Hospitality

About Town: Dine Out Vancouver Festival’s Great Big Taste event

The Dine Out Vancouver Festival's Great Big Taste takes over Rocky Mountaineer Station as the launch event for Dine Out Vancouver from January 17 to February 2

By Paul Duchart /

Credit: Paul Duchart
Members of the Tourism Vancouver team: Colin Pelech, assistant, membership; Lucas Pavan, manager, membership, and Dine Out Vancouver Festival producer; Nastassja Dorotich, membership specialist; and Paul Sontz, manager, cultural tourism and Tickets Tonight

The Dine Out Vancouver Festival’s Great Big Taste event attracted more than 300 guests to celebrate the launch of the Tourism Vancouver celebration’s 18th season, from January 17 to February 2. At the Rocky Mountaineer Station, guests enjoyed tasting select B.C. VQA wines, craft beer and spirits paired with Vancouver’s finest food. Twenty restaurants and 30 wine, beer and spirits producers and distributors took part.

All proceeds from the gathering went to the BC Hospitality Foundation (BCHF), which supports workers facing financial crisis due to health-related causes, as well as offering scholarships to foster the next generation of industry leaders. Since 2008, the BCHF has helped more than 230 people by granting some $919,000 to beneficiaries, along with $251,000 to 188 scholarship applicants.

Dine Out Vancouver brings together hundreds of chefs, 200-plus restaurants, countless wineries, craft breweries, distilleries, vendors, producers, hotels and more for 17 days of dining, food-forward events and other experiences showcasing the city’s best flavours.

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Jessica Luongo, Blue Grouse estate winery; and Debbie Etsell, marketing coordinator, Singletree Winery 

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Members of the Wedgewood Hotel & Spa team: Edward Sweetman, food and beverage manager; Montgomery Lau, executive chef, Bacchus Restaurant & Lounge; Glenn Eleiter, general manager; and Louis Loranger, director of sales, marketing and PR

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Lucas Pavan, manager, membership, Tourism Vancouver, and producer, Dine Out Vancouver Festival, speaks to guests at the media preview before visiting Dine Out restaurants

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From The Arbour: Paul McCloskey, co-owner; Patrick Hancock, co-chef; and Jo Hognestad, co-chef

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Bill Sanford, business development manager, Appellation Wine Marketing; and Danielle Dowd, territory manager, Appellation

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From Bombay Kitchen and Bar: Lalit Ashwan, owner and chef; Parul, server; and Sharma Prabhakar Duggal, owner and chef

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Duke Stevenson, sales agent, Bordertown Vineyards and Estate Winery; and Paul Jordan, B.C. sales manager, Bordertown

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Lucas Pavan, manager, membership, Tourism Vancouver, and producer, Dine Out Vancouver Festival; Kasey Wilson, host and executive producer, B.C. Food and Wine Radio; and Dennis Peckham, executive chef, Notch8 Restaurant & Bar

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From Wildebeest: Devon Smith, GM; Ruth Lappin, chef de partie; and Ian McHale, head chef

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Paella Guys chefs Shay Kelly and Javier Blanc

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From Smoke & Bones: Ben Moussadji, head chef; and Keenan Patten, chef de partie

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Karen Worth, props, IATSE Local 891; and Nicky Wille, sales coordinator, Long View Systems 

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From The Ellis: Sonnet and Ashwani Dabas, chef

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The Holy Crab’s Dine Out menu offering

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Adrian Nate, second cook chef, Notch8 Restaurant & Bar, carves up some beef

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Hot smoked hon-shimeji mushroom with vegetarian lentil cassoulet, chickpea fritter, roasted parsnip, fried cauliflower and romesco sauce from Bacchus Restaurant & Lounge’s Dine Out menu

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Smoked confit steelhead salmon with roasted carrots and Brussels sprouts, sweet potato purée and maple orange syrup from Bacchus Restaurant & Lounge’s Dine Out menu 

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White wine–braised veal breast with gnocchi romaine, charred broccolini and apricot mostarda from Bacchus Restaurant & Lounge’s Dine Out menu

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Truffle tiramisu, espresso anglaise and crisp meringue from Bacchus Restaurant & Lounge’s Dine Out menu

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Bacchus Restaurant & Lounge’s Dine Out Black Forest Cake Bar: aerated chocolate, chantilly cream, cherry compote and chocolate soil

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Bacchus Restaurant & Lounge’s Dine Out menu

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Members of the Lyft Vancouver team: Derek Jang, Parisa Dolatyar and Douglas Jang