Andy Lynes

No sliced ginger on the night I ate, or on the two occasions I dined at Rangoli.

I'm not fortunate enough to have experienced Punjabi home cooking. Can you explain in what ways the food at Vij's approximates it? An example of a specific dish usually prepared at home and how the same or similar dish that you have eaten at Vij's was prepared would really help me to understand your point.

Remind me not to get stranded on a mountain with you anytime soon.

I must point out that I only contributed the Sam Mason interview to the piece and did a little bit of work on presenting the parsnip cake recipe, the main interview with Wylie is by Joanna Wood, the editor of Caterer and Hotelkeepers "Chef" section. My credit makes it look like I wrote the whole thing.

There is no comparison really. The average high street Indian restaurant will have a long menu of chicken, lamb and prawn dishes tailored to the British palatte. Sweet and mild tikka masalas for the ladies, burning hot vindaloos for the largered up lads. The quality of raw ingredients will usually be unremarkable, desserts will be bought in and service will be indifferent at best. The cliche is that Indian restaurants only get busy after the pubs shut and large groups are looking for somewhere cheap to fill up on carbs and carry on drinking. In my experience, that is true. There has been a move over the last 5 years or so for these places to smarten up and modernise their image - get rid of the characteristic red flock wall paper and memories-of-the-Raj-decor - but in many cases the food has not changed and neither has the clientele. I am of course excluding high end London Indian restaurants such as Tamarind, The Cinnimon Club, Benares and Zaika which have successfully offered refined and inventive versions of Indian regional cuisine to the gourmet crowd. In terms of innovation and quality of food and service, I would say that Vineet Bhatia is Vij's closest equivilent in London, but even then there are big differences. Bhatia serves a multi-course tasting menu with dramtic presentations and things like savoury ice creams and is going head to head with the top European style chefs in the city, whereas Vij's style is far more casual.

I started a new thread on Vij's, not because I wanted poll position, but simply because I couldn't find one dedicated to the restaurant which just seems plain wrong to me. If anyone is aware of an existing thread, this can always be merged with it.

I’m only partially joking when I say that it was missing out on dinner at Vij’s during my first visit to Vancouver that brought me back a second time. In reality, nobody is going to arrange a family holiday that costs thousands of pounds sterling and involves a 12 hour flight via Calgary simply to eat in one particular restaurant are they? And if they did, they’re not about to admit it on a very public forum like eGullet.org. Whatever the truth, the facts are that at 2.30pm on 23 June 2005, I landed on Canadian soil, I was in my hotel room by 4.00pm, and sat at a table in Vij’s, nibbling snacks and sipping a Storm Brewing Pilsner by 5.45pm. Vij’s food is a seductive blend of traditional Indian and classical French cooking that deftly transforms the familiar – curry, kebob, pilaff - into something surprising. “Curry Art” is the claim, modestly made in small type on the back of the menu, and it’s a true and accurate one. If art allows us to see life in a new way, then a meal at Vij’s forces a reassessment of what Indian food is and can be. It’s not about pictures on a plate, or competing with the accepted idea of European haute cuisine. It’s not artistic in that sense. There is no arch seriousness involved with dining at Vij’s, but there is a unique vision at work that raises the experience way above the norm. You could say that it’s unusual to find the likes of quail, striped bass, halibut, venison and duck on the menu of an Indian restaurant. But then Vij’s shouldn’t really be assessed in those terms. The ethnicity of the cuisine is a red herring. Its far more interesting that candied walnuts bring a sweet crunch to a bouillabaisse style dish of halibut, mussels and baby carrots in tomato and light cream curry, or that there is something deeply addictive about the spicing of the striped bass with curry leaves and sour cream curry. I simply don’t know enough about Indian cooking to talk with authority about why the masala curry served with traditional mutton kebobs is quite so delicious. But I do know that in their complexity and depth, the sauces at Vij’s are worthy of comparison to the finest veal jus or sauce hollandaise. Are they as technically demanding to make? I really have no idea, and that question is I believe somewhat beside the point. It’s their effect on the palate that is the important thing and that is unquestionably profound. Vij is the consummate host because he cares. He runs the show with vigour, passion and a sixth sense that allows him to keep an eye on everything at once. There is an energy that radiates from him and gravitates to him that infects the whole room. Dining at Vij’s is simply a joy and an experience I hope to repeat soon.

I was very pleased to have a second opportunity to sample the food at C. My first dinner there last year was part of whirlwind tour of the city's restaruants and perhaps not the best circumstances to judge it under. I loved the beautiful simplicity of the tuna and pea soup courses and the unfussy preperation allowed the flavour of the superb seafood to sing out. I found the salmon to be problematic, and argued long into the night at the Fairmont Hotel bar about the absence of salt from the dish. My arguement is that food should be correctly seasoned. By not using salt, you are failing to draw out all the potential flavour of the dish. The counter arguement, if I recall it correctly, was that the absence of salt allowed the true character of the salmon to emerge. The sablefish was a terrific dish, although I am still not a fan of C's "bubbles". I missed out on the scallop, the cheesecake, and as I was driving, the wines which I am told were absolutely stunning.

Rob's speech is the last of my transcriptions from the event. Unfortunately, Bonnie Van Durme (Producer, Kagan Bay Scallops) did not pick up on the tape and I had to leave the event before Stephen Wong spoke. Part of the beginning of Rob's speech was obscured by helicopters passing overhead, but I managed to capture the majority of what he said.

Robert Clark - Executive Chef, C, Raincity Grill From a chef’s point of view, sustainability and quality are directly related. I always use the example of the wine industry; there are certain rules and regulations for any wine producing region about how much of a particular wine they can produce off of x amount of hectares. The reason for that is the more you produce the quality’s going to go down. It’s no different in seafood. Our salmon, Fred and Linda probably catch half of what the fishing boat (?) but they handle every one. They bring it on board alive, they put in the holds in their tank until all the lactic acid and adrenaline leaves the system, and then they slaughter it just like you would a calf. You make sure its as calm as possible, there’s a lot of reasons for that. Very few fish are harvested in that manner, but it gives us the quality. The shelf life in our fridge is phenomenal because of that. That’s our take on it, sustainability is so important. When we first started talking to the Vancouver Aquarium it was kind of like “Well, why are we together?” Why I love the Aquarium and the Suzuki foundation, why I like any organisation that is on board with this that has no connection. More people aren’t going to go the Vancouver Aquarium because of the Oceanwise programme; there’s nothing in it for them. The Suzuki foundation isn’t going to become a multi billionaire million international corporation because they’re concerned about where our food comes from. The fish industry says “we’re getting better, we’re getting better” and it is getting better but my first question is, “If the Suzuki foundation weren’t nipping at your heels, would you be getting better? Or would business just be as usual?” The truth is, humans are all the same, and we’re going to take the easiest route every time we can. Especially if at the end the big dollars are there. Sustainability doesn’t have to be more expensive. I argue with people all the time. They say, “Well you’re the chef at C restaurant and a main course costs over 30 bucks, you can afford to use sustainably harvested seafood. The fact of the matter is that except for these scallops (which we lose money on!), all our sustainable seafood is no more expensive per pound than buying crap. And actually pound for pound it’s actually cheaper because nothing gets thrown away. When I arrived here in Vancouver 12 -15 years ago, I was like, I want to be close to fresh seafood. I grew up on the eastern coast of Canada so I’m very accustomed to fresh seafood. When I got here the first restaurant I was in, very high end restaurant with awards, with the fish coming through the door the question was, “Is this good enough to serve tonight?” Not even is this good enough to serve tomorrow. And that question had to go through you r mind for every fish that came through the door. Now that’s sad – its actually stupid. Especially being on the water on the West coast in Vancouver ? We should have access to the freshest and highest quality seafood available And its out there and we have little operations that are producing that, but their voice cannot be heard, because of the larger picture of big business. And I love big business, they made my shoes, they made my pants; but for us, for restaurants and people that really care about food, to get to the small person you will be rewarded, because they care more passionately about what they’re producing then most chefs care about what they’re cooking. It took a lot of trial and error for us to get to where we are with our menu but something like the Oceanwise programme now, what it’s going to do is to show the way for other restaurants that it is economically viable to make the right choices. And at the end of the day, it’s really about asking questions. Being in a democracy, if everybody says, “You know what, I’m really not interested in sustainably harvested seafood and I really don’t care that there’s going to be a spot prawn tomorrow”; if we decide that then that’s democracy, but the important thing is that you know when you’re making choices, that’s going to be the end result.

Thanks for the explanation. I don't think anyone intended to level any criticism at you.

AA Gill surely lacks Clarkson's common touch. I can't see him interacting with the riff raff in the studio audience very easily.

I've enjoyed this interview immensely. Its fascinating to read the thoughts of a chef who thinks so deeply about what he does. Passion is word that is often used about and by chefs, but I don't think I have seen it more appropriately applied than here.

Umm, was that directed at me? ← No, just a general observation. No offence meant.

In a similar vein, am I mistaken Andy or were you not (like myself) suprised to learn of the earlier than expected closure of the Merchant House. I seem to remember we both missed out on one last meal there when it closed in late February(?). Nevertheless - I hear rumours of a possible return from a certain Mr Hill. ← Quite correct, I was very sad not to be able to enjoy one last meal at The Merchant House.

This thread is about Full On Food. If you want to debate MG and if Heston is nice or horrible, please use this site's extensive search facility to find existing appropriate threads on which to do it. Thanks.

Is the urge to dine in a restaurant you know is about to close the same one that leads you to buy the greatest hits of a recently deceased pop star?

Caterer news item. The restaurant will change hands at the beginning of August but all staff will remain including head chef Robert Thompson.

Wet dog, curry and re-heated moussaka. (Yuk!)

According to an interview in the latest Restaurant magazine, Preston was only bought in to consult for a 6 month period, but nevertheless Lola's does seem to get through head chefs at a higher than usual rate.

You can get 3 courses with complimentary matching wines for 18.75 at dinner or 15.75 at lunch until 18 August through Top Table. Sounds like something of a bargain to me. (I think Juliet Preston may have moved on again.)

Wylie Dufresne is the cover story of this weeks (21-27 July) Caterer and Hotelkeeper magazine in the UK. The story includes my interview with Sam Mason and his recipe for parsnip cake. This will probably be archived on the Caterersearch.com website. I'll post the URL on this thread if and when that happens.

Watching Full on Food gave me a great idea for a new show, but its a bit complicated so bear with me while I explain it. Its called "The Richard Corrigan Show" and the hook, the gimmick, the USP if you will, is that Corrigan cooks some nice food and explains how to do it in a witty and engaging manner. I know, the British public will never buy it, its far too sophisticated a concept. Ok then, how about Corrigan travels the world and visits a local market where he has to persaude a local he's never met to help him shop for ingredients, then then go back to the person's house and cook a dish that sums up the place they are in. But they only have 2 hours to do the whole thing! So they're really under pressure and they have to run around all over the place and there's loads of shaky camera work and people shout a lot and its dead exciting. The food is shit, but that doesn't matter. And then they re-decorate the person's house. And do up his garden.

I got an invite to attend the filming of the show which I recieved on 14 June and which said "There are three shows left in the series; 17th June, 23rd and 24th June. The show will begin at 5.15pm through till 8pm, and will be broadcast live." So that must have meant "as live."

I'd be very surprised if Maze was still going in five years time, at least in its present form.