The Smoking Dog Bistro on West 1st is having an anniversary party, and you’re invited! I shot a delicious pate and salad at The Bistro a few months back for UrbanDiner; Jean, Jude and the team were exceptionally accommodating and welcoming. If you’ve dined here before and had great service, wonderful food, or a notable wine with your meal (or all of the above!) you may want to consider heading their way on Wednesday June 10th at about 6.3opm to celebrate with them.  After all, they’ve been providing Kits with comfy French fare as owners for the part 4 years. That deserves a pat on the back, don’t you think?

Ticket’s $25 per person

Included - Hors d’oeuvres will flow all night,
unlimited Pomme Frites and as a special one night feature,
all wines and feature cocktails at just $5 a glass

FEATURING SPECIAL GUEST
JUNO AWARD WINNER JIM BYRNES

Reserve by telephone with a credit card at 604-732-8811
or purchase in advance at the door

The Smoking Dog French Bistro 1889 West 1st Ave 604.732.8811 www.thesmokingdog.com

My two favorite things about Summer, besides the sun itself: barbecued anything and strawberries. Without a doubt. No question. End of discussion. There is something pleasant about my childhood that comes screaming back to me like that scene in Ratatouille when the evil food critic Anton Ego tries Remy/Linguini’s ratatouille for the first time; in a split second any stresses, all time constraints and my adult responsibilities just fly right out the window. I’m a kid again. I love it.

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Did you know there exists a fraternity of cheese experts? People who have dedicated their life to learning all they can about cheese? People who vow to strengthen the world of cheese? Well there is, and they are a pretty dedicated bunch of folks.

They are called the Guilde de Fromagers. Based in Paris, France, and founded in 1969 in order to uphold the cultural and historical significance of quality cheesemaking they came to Les Amis du Fromage in order to induct many new cheese experts from Vancouver, the Okanagan and Calgary, including the folks from Les Amis, food&wine editor/radio host Jurgen Gothe and the Vancouver Courier’s Tim Pawsey.  You can read more about it on the Les Amis blog. Congrats to you all!

Guilde members with inductees Joe, Alice and Allison of Les Amis du Fromage

Alice and the kitchen team from Au Petite Chavignol. That's interviewee and fellow food blogger Owen Lightly on the left.

It was awesome to witness to the inductions, and we were treated to a great lunch (with wine!) afterward at their new restaurant next door, Au Petite Chavignol. Delicious pate, a German Alsace that was so incredibly yummy, and a lively, excited crowd.

Thank you Joe, Alice and Allison!

In my continued attempt to grow my own food I’m a few weeks in and things are moving right along.  My roma and beefsteak tomatoes are still inside, soaking up the sun on a high windowsill; I’m unsure if it’s warm enough to move them outside just yet. However others have not held back; maybe I’m being too cautious?

my neighbours tomato plants in cages.

flowers and herbs and veggies...oh my.

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This week a welcoming round of applause goes out to a new client: La Petite Souris. La Petite Souris and chocolatier Amber work hard to create fairly traded and delicious chocolate, with may of the ingredients coming from local suppliers. Hailing from the Sunshine Coast, Amber’s chocolates are easy to order through her website for any special occasion, or even if it’s a Tuesday and you’re craving chocolate, because we all need a continuous supply of chocolate in our lives, don’t you agree?

Considering the late 19th century/early 20th century Arts & Crafts movement designer William Morris, Amber’s No.1 inspiration, we decided to shoot her chocolate with two goals in mind:

1. simple photos with minimal styling and props to work with any Morris-style patterned backgrounds she might use in future print or web promotions
2. rich, saturated colours; luxurious feeling

Yes, we did get to eat the chocolate after the shoot, and yes it was superbly deelish. Thanks Amber!

Thanks to 4 willing participants, 1 very large delivery truck, and 9 cubic yards of soil (thanks to Johannas from Yardworks), Dirt Day finally arrived! (If you have no idea what I’m talking about, go here first, and then here and then here).

Last Friday…let me qualify that and try again….At 7am last Friday an extremely large dump truck arrived at our building filled with a ridiculous amount of Rainforest soil (75% organic compost, 25% sand and a dash of peat for good measure). Within seconds it was dumped in a pile larger than an averaged size car, and we shoveled it. Shoveled it into our 6 garden beds, for the next 5 hours.

7.10am - let the shoveling begin!

7.40am - the first few loads hit the beds.

8.25am - Norman the Schnoodle, helping. Ok not really, more like trying to stay out of the way.

Since we were dealing with serious blackberry roots in this whole garden area, a few people decided to lay down cardboard as a barrier (below), apparently this should kill the remaining roots, and is more eco friendly than laying down thick, black plastic which was also recommended to us.

cardboad first, then soil.

almost 10am - doesn't look like much progress, but we started at the far beds. 2 full, 4 to go!

A few others tried out a thick layer of newspaper; specifically The Georgia Straights from the previous week.

With a break for lunch, we were finished shortly after 1pm, and yes, I had a nap that afternoon. I was beat. But the upcoming week is when the real fun begins, and I can’t wait. Stay tuned!

The Oliver Osoyoos wine region is  hosting their 2nd Annual Kitchen Party May 26th at Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts on Granville Island in Vancouver.

Their thinking:

” We’ve noticed the best parties end up in the kitchen, so why not start there?”

We couldn’t agree more.

From 6:30pm-9:30pm you will get to sample limited releases and specialty wines from the regions’ 19 wineries including Dunham & Froese Estate,  Gehringer Brothers Estate, Road 13, and Stoneboat Vineyards to name just a few.  Local restaurants including our friends O’Douls, The Salmon House and Terra Breads, among many others, will complement the wines with their fabulous nibbles.

Tickets are available here, and they’re on sale already so you’d better hup to it!

There is this very cool thing happening in Vancouver. It involves food,  meeting new people, and getting out of your recurring routine. This very cool thing is called Social Bites, and Annika Reinhardt is the creative genius behind it. Oh, and not to mention the event planner, sponsorship coordinator, publicist, marketing manager, web designer, call center - basically she does it all and she’s awesome at it.

The premise behind Social Bites? Hobby chefs prepare their favourite savoury dish in their own kitchen. Each hobby chef welcomes four dinner guests in two “sittings”. The hobby chef spends about one hour with the first four guests, eating and mingling. Goodbyes are said and the next four guests are welcomed. Another exciting hour is spent with new friends before everyone heads off to the Social Bites Hot Spot location. Then the guests judge the dishes they ate, feedback is polled at the end of the evening, and the Social Bites Hobby Chef Award is presented to the hobby chef winner. Fun!

About Annika:
I love to entertain and cook. I hardly ever follow a recipe which maybe explains why baking is not my forté. I love sharing my food experiences with others because I find it inspiring. Having a great meal with great people is what I call “a perfect night out”. Since I eat a lot, I have to work out a lot, or at least I try to. I love running along the seawall, I snowboard, bike and recently started yoga.

Is there a certain food or dish that reminds you of home?
I was born and raised in Germany, about 2 ½ hours southwest of Berlin in a small village (+/- 700 people) called Reinsdorf. My mom is a great cook and the first dish she makes when I get home is Schnitzel. Very German, I know.

What is the ideal Annika meal?
I love to entertain; hence any meal that involves more people than just me is perfect. I actually like using a Raclette grill for dinner parties. It’s almost like a table BBQ with small pans used for melting Raclette cheese. I believe the French invented it, even though the Swiss will argue it was their idea. It’s great if you have 6-8 guests. The best part about it - it’s not that much work for the host as everything is cooked at the table and everyone can create their own meal.

Do you have a favourite spot for dining out?
I love Vijs. I am a total sucker for Indian food and I really like Vikram Vij and Meeru Dhalwala who own the restaurant. Vikram actually speaks German as he studied hotel management in Austria. My new favourite dish at Vijs is the cricket bread with roasted crickets on the side.

Is there one food that gives you the heebie jeebies?
Fish used to give me the heebie jeebies. I had a fish phobia for the longest time. I could not look at fish, swim with fish and certainly did not eat fish. My mom said that when I was 4 years old I already requested that my food was made in a different pan than the one she used to fry fish in. I got over my phobia about 2 years ago on a trip to Belize. First time I really snorkeled with fish and we even caught a barracuda. The locals breaded our catch and grilled it, simple but absolutely delicious. Since then, I have tried all kinds of white fish, mussels, prawns, shrimp etc. I still can’t do Salmon or Sushi but I am hopeful that I’ll eventually get there.

Knowing you and the idea behind Social Bites, what is you advice to others who may be hosting an upcoming dinner party?
I have three tips. They might be obvious but sometimes we forget about them:

1. Know who is coming for dinner. Don’t serve fish if one of your friends has a fish phobia (I am speaking from experience here!).
2. Make your dinner party entertaining. A chat around the dinner table is great but try to spice it up a bit with some fun food trivia questions, a foodie gift, or a quick educational “food speech”. Your guests will appreciate it and new dinner conversations are guaranteed to come out of it.
3. Always say thank you. Call or send an email to your friends after your dinner party and thank them for coming. Often dinner guests bring drinks or dishes to a dinner party and there is nothing better for them than hearing their contributions were appreciated.

** Annika is always looking for hobby chefs ready to cook up a storm at one of her Social Bites Dinner Excursions around town. If you love food and want to show off your cooking skills, please send a note to annika@socialbites.ca for more information!

Vancouver Island is my home. Yes, I currently reside in Vancouver (”the big smoke” as my Uncle calls it) but being born and raised on the Island will always be part of me, and I hope to end up back there one day. I also look for any excuse to go back, and when I heard about the Island Chefs’ Collaborative 2nd Annual Local Food Festival Defending Our Backyard I got excited. I’ll be shooting the event for the organization, which is happening at Fort Rodd Hill in Victoria on May 31st, just a few weeks away.

What to expect?

” Chefs from some of the finest restaurants on Vancouver Island are working together to raise public awareness of the importance of local food and supporting local farms. Defending Our Backyard celebrates Island food, farms and flavours.

Defending Our Backyard is aimed at the growing audience of people interested in food issues and increasingly seeking local food. In the first year, Defending Our Backyard brought together over 600 people. This year we’re expecting over 1,000 to attend.

We have expanded the event to feature more local food, information and activities. Defending Our Backyard focuses on personal experience and, in addition to sampling some tastes of the Island, participants will also learn about growing more of their own food, composting, the ethical harvest of seafood, local wineries and breweries, the work of food-related special interest groups and farmers’ markets.”

Anyone interested in tickets can call 1-250-888-2047 to buy over the phone and they will be held for pick up at the gate.

I’ll certainly post photos after the event, but I hope to see you there!