What do you get when more than 30 Vancouver chefs each add one ingredient to a communal soup? Locals and visitors found out on January 20 at the Chef Soup Experiment, Dine Out Vancouver Festival’s launch event – and thanks to generous donations from the public, nearly $1,000 was raised for “Stop the Growl”, an initiative spearheaded by the event’s first-ever charitable partner, United Way of Lower Mainland.
Before dawn on January 20, chefs from across the city congregated at Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts on Granville Island, each bringing one ingredient of their choice. The contributions perfectly captured Vancouver’s multicultural culinary landscape: lemongrass, rau ram (Vietnamese coriander), Russian garlic and other specialties ranging from expected to exotic. Chefs who contributed included Curtis Luk (Mission Kits); Felix Zhou (Heritage Asian Eatery); Chris Whitter (Forage and Timber); and many others whose restaurants are participating in Dine Out by either offering a prix fixe menu or hosting a culinary event. Lauren Mote, owner of Bittered Sling bitters, became the first bartender to contribute to the Dine Out stew with a healthy dose of culinary and cocktail bitters.
Once all the ingredients were added, student chefs at PICA – under the direction of Executive Culinary Chef Darren Clay – simmered, stirred and stewed the soup to perfection. At noon, the savoury concoction was served outside the culinary institute to the public by donation. One hundred percent of proceeds went towards Stop the Growl, which provides meals to kids, families and seniors who do not have the means to access nutritious, wholesome food. In 2015, Stop the Growl served nutritious food to nearly 50,000 kids in local after-school programs.
“This was our first year joining forces with a charitable organization for Dine Out, and we couldn’t ask for a better partner than United Way,” said Lucas Pavan, festival coordinator. “Dine Out encourages people to broaden their palates while spending time with friends and family, but it’s also a powerful tool in helping to bring awareness to the number of residents in our region who don’t have access to basic nutritious food. On behalf of everyone who helps to organize the festival, thank you to those who attended the Chef Soup Experiment and donated towards this important cause.”
