Culinary Arts

What: Urchin Tank – Seaweed Challenge

When: Friday, November 24, 5 to 7:30 pm

Where: VIU’s Malaspina Theatre (Building 310), Nanaimo campus

Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) Urchin Tank is back this fall with five new student teams competing to see who has created the best fermented seaweed product.

French-inspired and set in a 19th century brick-and-beam building, L’Abattoir sprouted up among the cobblestones of Vancouver’s Gastown neighbourhood more than a decade ago.

The restaurant’s executive chef and owner is Lee Cooper, who graduated from VIU’s Culinary Arts program in 1997. The restaurant’s most recent accomplishment is making the Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list this year.

Only a small number of chefs worldwide have this particular designation.

VIU Culinary Arts Instructor Avi Sternberg is joining a small number of chefs from around the world who have successfully navigated a rigorous certification process to get his skills in Japanese cooking recognized.

What: Dine Out Nanaimo Festival, featuring VIU’s Discovery Room 

When: January 20 to February 5, 2023

Where: The Discovery Room full-service learning restaurant at VIU

Nanaimo, BC: The Discovery Room at Vancouver Island University (VIU) will be featured as a participant during the inaugural, multi-day food festival known as Dine Out Nanaimo.

VIU is the only Canadian institution offering the specialized certification, which will be embedded into existing Red Seal culinary programs.

Avi Sternberg still remembers the moment he entered a Japanese restaurant 20 years ago and was “awestruck by the movements” of the sushi chef working inside at the time.

“It was almost like a dance,” said the VIU Culinary Arts instructor.

The Birch Tree Café & Bistro gives culinary students hands-on training in a real restaurant.

After years of serving culinary creations at Brooks Secondary School, a move into a new space is proving to be a successful transition for Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) tiwšɛmawtxʷ (Powell River) campus Culinary Arts program.

Members of the Junior Culinary Olympic Team Canada and Team BC are hosting a reception and banquet-style dinner event.

Top chefs and apprentices from around the province and across the country are coming to VIU this month as part of their continuing path to the Olympics – the Culinary Olympics to be precise.