Chef Fowke

I agree! The food needs to entice, yet be very Vancouver/Western Canada...but what to serve. I love rare tuna, spot prawns, salmon, etc; but is that really representative of the great food that is available in Vancouver? What really makes this city different then Seattle, San Fran or LA? I am exposed to restaurant food everyday and I am becoming jaded, I just want to see something different on the plate or at least the same product prepared differently then just grilled with a fruit salsa! No doubt, the meal needs to start with Pastrami… Maybe a teaser from my new menu… But what would Bourdain like to try? What would the local eGulleter’s want to sample at this dinner?

Did they open tonight, Jamie? I think a visit is in order on Wednesday night after the tasting!

Just got back from Chambar... got to talk to the owners on the street, it would appear that the final permits were not finalized today. To bad, they seemed like really nice people. I will try again tomorrow night.

I am walking over right now to see Neil...should be eating in the next 30 minutes!

This is good.... we need to move this and start it as a new thread....any moderators around?

Prairie Canadian! ...okay, French was my training.

Great point!! Restaurant standard for making osso bucco would see the meat simmered for 5 - 7 hours while a home version would have the meat boiled for a few hours. ...after just a few hours of cooking the vegetables would still remain editable, while in the longer method all that is left is a stringy mess. I forget that most people do not have a kitchen brigade of 50 and a clean-up crew of 10 with 100's of thousands of BTU's burning and all day to prepare misen place.

...It's here! It arrived in a plain white wrapper. Must talk to Neil, I will bring it by HSG tomorrow so we can taste it. Oh My God, It's like Christmas!

Ah, the memories of eating garbage to survive....

But what about textures... The mirepoix has done its duty, their are no flavours or nutritional value left in the overcooked, limp, insipid carrots, celery, leek or onions. Take an average osso bucco and add in some great texture to compliment the flavour and complexity of the dish. Use some pearl onions, roasted garlic and small button mushrooms that have been sautéed until tender with a little lardon, deglazed with a simple sherry and added back into the dish. And of course, fresh herbs are always added in the final 5% of cooking to retain their natural oils and aromas. And, as a young man in France, what would the chef have feed his staff if he did not remove the mirepoix from his osso bucco, stocks, and consommés? That’s what us dough heads got for dinner, and where very thankful.

um, I have sourced the snakes, and know where the bile is... Not cheap, but I am looking forward to sampling the meat.

Very Nice! Keep up the effort and we will be drinking the bile of snake, shooting guns and hoping not to dye from the poison of Blowfish!!!! Neil, you have the perfect venue to make this happen...I will donate whatever time and product is neccesary to assist in this event! This could be a true NWP feast/drink/showcase/drunk/crawl...(may surprise the world with what we really have out here!)

Burger King or Wendy's? Are we talking across the street from the new Cove Bike shop? Sorry, I am lost, I do not know where Burger King is....might be tasty right now!

Where is it? I live by the Seymour River and I have never seen this place...do they sell retail? I am already drooling...I am so excited that I can get good stuff so close to home.

And wine ?? That is all that is required as far as I know. As nobody has taught me the secret handshake, I could be mistaken. Neil No Handshake...no food or wine.

what? Really...you are part of the anti-Chef Fowke movement! LUKE (scout) I am your father....come to the dark side; COOP cannot offer what I have!

I had great Malpeque (spelling?) last night ! What a great east coast oyster...I believe from Raspberry Point... I researched on the web and found that it was the off season! Okay, here is the kicker! I was at Rodney's Oyster House in Yaletown and they only had two oysters that they would serve yesterday and they where Malpeque and Gorge Inlet. 99% of their business is oysters and they usually have 10 types of oysters!!! WOW, great commitment to the customer...they pulled all oysters and offered only two. This speaks volumes!

Criteria would need to be.... 1) Dry Cured 2) Smoked 3) Ready for the grill Exciting! Sausage is the eye to the soul of a culture.

I put a call in this morning....The Merguez Sausage should be here in a couple of days, it is in the style of Toulouse. Coop, I will PM you when it gets in...

...and Coop, your posts were well written, articulate and informative. I appreciated your opinion and acted on it, as much as was in my power. As to the best butchers in town, yes to all your selections...with the exception of the Merguez Sausage. Their is a gentleman in town, named John Eve, who makes/distributes the best. Unfortunately I do not know how to get a hold of him unless you work in a hospitality industry. This brings up a good point. The best meats are still all purchased by the restaurants/hotels. For all the money in the world it is next to impossible (with a few exceptions) to purchase Prime Canadian at the retail level. But to find Canadian Prime that has been dried aged for 28 days is impossible. Why deal with a piece of meat that is so expensive if it is not aged properly? Sidebar...went to Granville Island last Sunday. Visited with the butcher three isles up from the main entrance. Real Calabrese Sausage, Chorizo Sausage, etc and many variations made with wild boar, etc.

WoW! Everyone stand up and salute! This is the first postive (really!) thread I have read from Coop!!!! Honestly....really...HONESTLY, I am going to go and investigate these places on Saturaday,

I like your meat !

...I hope you used salt peter as well to preserve the colour? When rinsing the meat it needs to be rinsed three time (a couple of hours each time) to pull the excess salt out. Did you use the bran as the sourdough starter or a bran flour?

Flipping this to an industry recipe.... Try seasoning the dressing with chicken stock powder (no MSG). A lot of big chain restaurant do this to boast the flavour. It is amazing how BIG the dressing becomes. At this time I cannot figure out how to do this natural, ie using real chicken stock, but when I have an answer I will post.

I appreciate your professionalism and your technique. In short, I did not mean to jump down your throat... My only point was that oysters should only be consumed in restaurants that are serious about the product. The product needs to be fresh, daily (or at least every three days). Too many restaurants are using oysters as a cash grab without fulfilling their obligations to the customers safety. After reading your posts I would eat your oysters...unfortunately that is hard for me to say about most restaurants on the west coast.