Joy of Feeding

Locally born and raised, Andrea Alridge is a graduate of Vancouver Community College where she began her career in culinary arts. While in school she tackled working full time at Raincity Grill, home of the 100 mile menu, where she quickly moved up the ranks to sous chef. It was there she learned the importance of cooking locally sourced ingredients. Following that she joined the esteemed brigade at CinCin Ristorante. While there she honed her skills, learned wood-fired cooking techniques and Italian cuisine.

She recently competed on Food Network’s Top Chef Canada where she flourished and earned her spot in the finale. Making an appearance on the show enabled her to showcase her heritage, something which is very quintessential to her becoming a Chef. Andrea has an eclectic background being of Filipino and Jamaican descent.

Andrea’s conscientious work over the years will now be leading the team at Osteria Savio Volpe as Head Chef, where she can showcase her true love of cooking Italian cuisine with an open fire.

Inspired by the desire to elevate the casual everyday dining from his hometown Manila, chef Alden Ong quickly realized his true passions were in food. After finishing culinary school, he spent time training at Restaurant André and Restaurant Guy Savoy in Singapore. He then arrived in Vancouver where he continued to develop his skills in the kitchens of CinCin Ristorante and Burdock & Co. In 2015, he joined Royal Dinette and took over as Head Chef in 2017. Today, he's the Head Chef of the Farmer's Apprentice and Grapes & Soda in Kitsilano. He is also the owner and pitmaster of Basta Barbecue. He continues to learn and teach valuable lessons in treating local products in respectful and creative ways. Alden is a true believer in removing ingredients from their ties to specific cuisines as long as they are respected and handled with the intent of showcasing their individual flavours.

Chefs Julian Bond and Robert Clark will be cooking in honour of Julian’s wife Angelina Froste, who passed away suddenly in October 2017. Angelina was an “off-reserve” member of Nlaka’pamux Interior Salish. She was part of Snappa peoples just outside of Ashcroft, BC and her favourite was when the fish ran and they were able to fish using their traditional sep-net, handmade by Angelina’s father. Julian and Angelina have four children. Twins Eliana and Pia will help dad and Robert cook and serve their mom’s Nlaka’pamux Interior Salish hot-smoked salmon on lightly dressed foraged greens.

For over a decade, Chef Andrea Carlson has left a resounding legacy on Vancouver’s dining scene. Her commitment to homegrown ingredients and active support of local food systems has led to strong relationships forged with farmers and growers, including previously unknown producers who have now caught the attention of chefs citywide.

Born and trained in British Columbia, Andrea studied organic farming and landscape design before making her mark on some of the best restaurants in Vancouver. The close connection between food and nature is a foundation of Andrea’s culinary philosophy, and she has become a driving force behind the city’s locavore movement.

As Chef / Owner at Burdock & Co, Bar Gobo and Harvest Community Foods, Andrea’s love for the land surfaces in organic, seasonal plates influenced by B.C.’s diverse environments. Her signature style of cooking – delicate, earthy and vibrant – captures the essence of farm-to-table dining and is a tangible reminder of her lasting impact and leadership within the culinary community.

Darren has been a part of Joy of Feeding since its inception in 2011. He has hosted home cooks first in the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts (PICA) and later in UBC Food Services kitchens. With some gentle guidance, he helped home cooks adjust their precious recipes for 6- 8 people to recipes for 700!

Darren’s passion for food began at an early age. Every morning a loaf of unsliced bologna and bread was left out for him to saw through and create his own haphazardly shaped meat and mustard sandwich. Fast forward a number of years where he achieved his Red Seal with Fairmont Hotels in Vancouver, various establishments in Singapore with Raffles Hotel Group and learned efficiency and systems with Cactus Club Cafe. Darren then settled into his role as Executive Culinary Chef at the PICA on Granville Island.

Wanting to give back to the industry, Darren sat on various ITA advisory committees, is a long time board member and current President of the Chefs’ Table Society of BC and was a part of the original Joy of Feeding steering committee, raising awareness and funds for the CSFS.

Darren is currently the Executive Sous Chef with UBC Food Services overseeing the Residence Dining program, and proudly working to bring local, sustainable and healthy options to students and staff. Darren is dad to 5 children, his oldest starting McGill university this year. He can’t remember the last bologna sandwich he ate.

"I was born on the island of Evia in Greece. When I was growing up in the village, the only daughter in a traditional Greek family, I had to learn to cook and help my mother with the house chores from a very young age. Together with my mother, we were making cheese, we were baking bread, we were cooking, we were preparing sweet pies and other desserts for special days and celebrations. I remember preparing a meal for my family all by myself when I was just eleven-and-a-half years old! I had made kokkinistό, Greek style beef stew in tomato sauce.

When I came to Canada I continued to cook, not only for my husband Tim and son Vassilis, but also to entertain the big extended family I found here, as well as our many friends. Most of our family and friends are Greeks and all the dishes I make are Greek, the food we used to have back on the island, a great antidote to our nostalgia for home.

Vassilis was brought up with homemade Greek food, prepared by both me but also by Tim, who is a great barbecuer and quite an experienced cook himself as he has been working in his family’s restaurants for years. With such upbringing, it was only natural for Vassilis to want to study at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts, from where he graduated in 2018 from the Grand Diploma Culinary and Baking & Pastry Arts Program.

Last February the longtime dream of our family came true when we opened our own restaurant in Kitsilano, Nostos Taverna. Nostos means “homecoming” in Greek. Since we couldn’t be in Greece, we thought we would bring part of Greece here. When people come to Nostos we want them to feel they are visiting us at our own home and taste authentic Greek food. It is Greek home-style cooking, the way my mother taught me, the way I have been feeding my family, the inspiration for my son’s culinary studies.

Portokalόpita and galaktoboureko are our family’s favourite desserts, the perfect treat offered on namedays, birthdays, and other celebrations. Enjoy!"

Chef Regina Lee was born and raised in Singapore. She moved to Vancouver with her family after globe-trotting as a marketeer in international consumer product goods in Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific for 20 years, expanding her palate at the same time. Chef Lee formalized her lifelong passion for cooking, baking and nourishing others with a dual diploma with distinction in both the Culinary Arts and Baking and Pastry Arts at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts (PICA) in Vancouver.

Her well-attended pop-up events include “Farm in the City” for the Vancouver Dine Out Festival and “Crazy Rich Feast” with the PICA. Chef Lee is the founder of Gaia Kitchen, a supplier of artisanal savoury and fruit pies.

Prior to this, Regina incorporated local BC produce and whole foods and created diverse healthy school meals (farm to school) for elementary school children. Chef Lee is a lifelong student in integrative nutrition and holistic health, applying her passion for good food and health as a health retreat chef for an international personalized health company. Regina believes in cooking and eating naturally with whole foods, with as much local and sustainable produce as possible - eating in balance and for one’s individual lifestyle and needs. Chef Lee is passionate about making a difference in her community through food and education.

Anton Lohvin was born in Kyiv, Ukraine and moved to Canada when he was 5 years old. His mother, Victoria, with a PhD in Business Administration, was a gourmet cook and dreamed of owning her little farm to table Ukrainian restaurant in Vancouver one day. Victoria was one of the original moms to participate in the first annual Joy of Feeding in 2011 and loved it so much that she participated a second time in 2015.

During the pandemic, Victoria was diagnosed with and passed away from cancer in 2021. In honour of his mother, of Ukraine and all of their family living there, Anton will prepare Ukrainian Kulish with his grandma, Victoria’s mother, who was Dean of Graduate Studies at University of Kyiv, and the original gourmet cook of the family!

Sarah is a proud Member of the Sayisi Dene First Nation in Northern Manitoba, as well as a chef trained at the International Culinary School at the Art Institute of Vancouver in 2016.

Sarah specializes in catering and health food. At Tradish she has created five Indigenous Plant Medicine Jams and an organic Bannock mix. Her vision is to bring traditional nourishment to urban Indigenous and non-Indigenous health conscious people, while supporting Indigenous food sovereignty.

One of Canada’s most accomplished chefs, Frank Pabst’s disciplined technique—earned in some of Europe’s finest kitchens—is matched to the West Coast’s abundant harvest of seafood.

Widely recognized for his creative impetus and leadership in responsible seafood practices, today Pabst leads Blue Water Cafe’s brigade of expert chefs in what has been called “one of North America’s finest seafood restaurants.”

Chef Pabst enjoyed positions in Michelin-starred restaurants throughout Germany and France, including La Becasse (Aachen), the Hotel Negresco (Cannes) and Restaurant de Bacon (Antibes).

Directing the kitchens at Blue Water Cafe since 2003, Pabst has consistently demonstrated excellence, both in the procurement of impeccably fresh, sustainable seafood (Blue Water Cafe is a founding member of the Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Wise program) and in the execution of its cookery, showcasing his trademark cooking ethic of “complexity without complication.”

Frank Pabst first met Meeru while in the mid 1990s—before any of them had children! Frank’s mom is from Czech Republic and his father is German, and Frank was born and raised in Germany. While he is a star at cooking French and Pacific Northwest cuisines at his restaurants, he loves to cook some of his favourite German dishes at home for his wife and twin daughters.

Jiwon has been working as Sous Chef at Burdock and Co for two years. She has worked mostly in Vancouver and spent a few years in Montreal in her nine years of culinary experience.

"Hello, my name is Dina! I’ve been cooking for as long as I can remember. Whether it be at home with my grandma, in my mom's restaurant or making kabab with my dad on the weekends. In 2010, I graduated from the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts and after working in commercial kitchens, I began sharing my passion for cooking on Instagram and Tiktok under the handle @nooshbydina.

My love of Persian culture, which is centred around cuisine, has been greatly influenced by my several trips back to Iran. I have the utmost respect for Persian food and I want to share this rich, varied cuisine with the entire world."

Vikram Vij has attended each Joy of Feeding since the beginning, but this will be his first time attending as a participant. Vikram’s mom was a home cook for the inaugural Joy of Feeding in 2011, featuring moms from around the world. She made Vikram’s favourite dish from childhood. This year, Vikram will be cooking with his daughter, Shanik!

They haggled over what to make — Shanik wanted the butter chicken schnitzel, but Vikram prevailed, and they will be making his favourite street food from when he was growing up — the Bombay Frankie. Vikram took Meeru and both daughters to his favourite Bombay Frankie stalls in Mumbai and has fond memories of eating them after school. He recalls eating so many that he would be too full for dinner. So what is the Bombay Frankie? It’s a vegetarian roll with spicy vegetables done in that special Bombay way.