And just like that, we’ve put the wraps on our #Behindtheplexi project!

A month-long campaign featuring a raw photo essay that offered limited-edition prints of behind-the-scenes glimpses into 33 beloved local restaurants during the pandemic, all of the proceeds from Behind the Plexi will be dedicated to the creation of two new scholarships for restaurant workers who have experienced employment setbacks due to COVID-19 — one via the @bchospitalityfoundation and the other to the @chineserestaurantawards scholarship at Vancouver Community College.

The Chinese Restaurant Awards is also generously contributing $10 for every print sold from the collection of photos taken at Chinese and Taiwanese restaurants.

A HUGE thank you to Brad Roark of @oddfishrestaurant and @nookrestaurant for the initial inspiration, @smccomm for the heavy lifting, all four of the photographers who lent their time, talent and keen eyes to this project — @whentheyfindus, @hudsonny, @mayowill and @wadecomerphoto — and John Goldsmith and the team at @printmaker.studio (printmaker-studio.com) for providing printing at cost.

We sincerely appreciate all of you who checked it out, chipped in and helped us create a lasting legacy for Vancouver restaurant workers.

This experience has lifted us up and given us yet another glimpse into the true sense of community that exists here in the Vancouver restaurant industry and those who love it and how together, we are stronger when we support one another.

Stand tall. Stay strong. Show love. Support local.

What’s better than Margaritas?

SECRET-PATIO MARGARITAS!

Vancouver’s newest out-of-sight outdoor space might just take the cake when it comes to being the new cool kid on the industry block.

A recent piece by @hannamclean_ for @dishedvancouver details the secret new hotspot — called @chupitococteleria.

“This quaint outdoor cocktail bar is located behind @lataqueria in Gastown at 322 W Hastings Street. It’s an alley-facing, open-air space with all the charm and character you’d expect to find at a hole-in-the-wall neighbourhood gem in Mexico,” she writes.

“Chupito emphasizes seafood on its small-but-mighty menu. Shareable dishes like Tuna Tartare and Tostada De Camarón are the name of the game here.

When it comes to sips, this spot has a really fun program. From local BC wines and beers to Mexican brews, you’ll definitely find something to suit your mood up for order.

It’s now open Monday to Friday from 5 pm until late and on weekends from noon until late.”

Find the full article at @dishedvancouver.

📸: @runamen & @hannamclean_

Stand tall. Stay strong. Show love. Support local.

We are LOVING this recent piece by the über-talented multi-hyphenate @jackiekaiellis that was just published in @dishedvancouver.

In it, Jackie details the life of her grandfather and his culinary journey from a small town in Shandong, China to Hong Kong, where he and his wife opened his own bakery and restaurant and unknowingly served as Jackie’s inspiration on her own career path.

When Jackie’s grandmother moved to Vancouver to be with her children, she would serve the same dishes they both made in their Hong Kong restaurant.

“It’s truer than we think, that we are what we eat,” she writes. “Because everything I’ve eaten, every new dish, every celebration around a table, every bowl of long noodles in black bean sauce, has formed who I am. In fact, everything my grandfather had eaten, and my grandmother, and their grandparents has as well, I’m sure. Their meals are footsteps that carried me to where I stand. Their dishes have become mile markers on this road that I find myself on. And so it is with the food I have cooked and shared with others, whether at my own dinner table, or at the bakery. I’m sure that I have placed a marker on someone else’s path at some point too.

“But let us not miss the most crucial part of this equation: that this, this Canadian culture, this Canadian food is created only through the sharing of it. Let us cook and plant markers on each other’s roads, create new roads to explore, roads that lead us to delicious meals together.”

An inspirational read from an inspirational pastry chef, entrepreneur, author and homegrown success story.

Read the full piece at the link in our bio 👆above.

Stand tall. Stay strong. Show love. Support local.