The 6th Annual Chowder Chowdown: A Celebration of Sustainability
On November 20 2013, 13 top Ocean Wise
chefs from BC competed in the 6th annual Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Wise Chowder Chowdown by presenting their best sustainable seafood chowders to a crowd of 600 and a panel of celebrity judges. Chef Chris Whittaker of Forage was crowned 2013 Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Wise Chowder Chowdown Champion in Vancouver, for the second year in a row, with his creamy spot prawn and chicharon chowder. The crowd favourite was Ned Bell, of Yew Restaurant + Bar’s, chowder of humpback shrimp, pink peppercorn cream and BC cranberry/apple relish.
Some highlights from the evening:
Vietnamese Clams and Lingcod Chowder with Smoked Corn (Chef Kevin Benes from Savoury Chef)
Maple Smoked Ocean Wise Sablefish and Tomato Chowder (Executive Chef Aleks Kornat from Manhattan Restaurant)
Humboldt Squid and Smoked Octopus Chowder (Executive Chef Dana Hauser from Heron’s West Coast Kitchen)
BC Dungeness Crab, Lingcod and Smoked Bacon Chowder (Chef Hiro Amano from Coast Restaurant)
Salt Spring Coffee was at the Chowder Chowdown, serving coffee, and as part of our new partnership with the Vancouver Aquarium, we will be their exclusive supplier of coffee, cocoa, tea and chai products for the next six years. For us, this partnership is a true alignment of like-minded, local organizations who share similar values around sustainability and community. The Vancouver Aquarium is a self-supporting, non-profit society dedicated to effecting the conservation of aquatic life through display, communication, public programming and education, research and direct action. Their promise to engage, amaze, and inspire is evident in their initiatives like Ocean Wise, the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, and events like the Chowder Chowdown, Toast to the Coast, and Dreamnight (a special opportunity for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families to visit the Aquarium).
The Aquarium’s influential Ocean Wise program was created to educate and empower consumers about the issues surrounding sustainable seafood. Ocean Wise works directly with restaurants, markets, food services and suppliers ensuring that they have the most current scientific information regarding seafood and helping them make ocean-friendly buying decisions. The options are highlighted on their menus and display cases with the Ocean Wise symbol, making it easier for consumers to make sustainable seafood choices. The program embodies our values of supply chain transparency, and helps both businesses and consumers know more about the sourcing methods and ethics behind their seafood purchases.
The 2013 Chowder Chowdown was a complete success, and we’d like to thank the Vancouver Aquarium, the chefs, and the community who came out to the event. We’re already looking forward to next year’s creations!
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