Macaroni and Cheese Dinner.  In each $5 box, $1 cash onation and $4 -worth of nutritious, non-perishable food, including the box of macaroni and cheese, will go to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society. This unique box of mac n’ cheese is part of Loblaw Companies Limited 2011 Extra Helping National Holiday Food Drive, launched last month. From now to December 15, local Real Canadian Superstore, nofrills, Extra Food and Read Canadian Wholesale Club stores are encouraging shoppers to help re-stock the shelves of the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society and feed those in need in their communities.

This year, the goal is to raise $1.2 million and 1.2 million pounds of food for local food banks acrossCanada.

Bring your Holiday Spirit to The Sutton Place Hotel

845 Burrard Street  Vancouver, BCV6Z 2K6
(604) 682-5511 www.vancouve.suttonplace.com

Help celebrate the festive season while raising funds for a very worthy cause:

6th Annual Home for the Holidays Sutton Place Hotel

Now to January 4th, 2012

Come and view the gallery of trees that have been decorated by local
Vancouver designers, stagers and retailers. Choose your favourite tree and make a donation.

Festival of Trees at the Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver

791W. Georgia Street(at Pacific Centre) 604-689-9333 www.fourseasons.com/vancouver

Now to January 5, 2011
Nothing will get you in the Christmas mood faster than a stroll through our lobby – now transformed into a festive forest of creatively decorated Christmas trees. The annual BC Children’s Hospital Foundation fundraiser is a must-see holiday highlight.

Dundarave Festival of Lights

 

DundaraveBeach,West Vancouver www. 2mevents.com 

Now to January 6, 2012

Enter the forest of sparkling trees, enjoy free concerns while raising funds for North Shore Shelters.


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Categories : Tips and Recipes

Special Holiday gifts for food, art and/or craft lovers

10 12 2011

A) Gifts from ‘One of a kind’ artisans and artists This weekend at Vancouver Convention Centre West

Besides the gourmet aisle showcasing home-made food products, from spreads and spices, to vinegars and chocolates, look for more than edible flavours in thisYears, the largest yet One of a Kind Vancouver. Talk to the artists, see some of them at work and be amazed at their craftsmanship and creative minds!

Kay Wong uses aromatic natural essential oil to make hand-made bath and body care products in her townhouse that’s why you can find her in her ‘The Other Eden’ booth at the Oneofakind Show.

Mally Designs of Mission, BC, creator of the original leather baby bib, shows and sells a few practical leather gifts at booth E17. The warm pastel-coloured bibs, however, catch most of the attention.  The reversible bibs with a food-catch pocket on one side and magnetic snaps at the back are not only functional, they are very durable too!          

And there are much more! Painters and carpenters, jewelers and fashion designers…oh, do bring a shopping bag – arts and beauty are hard to resist!

 

B) Sakekasu edibles  from Artisan Sake

1339 Railspur Alley,GranvilleIsland,Vancouver. 604-685-7253 www.artisansakemaker.com

Chocolates – who doesn’t get at least a box or two throughout the holidays? But katsu truffles? Bet most of your foodie friends have yet to try them.

Masa Shiroki, the one and only Artisan sake maker inWestern Canada, is more than a sake buff but a culinary crafter as well. He is the mastermind in creating many recipes using kasu (fermented rice residues) obtained from his sake-making brewery.  And yes, he keep coming up with some daring recipe ideas using  kasu: Citrus dressing, cherry drinks and his newest creation – kasu-filled truffles which he appropriately named kasu bonbons to refer to the European French sweets and dipped chocolate goodies. 

These decadent bonbons, bursting with a good doze of fermented wine flavour that brings a naughty note to the bonbons, are made with sakekasu, cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, soya lecithin and natural vanilla, dairy-free so even those lactose-intolerants can enjoy them!

So head out toGravilleIsland, create your own holiday kasu-goodie bags and don’t forget those kasu bonbons.

 


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Categories : Tips and Recipes

Cheap and Cheerful – Bubble Tea Cafe

4 12 2011

These days, they are everywhere! Big or tiny; fancy or enclosed; bubble tea cafés are so popular they might well be one of the top competitors to other beverage joints.

As daunting as Starbucks in N. America, bubble Tea café is the place to hang out for the young generations, especially high school kids that are still underaged to go boozing in public. Perhaps this explains why the Drink Menu outlists the food menu most of the time. To these youngsters who somehow roam freely even at mig-night, these fancy drinks are make-shift cocktails without the alcoho. Look at the names: ‘Blue Baby’,‘Passionate Love’ or ‘Young Girl’s Dream’, obviously, the fantasy and pleasure is far beyond what’s in the drink!

And yet, to call these cafés ‘bubble tea café’ is somewhat misleading, since they offer a genre of Taiwanese snacks as well. In fact, more and more bubble tea cafés categorize themselves as Taiwanese bistros and have successfully expanded their client base to include families and boomers.

Taiwanese cuisine; influenced by Japanese culture and aboriginals; is also an adaptation ofFujianand Hakka cooking. The Japanese gives them an artistic approach found in room décor, the wares, the plating and the sculptured icy drinks. Set meals, come with soup, side dishes rice are often served Bento-style. Taiwan-aboriginals’ rural form of food preparation and the usage of roots, herbs and wild vegetables; along with authentic Fujian and Hakka recipes, turn out intense flavoured soup, noodles, meat and seafood, along with other one-of-a-kind dishes and comfortating table-top hot-pots.

Don’t worry about exotic dishes, though they will be some, but 90% of the menu items are Joe and Jane proof.  Dishes like Minced pork on rice, Wok-fried live clams, Taiwanese chicken nugget, assortment of noodle soups, original beef noodle soup loaded with deliciously braised shanks, grilled pork chops, pan-fried vegetables and fried rice…the list goes on and on. There has to be a dish or two that appeals to even the fussiest diner.

And the best reason to dine in a bubble tea bistro? Extremely wallet-friendly!  How friendly?  What about $10 – 12 for a eat-till-you-drop  shared multi-course dinner?    


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Categories : About

Mark Anthony Brands Portfolio Tasting

8 11 2011

 

Henry Yuen

As far as I’m concerned, wine merchants do play an important role in advancing the level of wine appreciation among wine consumers in British Columbia. If profit is the sole objective of wine merchants, then consumers in B.C. would not have had the chance to experience fine wines from different parts of the world due to existing hurdles in bringing these wines into the Province, thanks to wine merchants, they’re doing all the works for us!  Wine merchants also play an indirect role in educating the public about wines by hosting various portfolio tasting events cater to trade personnel. By allowing restaurateurs, sommeliers and other folks in the industry to taste their wines, the wine merchants are in fact indirectly dictating what kind of wines are available for the consumers to be had, it is naturally their job to introduce and educate the business partners who promote and sell their wines to the public.

Do merchants/ importers take the easy route to source wines from common sources or do they go the extra mile to import wines from around the world that are good and reasonably priced? From my observations and discussions with the merchants, importers, distributors, even sommeliers,  I can guarantee you lots of expertise, time and effort, travelling and research are induced, before the bottle of wine you end up picking shows up on the shelves of the wine store.

A recent Mark Anthony Brands portfolio tasting confirmed the effort and commitment of this wine distributor to introduce quality wines to the market. With more than 35 years of experience in the industry, they understand the trends and market preferences.  Even though most consumers do not refer to the wine merchant when they buy and sip good wines, the wine merchant’s efforts and contributions have already been capitalized.

It’s difficult to list all the wines in Mark Anthony’s portfolio; I have selected the followings that are definitely worth mentioning, based on price, quality and my personal preferences:

1/ For below $20.00, Mission Hill Five Vineyards Cabernet Merlot 2009 is a quality wine. A nice balance between local  Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes, full dark berries and jam flavours with a tease of cocoa and oak on the finish.

2/ Rodney Strong Alexander Valley Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 from Sonoma County is well crafted. Lightly oaked and loads of berries with a hint of chocolate, it is also flirtingly minty on the palate.

3/ Antinori Peppoli Chianti Classico DOCG 2008 is consistently good year after year. With 90% Sangiovese, 10% Merlot and Syrah, this is a well-balanced classic Chianti with very satisfying aroma and flavour. Enjoy young with or without food, this is one lovely wine that will not disappoint.

4/ Ganton & Larsen Prospect Winery Haynes Barn Merlot Cabernet 2008 is another local product that exhibits a good nose of cocoa and mint. There is a bit of wild berry sweetness on the entry, perfectly balanced with enough intensity and a lengthy finish. Well done for the price.

Ergo, next time when we encounter a good bottle of wine, besides giving kudos to the winemaker, small token of appreciation should also be given to the wine merchant for his/her behind the scene good work in making this happen.

 


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Categories : Bottles

Bravo to BC Hospitality Foundation

3 11 2011

Henry Yuen

As in most retail industry, workers in the food service industry tend to be more transient than other occupations.  Significant numbers of part-timers holding more than one job are often students looking for few hours of work as a mean of earning extra income.  Consequently, the workforce is not as close knit compared with other industries where employees are more permanent and steady. As a result, looking after workers’ general interest and welfare becomes a challenge.

This, however, changed in 2006, when a group of hospitality leaders got together to form the B.C. Hospitality Foundation. Having been in the industry for a long time, they understand the industry comprises of more than servers and cooks at restaurants but all other related industrial occupations such as hotel staffs, food suppliers, wine agents, marketers, tourism staff, cooking schools and personnel whose work nature directly and indirectly ties in with the food industry.  To have such a broad view upon the hospitality industry proved to be the foremost element which led them to their overall goal.

They might not be asking for too much, but to create an encompassing and strong community where they can look out for each other took more than time and effort, but strong passion and the will to help, smart planning and lots of noises and supports. BC Hospitality Foundation searches for and gathers the resources to empower them the means to look after their own members when they are in need of various kinds of medical and health related assistance. The Foundation’s objective is to organize a vibrant association where members can build up a strong sense of community and benefit from it at vulnerable times.

Who are the members? Anyone in the hospitality industry or related fields including food and wine writers who promotes and supports the industries with different tools! The most encouraging act of BC Hospitality Foundation is the fact that no membership application form needs to be filled and submitted.  As long as you are working, or have been working and contributing to BC’s hospitality industry, you are automatically a member!

It’s a known reality that without BC Hospitality Foundation’s initiative, it is a challenge   for most workers to acquire the need and support needed, when most of the time; they do not even know where to seek assistance. It is a relief for many to know where to turn to when help seems scarce, and is heart warming that there is a group of volunteers who understand the importance of forming a strong community within the hospitality industry so it is not fragmented or fragile in times of crisis.         

Besides financial assistances to medical needs, the Foundation also award bursaries and scholarships to students enrolled in various hospitality programmes. It’s a lofty goal worthy of support by anybody not necessarily related to the industry. The Foundation raises funds through donations, third party functions and events such as annual golf tournament, Dish N’dazzle and Tip to Help Out.

Currently, the Tip Out to Help Out program is in full swing where restaurant staffs and owners are encouraged to donate a portion of their tips or revenue to the cause. Since these are all volunteering activities, all hospitality related businesses are urged to organize their own arrangement to help out this meaningful campaign.

Do check out www.bchospitalityfoundation.com and see what and how they are doing, may be you are inspired to get involved and willing to lend a helping hand.


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Categories : Tips and Recipes

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