September 15, 2021
12:00 – 3:00 PST
CHEFS’ TABLE SOCIETY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
PRESENTS
A VIRTUAL HOSPITALITY CONFERENCE
EVENT IS FREE
2022 to be an in-person event in Pemberton
About Cooks Camp:
COOKSCAMP is an annual event to both celebrate and transform the hospitality industry in Canada. Participants can exchange knowledge and share camaraderie essential to the sustainability of our craft. COOKSCAMP is brought to you by Chefs’ Table Society of BC in support of its upcoming legacy project, the CTS Culinary Library.
Itinerary:
- Welcome & Opening Remarks from Hosts
Mijune Pak and Chef Robert BelchamSponsored by Two Rivers Specialty Meats
- Mind the Bar – The “Life Works App”
Chef Johnny BridgeSponsored by Knifewear
- Business Development, Community Building, Bread and Butter Collective
Calen McNeilSponsored by GFS
- How to Publish a Cookbook, a conversation of two paths
Julie Van Rosendaal and Robert McCulloughSponsored by Wickaninnish Inn and The Pointe Restaurant
Welcome & Opening Remarks from Hosts
MIJUNE PAK is an international food and travel personality, founder of FollowMeFoodie.com and resident judge on Top Chef Canada and Iron Chef Canada. As an advocate for culinary tourism, The Sunday Times named her one of the “World’s Most Extreme Foodies”. Mijune also judges The Canadian Grand Prix New Product Awards, Bocuse d’Or Canada National Selections, Air Canada’s enRoute Best New Restaurants, Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants, Taste Canada Awards, BC Product of the Year Awards, Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards, Hawksworth Young Chef Scholarship, and many other notable awards.
ROBERT BELCHAM, host of COOKSCAMP – the Mise-en-Place Podcast and past president of Chefs’ Table Society of BC. Robert was recognized as one of Vancouver’s leading chefs when he was awarded Chef of the Year at the 2009 Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards. Credited by judges as producing “some of the best food this city has seen,” he wins high praise from his peers, the industry and his guests. As a young chef, he received the opportunity of a lifetime when Chef Thomas Keller offered him a Chef de Partie position at the world-renowned French Laundry. In 2002, Robert came back to BC to C restaurant, where he rose to the challenge of running one of the country’s finest seafood restaurants. Later, Chef Belcham worked as Chef Consultant at Nu. Robert has since opened a string of his own highly regarded restaurants. His first, the award-winning Fuel Restaurant in 2007—which rebranded as Refuel Restaurant & Bar in December 2009—and opened his second venture, Campagnolo Restaurant in 2008, followed by Campagnolo ROMA in 2011. Most recently opened Popina Canteen and Popina Cantina. Robert continues to source quality regional products and animals from organic and free-run farms.
JOHNNY BRIDGE is a West Coast cook with 2 decades of food industry experience, now residing in the kitchens of the University of British Colombia as Sous Chef. Chasing ‘Plant Forward’ menus and sustainable ocean resource friendly practices in kitchens is his passion but he believes the most defining resource throughout the industry is the wellness of those who work it. Johnny pushes “Unconditional Positive Regard” as the new norm in the kitchens at the University, his catering business and all his ventures. He roots his position with Mind The Bar Canada in trying to nurture a new culture that can heal our industry amidst the damaging recent years and in shifting the focus to the future where our teams can ‘thrive’ beyond just ‘trying to survive’.Business Development, Community Building, Bread and Butter Collective
CALEN MCNEIL is the co-owner of Big Wheel Burger and Zambri’s restaurants on Vancouver Island. Primarily on the business side of the organization Calen has always understood the connection between happy employees, community, environment and business success. All of their group of restaurants have carbon neutral since 2012, Calen and the team are now moving towards paying living wages with benefits and they started the Big Wheel Community Foundation in order to give back to those in need.
“ A company can only be as strong as the community it serves”
Calen has leaned into this statement and when the Pandemic hit was raising funds for the foundation to give back to the community. Over the last 18 months, the foundation has raised and donated over $160,000 in a program that saw staff, suppliers and customers donate funds that were matched by Big Wheel Burger and donated to help those most in need.
At the same time, having the most profitable year in Big Wheel Burgers 10 year history. The traditional business model can be done differently.
Calen most recently co-founded the Bread and Butter Collective to help other hospitality based business owners to collaborate and learn from each other creating a stronger industry coming out of the Covid-19 crisis.
Calen and his Co-Host Sam Jones of 2% Jazz can be heard discussing issues related too hospitality at breadandbuttercollective.com/podcast
How to Publish a Cookbook, a conversation of two paths
JULIE VAN ROSENDAAL is the Calgary-based author of eleven best-selling cookbooks. She has been the food columnist on the Calgary Eyeopener on CBC Radio One for over 15 years, is the contributing food editor for the Globe and Mail, and for the past twenty years has been a freelance food writer and columnist for other publications across Canada. Julie teaches, speaks and cooks at culinary schools and events across the country, and has a very engaged audience on her social media channels and website, Dinner with Julie.
ROBERT McCULLOUGH is Publisher of Vancouver-based Appetite by Random House. He has a carefully curated list of bestselling and award-winning food, drink, health, and lifestyle titles, which includes authors such as Yotam Ottolenghi, Nigella Lawson, Deb Perelman, Sarah Britton, Rosie Daykin, Lidia Bastianich, Anna Olson, Mimi Thorisson, Eric Ripert,Jackie Kai Ellis, Ricardo Larrivée, and Bill Buford. He is responsible for many Canadian restaurant based cookbooks including Burdock and Co, Maenam, Sobo, Joe Beef, Hawksworth, Afrim Pristine, Anthony Rose, and Mandy’s Gourmet Salads and many others. This fall will see the publishing of Vancouver’s Acorn cookbook.
The Elusive Quest for Work Life Balance
CHEF JANE YOUNG- Chef Jane, owner and operator of Lift Breakfast Bakery along with partner Fraser, have taken the North Vancouver brunch scene by storm and they are now venturing into Kitsilano.
Jane has deep roots in the lower mainland, having been born and raised in Richmond. She credits her love for cooking and baking to times spent in the kitchen with her mom and nanna. Despite her departure from the kitchen while getting her degree in Geography and History, she eventually yielded to her true passion and attended the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts, where she graduated with honors and aims to prove that women in the kitchen were not destined for a career in Garde Manger or pastry. Her career all-but debunks that myth, having worked across the country at: Inn at Bay Fortune (PEI), Wickaninnish Inn (Tofino), Blackrock Oceanfront Resort (Ucluelet), Nita Lake Lodge (Whistler), Chambar (Vancouver) and, of course, Arzak and El Bulli in Spain (more on the next page).
Away from the kitchen Jane has a great appreciation for exploring her BC back yard and experiencing other food cultures from around the world.
The Importance of Mentorship and the Sustainability of the Cook
CHEF ROBERTCLARK C.M. – Sensitive to the delicate connections between quality, sustainability and market demands that surround the seafood industry, Chef Rob Clark believes that the integrity of a product is the foundation on which a chef builds his reputation. To that end, he has been instrumental as the founding chef partner in Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Wise program and in the creation of the annual Spot Prawn Festival in Vancouver. In 1998, Rob accepted the position of Executive Chef of C Restaurant and his leadership in the kitchen was the key to the restaurant’s success in becoming an award-winning, critically-acclaimed dining destination in Canada.
For his commitment to sustainable food systems, he was awarded: 2011- Seafood Champion Award, 2013, the Aquarium’s Murray A. Newman Award for Significant Achievement in Aquatic Conservation, and in 2019, Rob became a member of the Order Of Canada.
A Practical Guide to Media Training
CHEF ANGUS AN An is one of Vancouver’s most influential chef-restaurateurs, with a slate of seven restaurants and eateries in his restaurant family: Fat Mao Noodles, Freebird Chicken Shack, Longtail Kitchen, Maenam, Popina Canteen, Popina Cantina, and Sen Pad Thai.
Chef Angus’s flagship restaurant, Maenam, has received many local and international accolades, among them 2016 Restaurant of the Year (Vancouver magazine) and 2018’s Top 25 Restaurants in Canada (En Route magazine), as well as being named one of Zagat’s Top 200 restaurants in the world. Chef Angus has also been honoured with two prestigious invitations to showcase his cooking at world renowned James Beard House. In May 2020, Chef Angus published his first cookbook, Maenam: A Fresh Approach to Thai Cooking. A flavour-driven chef, Angus creates dishes that are rooted in impeccable technique. His combined fine arts and French culinary training give him a unique perspective on cooking as a balance of art and science, resulting in recipes that seamlessly blend tradition, innovation, and presentation.
Sponsors
Club House for Chefs
Club House for Chefs brings you Chef insider connections, menu and flavour solutions and quality products from McCormick Canada’s Food Service Division. Providing unrivaled solutions for the distinct needs of professional foodservice with its Club House®, Lawry’s®, Billy Bee®, Old Bay®, Keen’s® SupHerb® Hy’s® Thai Kitchen® French’s® Frank’s Red Hot® and Cattlemen’s® products.
Operators and chefs know and trust Club House for Chefs to provide consistent individualized recipes, innovative menus, high-quality products and flavour solutions.
At Club House for Chefs, we bring passion to flavour. It is our mission to inspire chefs and operators with a diverse portfolio of ingredients that preserve the excitement in composing their very best dishes.
From Club House, to you, for your kitchen.
Since 1883, Club House has made good food taste great.
Consumers, retail outlets, and food service businesses all depend on Club House for spices, herbs, seasoning blends, extracts, food colours, sauce mixes and other flavourful products. Millions of home cooks and professional chefs across Canada consider Club House products to be essential for their kitchens.
Club House is the largest and most significant brand for London, Ontario-based McCormick Canada, a wholly-owned subsidiary of McCormick & Company, Inc., a global leader in the manufacture, marketing and distribution of spices, seasonings and flavours to the entire food industry.
Club House traces its roots back to 1883, when it was founded in London, Ontario. Gorman, Dyson & Company started the Club House brand in the coffee business, and within a few years added spices, extracts and baking powder to their product line. Spanish Olives were introduced in 1890, and by 1905, Club House was the largest olive packer in the British Empire.
In 1959, the company was purchased by McCormick & Company, and the name changed to Club House Foods Ltd.
Other milestones in the Club House brand evolution include the adoption of its unique pedestal spice bottle in 1976, and in 1990, the launch of a Canadian spice icon, Club House La Grille Montreal Steak Spice, which became an instant hit.
Club House for Chefs is McCormick Canada’s Food Service Division. It was established in 1982, and within the next two decades, its products were available to every food service operator nationally.
The familiar Club House PET container was launched in 1985. With its easy grip, flip top cap and see-through plastic packaging, it was a revolution in the marketplace and ideal for food service kitchens. Also in 1985, a Food Service broker sales network was established to service food distributors nationally.
Today, Club House is recognized as Canada’s national leading brand of a wide variety of high-quality Spices, Herbs, Seasoning Blends, Extracts, Food Colours and Sauce Mixes.
Gordon Food Services
For over 115 years, we’ve delivered the excellence, expertise, and quality products our customers need to design successful food operations and experiences. We’ve grown to become the largest family operated distributor in North America by upholding the same business approach since 1897—being passionately committed to the people we serve. We believe in the power of good food—to bring people together and make moments special. Every product, every order and every decision we make is inspired by the people on the other side of the plate. https://www.gfs.ca/
Knifewear
Knifewear has been taking the suck out of cooking since 2007. Our founder, and many of our staff, are exchefs and front end staff who support mental wellness in the industry we love. With shops in Calgary, Vancouver, Ottawa, Edmonton, and everywhere else at Knifewear.com it’s easy find the Japanese kitchen knife that rocks your world. https://knifewear.com/
Organic Ocean Seafood Inc.
Organic Ocean was established by fishers who recognized that sustainable livelihoods rely upon sustainable fisheries. Driven by the growing demand for responsibly sourced seafood, Organic Ocean has evolved into a community of seafood producers — traditional, modern, and indigenous — all dedicated to ecosystem and social stewardship and sharing an ethos built upon solving the ocean’s environmental challenges and protecting its productive capacity.
Widely acknowledged as a supply chain innovator, Organic Ocean was the first seafood provider in the world to adopt DNA certification of authenticity to address the mislabeling of seafood. On the strength of trust, knowledge and service, and the provision of extraordinarily high-quality seafood, Organic Ocean has gained a following of the most discriminating customers, the leading chefs. Organic Ocean seafood is now supplied to restaurants, hotels and retailers throughout North America and Southeast Asia which realize that by making socially responsible seafood choices and selecting sustainable options for the good of our oceans, they are also obtaining the best ingredients. Organic Ocean also offers a direct-to-consumer on-line fish market where home chefs have access to the same seafood that top chefs around the world already know and love.
Organic Ocean is a Certified B Corporation and a member of 1% for the Planet through which it supports wild salmon enhancement and environmental rehabilitation work. https://organicocean.com/
Two River Meats
For over a decade, Two Rivers has been one of B.C.’s foremost meat experts — proudly supplying restaurants, retailers, chefs and everyone in between. Like a bridge between the farm and the fork — we blend modern innovations, traditional techniques and incredible local flavours. We process and produce a wide range of unique flavour profiles and products — including dozens of types of sausages, an incredible dry-aged beef program, and of course, our premium line of charcuterie, all while using only ethically and sustainably raised products from like-minded farms across BC and Alberta. https://tworiversmeats.ca/
Russell Hendrix
Russell Hendrix is first in foodservice equipment and supplies. We are the largest dealer in Canada, with more than half a century of experience in the food equipment industry. Our complete product offering in both equipment and smallwares, with the combination of our design, sales, installation, custom fabrication, and parts and service departments allow us to handle all of your foodservice needs. Visit Russell Hendrix
Wickaninnish Inn and The Pointe Restaurant
Celebrating 25 years of Rustic Elegance on Natures Edge, the award winning Wickaninnish Inn, a Relais & Châteaux property known for delivering the highest standards in hospitality, overlooks the Pacific Ocean from a rocky point on Vancouver Island’s rugged west coast, near the eclectic town of Tofino and Pacific Rim National Park. The sole resort on Chesterman Beach, Tofino’s longest at 2.5km/1.5mi, the Inn is home to refined West Coast cuisine at The Pointe Restaurant.
Since 1996, The Pointe Restaurant has been working to enhance the brilliance of Canadian cuisine with a focus on locally sourced, high-quality ingredients and exceptionally high standards. Made from seasonal harvests and ingredients provided from local and sustainable sources, the food is fresh, flavourful and inspired. The Pointe team merge rich culinary skills with the bounty and beauty of where we they live to satisfy appetites and cultivate tastes guests never knew they craved.
“We are very fortunate to be able to look to the ocean and forest that surround us, and the wealth of farms on Vancouver Island to find inspiration for our cuisine. Our menus evolve gradually within each season, with a new tasting menu each week, celebrating ingredients that are at their peak for what feels like only a moment.” – Chef Carmen Ingham
