jamiemaw

To Ann and Canucklehead's list you may wish to add chef Andrea Carlsen at Raincity Grill. Brent Hayman is the GM. At Mission Hill Winery in Kelowna, chef Michael Allemeier and at Fresco, chef Rod Butters. In Whistler, Chef bernard Casavant of Chef Bernard's, who can lead you to North Arm Farms and other growers in the Pemberton Valley. Good luck, Jamie

Categories are never easy choices, especially in Vancouver, with so many merged cuisines and muddied lines. For instance, if one were to closely examine the menu at Cioppino's, which most folks might assume was an Italian restaurant, you might be somewhat surprised to see that many of the dishes are actually French or French- influenced. A couple of clarifications: The actual name of the category that Lumiere is entered in is 'Best French or French-Influenced', awkward nomenclature to be sure, but a more accurate and realistic reflection of modern cooking in Vancouver. Further, when there is any doubt as to categorization, we ask the restaurauteur to choose. 'Regionality' reflects assertive local ingredient sourcing and, increasingly, the addressing of sustainability issues. Thus, Raincity's foraging program for free range, line-caught pine mushrooms, conducted from the kneeling position, rates highly.

Actually, we ran out of oil last week. And Jim Morrison doesn't live in Paris anymore, he's lives inside my dashboard. About the vanishing hitch-hiker thing, well you're on your own there.

Booty Food by Jacqui Malouf with Liz (perhaps appropriately) Gumbinner 'A date-by-date, course-by-course, nibble-by-nibble guide to cultivating love and passion through food.' And that's just the cover blurb, seductively placed beside Ms. Malouf gamboling in bed. But wait, there's less. Ms. Malouf plumbs new depths in chapters entitled 'First Date Red Flags', 'Picnic a Go-Go', 'Cheese - Nature's Viagra, 'When Cooking Is The Last Thing On Your Mind', and 'Afternoon Delights--Nooky Hooky'. The very best of bad taste, not something I necessarily look for in a cookbook. Jamie

Most of the sablefish caught is exported to Japan. Alaska has the highest catch of sablefish. Also, I think sablefish is very rich/oily? It was conveyed to me not too long ago, Americans(dont know if this includes Canadians) prefer non-oily fish(mackarel, a wonderful oily fish, for example, isnt all that popular in America. Lack of demand, so it is cheap. But then again, mackarel is quite plentiful in most of the global waters. Back to sablefish, even with its relative abundance, it is expensive because the demand comes from Japan. Also, slightly related to the issue of low demand in America, it is my opinion that in America(I plead ignorance about Canada. Information appreciated) fish is consumed as healthy-light-protein-rich food. As a healthful alternative to 'fatty' red meat. Hence it is difficult to sell oily/rich fish to Americans. They would rather have salmon than sablefish. Also, the price factor. Salmon prices are driven down by farming salmon and salmon is way more cheaper(and therefore familiar to the consumer) than the other strangelooking 'exotic' fish. It is funny really. I was speaking to a(British) friend. He said that the same situation seems to be happening in Australia. Awesome catches, but low demand because of consumer culinary ignorance. Salmon is the Golden Arches of the supermarket fish counter. Interestingly, Britain is an island and fish is terribly expensive. Now, that is a puzzle someone should crack! ← Thanks for weighing in from across the pond, FB. Sablefish, which as you identify is the same fish as Alaska black cod, was (chauvinistically) rebranded for the Canadian market a few years ago. That worked--it's also seemingly better managed to wholesale, without the kippering effect of ABC. Sablefish is relatively forgiving and has, like the excellent local albacore, become a very popular restaurant fish, widely replacing Chilean sea bass and ahi. So at least part of its expense has to do with its rapidly rising local popularity. Consumers, once introduced, have found they actually enjoy the relative richness of sablefish, even if they're less likely to prepare it at home. Consumer attitudes here are slowly changing and gummable salmon fillets are being replaced with more flavousome, on-the-bone remedies, drawing from the 82 species of fish available from the coastal fishery. Pioneering restaurants such as C lead with dishes like lightly smoked sablefish with miso-maple syrup glaze; smoked octopus bacon encircling king scallops; pink salmon (it used to go straight to the canning line) spare-ribs; and simply grilled Vancouver Island sardines. At Hapa Izakaya, mackeral is flamed tableside with a butane blowtorch, while at Phnom Penh, baby squid tubes are cross-hatched and coated in a gossamer coating of rice flour and quickly deep-fried then served with a lemon-pepper dip as astringent as bleach. Adesso serves whole sea bream in the Ligurian style with an intense, olive-led pomade. Octopus, which until recently was unseen in Occidental restaurants--now shows up every night in carpaccios, at Latin American restaurants such as Baru or Mediterranean rooms such as Cioppino's, and also in fish stews. Halibut is in season right now--its cheeks, whether spicily wok-fried or braised, and steaks and fillets are also popular. Salmon does remain the default fish of summer and in many restaurants is still tortured on the grill. But at restaurants such as West, chef David Hawksworth turns out a much more elegant treatment in a poached galatine that draws flavour just between innuendo and inflection. At Bacchus, chef Lee Parsons Dodd slowly oil-poaches wild Spring salmon fillets for 45 minutes until barely done. Of the many fish used in Japanese restaurants (of which there are 315 in Vancouver), uni is one of the greatest. Last week we enjoyed it two ways: chef Yoshi Tabo's unfettered, barely-there nori-wrapped version atop sushi at Bluewater; then David Hawksworth's sea urchin soup, with cardamom and fennel underwriting the broth and uni, and served in its shell for effect. Slowly, slowly, the tide doth turn, much aided by the extraordinary range of Asian restaurants here, and abetted by young Canadian chefs now reaching deeper into our coastal larder.

Was this last Saturday night? That could have been my wife. ← Yes, it was entirely pleasant meeting Delores, Ducky --she remains a real credit to you and the rest of the flock. Although truth be known I think she snagged a bit of panty hose on the chandelier.

Thanks for chiming in on Victoria, Merlin. I hope that we hear some more about the startling cooking going down on the Island from our friends there.

Also in the theme of uni, butter, nori-wrapped whole uni sushi from Yoshi Tabo at Bluewater and sea urchin soup, served in its shell, from David Hawksworth at West. Both dishes sensed precisely when to get out of the way of the delicate central ingredient.

Thanks for all of these terrific leads on early herbs, and in the case of the Art Knapp Centre, fan-tas-tic ones. This list is quickly growing into a very useful guide. I'm going to check out a few Vancouver outlets this week and will report back.

Here's an opportunity to sing the praises of the best individual dishes that you've eaten over the past year. I'm going to get things going with an item that rarely gets much attention: Chicken. And my two favourite chicken dishes of the year just past were at: Villa del Lupo from Chef Julio Gonzalez-Perini: roasted half chicken, partially deboned with a vertical leg in an intense wine-raised reduction. Cioppino's Enoteca from Chef Pino Posteraro: rotisserie chicken with garlic under crispy skin, pureed potatoes with perfume of white truffle oil, and baby bok choy in reduced chicken sauce. And your favourite individual dishes - starter, entree or dessert - of the year?

I didn't claim they were endangered Oyster Guy. You may not have noticed this at the top of the list--it refers not to endangerment but to a rather different concern: I mentioned the aquaculture of oysters again in Post#3 and that they were not endangered. And then, just to be sure: Finally, the posted list is very similar if not identical to the standard issue Sierra Club list and the Monterrey Aquarium list that Leonard posted. Personally, I eat a lot of them (even if moderation requires no more than two dozen per sitting) , am looking at a rather sensual photograph of a woman slurping same right now over the dashboard of my laptop, and even get coerced into judging shucking contests every summer.

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Presuming that you are now located in Vancouver, give this thread a go

Agreed, although I believe that ethics, and even moral suasion, enter into the process of effecting good decisions: To continue the metaphor of Mother Nature pulling the feeding tube, it's the moribund body politic that sets itself up to die, long after the brain expired. Enjoying the chat, Jamie

And here's the lead to the other article that elicited gasps last week: Future Bleak for B.C. Salmon Run Canadian Press Wednesday, March 23, 2005 'One of the Canada's richest fisheries, the Fraser River sockeye salmon run, will likely be shut down for the 2008 season due to a sharp decline in spawning stocks that may be related to climate change. In a unanimous report released Tuesday, the Commons fisheries committee suggests rising water temperatures are an important factor in "a major ecological disaster." It also blames overfishing for the low spawning numbers last summer, and suggests the Fisheries Department must increase enforcement and research efforts. The committee says 1.6 million fish, one-third of the total run, went missing in 2004. "These tragically low numbers mean that there will probably not be enough sockeye salmon to support commercial, recreation or aboriginal fishing on the Fraser in 2008." It estimates losses in the commercial fishery alone at $78 million in 2008. Based on the four-year life cycle of the sockeye, "the forecast for 2012 and 2016 is bleak."'

With thanks to HKDave, here's a brief introduction to the article on sea lice that partly provoked this thread: Jeremy Hainsworth Canadian Press March 31, 2005 VANCOUVER (CP) - 'The spread of parasitic sea lice from farmed salmon to wild populations may be more extensive than previously believed, says a report published Wednesday in a British scientific journal. "Our research shows the impact of a single farm is far-reaching," Marty Krkosek, the lead author of the report, said in a news release. Krkosek, a researcher at the University of Alberta's department of biological sciences, said sea lice incidence near a farm studied by the research team in April and May 2003 in the Broughton Archipelago off the coast of British Columbia was 30,000 times higher than natural. "These lice then spread out around the farm," he said. "Infection of wild juvenile salmon was 73 times higher than ambient levels near the farm and exceeded ambient levels for 30 kilometres of the wild migration route." The report also says the impact of the lice could move through entire coastal ecosystems, affecting populations as diverse as herring, whales and seabirds.' The full article is HERE but may be behind a subscriber's screen.

Ducky, We may think we're at the top of the food chain, at least until Mother Nature pulls the feeding tube. Unfortunately, the Northern cod, once centred on Newfoundland’s Grand Banks is not thriving in smaller numbers. Not at all, and it is one of the saddest and most egregious examples of man’s ecological greed in the history of the world. Yes, it's right up there with buffalo and dodo hunting. In fact current data suggests that the entire biomass may now be only 1,700 tonnes, an extraordinary figure given that 250,000 tonnes of fish were being extracted each year, and that was after the height of industrial-scale fishing, when it may have climbed as high as 800,000 tonnes. But of more pressing concern now is why cod stocks are not recovering. I’ll retrace a bit of history, because it's absolutely germane to our coastal salmon fishery, especially the plight of the once-abundant coho and sockeye. Let me preface by saying that I don’t pretend to be an expert, but rather curious for more information, and to the point of some concern. Equally, please know that this is not a diatribe directed at you by any means, but rather its intention is to inform. Early explorers to the Grand Banks reported that cod were so prolific that hook and line or nets were not required—they simply dangled baskets over the side. Sounds like the sockeye run in the Fraser, when Mr. Talent's ancestors would walk on the fish to cross over on the way to church. Yet by 1992, when the moratorium finally took effect, the cod population had collapsed completely and the fish had all but disappeared, beginning with the now legendary monster fish--the ones the size of a grown boy. The hindsight of conventional wisdom now tells us that, had the cod fishery been led to the devices of the relatively inefficient inshore fishery—men in dories and small craft—that by the 70s, even though stocks were somewhat depleted, the fishery could likely have been managed back to recovery. In the 1970s and 1980s though, and despite the warnings of inshore fishermen, the government managed the cod fishery very softly, perhaps fearful of the economic ravages that a more severe curtailment would bring. The 10 principal cod and flatfish stocks went from 500,000 tonnes in 1988 to less than 100,000 tonnes in 1992 when the government finally reacted -- a decline in catch of 90 percent in five years. Little did the government know that after the moratorium was enacted in 1992, that eventually some 40,000 people would be thrown out of work and the welfare and other social services tab would run to more than $2 billion and still counting more than 12 years later. The social cost alone has been disgraceful. Here’s a quote from the cover flap of Michael Harris’s excellent history of the collapse of the cod fishery, Lament for an Ocean: ’The northern cod have been almost wiped out. Once the most plentiful fish on the Grand Banks off the coast of Newfoundland, the cod is now on the brink of extinction, and tens of thousands of people in Atlantic Canada have been left without work by a 1992 moratorium on fishing the stock. Today, the Pacific salmon stocks are in similar trouble – victims of the same blind, stupid greed. In Lament for an Ocean, the award-winning true-crime writer Michael Harris investigates the real causes of the most wanton destruction of a natural resource in North American history since the buffalo were wiped off the face of the prairies. The story he carefully unfolds is the sorry tale of how, despite the repeated and urgent warnings of ocean scientists, the northern cod was ruthlessly exploited.’ You'll find an interesting historical brief here And then, the worst thing possible happened: The cod fishery became open season to the fleets of highly efficient international factory-freezer ships (and then worse, Canadian 'draggers') that essentially vacuumed the stock dry while running rough-shod over the ocean floor. Within 15 years or so the cod fishery was depleted by an estimated 90 per cent, a figure consistent with the over-exploitation of other global fisheries. That is, for emphasis: Send the factory ships in and within a maximum of 15 years, 90 per cent of the target fishery will be gone and with it much of the subordinate food web that might support any potential for its recovery. Equally disheartening are the examples of cod now caught only by fishery research officials. Large adults are missing and many cod are emaciated due to the fact that when they were over-fished, so was there feed, which has also seemingly disappeared. If the food chain necessary to support their recovery does not exist, in other words, it is doubtful that they will ever return in meaningful numbers, and that if they do, it will be centuries, not decades, and perhaps (thank Darwin), not even in their original form. This potential for mutation is born out by examples of mouth abrasions and humped backs now found in contemporary Northern cod, evidencing that they are now forced to bottom-feed, for which they are currently ill-equipped. I think that the cliché of the Birkenstock-beshod environmentalist is well behind us. At least I hope so: There is no person in this province that will remain unaffected by the disappearance of our fish populations. I think that this issue cuts across all party lines to the point where it may even refresh the true meaning of the word ‘conservative’. After all, there is nothing more primal than our need to eat, especially when we are told there’s no more. Needless to say, any catastrophic depletion of our coastal fishery, especially the salmon fishery, would have a particularly devastating effect for restaurants and the food service industry. My hope is that we can learn from lessons gained elsewhere, educate ourselves, and take constructive measures, even if those measures might be painful in the short term. But first, the education, and I'm working at organizing a seminar that speaks to where we all need to go--that sustainable ingredients can be delicious. Jamie

Exactly, Paul. What is the real work to be done? You live right in the nexus of the livelihood versus sustainability debate. What do you think requires action in order to balance the variuos fisheries? Great to hear from you, by the way. Jamie

Yeah--great attitude. The same one that has made the Russian caviar trade as dangerous as cocaine. I think oysters are just fine for the time being, ks.--I think the mercury problem is quite exaggerated--it's a warning for pregnant women. If it's true I ate enough of them last week to turn into a thermometer and still managed to find my way home. But if one were to look at A.J. Liebling's famous list (when decrying Proust's feeble appetite for madelines) . . . "In the light of what Proust wrote with so mild a stimulus, it is the world's loss that he did not have a heartier appetite. On a dozen Gardiner's Island oysters, a bowl of clam chowder, a peck of steamers, some bay scallops, three sauteed soft-shelled crabs, a few ears of fresh picked corn, a thin swordfish steak of generous area, a pair of lobsters, and a Long Island Duck, he might have written a masterpiece." --A.J. Liebling . . . one would have to shorten it markedly. Gone are the scallops and the swordfish and called into question are the oysters, lobster and soft-shelled crabs. The clams, duck and corn still work and had Liebling foreshortened his lunch, the gout might not have got him. I hope that we hear from some of our friends up the coast, who can offer their local perspective, and also introduce the livelihood versus endangerment side of the issue.

Stephen, Fortunately mussels and oysters are increasingly farmed and not endangered. Scallops aren't looking as healthy though. Jamie

Devastating reports in last week's papers revealed the very real peril for our coastal fishery. While it may be hard to believe that one of our birthright fish--the sockeye salmon--could disappear entirely from our coast in just a few years, all the evidence points in that direction. It looks like we won't be serving it to our Olympic guests after all. Other species are imperiled too, including lingcod, rockfish, red snapper, pollock and abalone. So just when we were rediscovering our coastal fishery, the appearance now is that only a dozen and a half species have a (for now) clean bill of health. While recently interviewing a downtown chef, I was astonished at his ignorance regarding other serious ecological threats: believe it or not he is still serving Chilean sea bass. The point is, that in addition to endangered local species, there are many other global ones that are rapidly approaching, or have already reached, commercial extinction. And as the Atlantic cod fishery proved, commercial extinction is final. Three questions: How cognizant are you of the threat to the local fishery? How serious do you think it is? And, finally, what do you think should be done about it? And below, a roster of local and long distance seafood species divided by red, yellow and green lights. Proceed with caution. * = possible mercury contamination/ pregnant women should not eat, others in moderation DO NOT EAT Caviar (Sturgeon), Chilean sea bass (Patagonian toothfish), Cod (Atlantic)*, Hake/surimi (fake crab meat), Haddock (Atlantic), Halibut (Atlantic)* Hoki (Atlantic, New Zealand), King Crab, Monkfish, Orange roughy* Pollock (Alaska, Atlantic)*, Rockfish, including red snapper Prawns (imported, tiger), Salmon (farmed or Atlantic), Sharks and skate*, Shrimp (imported), Sturgeon Swordfish*, Tuna (Bluefin), Turbot (Arrowtooth flounder) Eulachon, Grouper, Abalone ECOLOGICAL CONCERNS/BE CAUTIOUS Dolphin-fish (mahi-mahi)*, Lingcod, Lobster (Atlantic)*, Oysters*, Octopus (Atlantic), Prawns (US farmed or wild), Rainbow trout (farmed), Salmon (wild, Pacific), Scallops, Shrimp (domestic, trawl-caught), Sole, Snow Crab, Squid (Atlantic), Tuna (Yellowfin or skipjack)* OK FOR NOW Anchovies, Clams, Catfish (farmed), Dogfish, Dungeness crab, Halibut (Pacific) Herring (Pacific), Mackeral, Mussels, Octopus (Paciifc), Pacific black cod (sablefish) Prawns (trap-caught Pacific), Rock lobster (Australian), Sardines, Squid (Pacific), Tilapia (farmed), Tuna (albacore), Uni (sea urchin)

It's not to say that I wouldn't ever use the recipes from Maynard--The Adventures of a Bacon Curer, it's just that it's pretty unlikely as this sample might attest: 'Penitentiary Dry Salted Bacon for 1000 lb Bacon': 16 lbs fine salt 16 lbs bay salt 6 lbs muscavado sugar 12 oz saltpetre 6 oz Jamaican pepper 6 oz ginger Mix all ingredients thoroughly. It was a very fat bacon but the prison diet needed that as they had a lot of greens and in the bacon they needed a bit of flavour. Clearly more ingredient-driven than Keller.

Thanks sasskitty and CanadianBakin'. Jamie

annanstee and others, Chef Metcalfe has kindly shared the Ontario-based Richters website which has an extraordinary range of herbs, both living and dried.

Interesting. Do I understand it correctly? Flexibility versus rigidity? The Dag Hammarskjold/Nadia Comaneci School of Chefly Philosophy versus the Joe Stalin School of My Way Or I'll Kill You? Two things leap to mind. My friend, who does suffer a pretty severe allergy, is always thoughtful enough to call ahead and organize a couple of dishes (isn't this what restaurant webites are for?) so that he doesn't slow the evening down. Go team: Everybody's happy and the Chef's culinary vision can remain 20-20. On the other hand, there's always the restaurant that won't budge. Most famously, for Jack Nicholson: Dupea: OK, I'll make it as easy for you as I can. I'd like an omelette, plain, and a chicken salad sandwich on wheat toast, no mayonnaise, no butter, no lettuce. And a cup of coffee. Waitress: A number two, chicken sal san, hold the butter, the lettuce and the mayonnaise. And a cup of coffee. Anything else? Dupea: Yeah. Now all you have to do is hold the chicken, bring me the toast, give me a check for the chicken salad sandwich, and you haven't broken any rules. Waitress (spitefully): You want me to hold the chicken, huh? Dupea: I want you to hold it between your knees. I enjoyed Neil's lucid remarks about the absolute requirement to understand and then satisfy the needs of the customer, but more especially, why: While I can't recall the last time I substituted an item (especially spaghetti for linguine), surely reasonable requests should be politely met. My own pet peeve is when the protein arrives on top of the mashed potatoes, virtually ensuring that the steak/chop/what-have-you will be steamed. As was Jack.