The Judges
They toil all year, eating at more spots than the average diner visits in a lifetime: here’s the all-star panel of gourmands that make up our esteemed judging panel.
Christina Burridge is the executive director of the BC Seafood Alliance. Sid Cross continues his lifelong passion for and pursuit of high-quality food and wine, and spends his time volunteering to help others. Joie Alvaro Kent is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in Best
Places Vancouver, Vancouver magazine, Montecristo and Nuvo. Gail Johnson is an award-winning print, web and broadcast journalist and a regular contributor to CBC Radio, the Georgia Straight, the Globe and Mail, Yahoo Canada and other outlets. Anya Levykh is a food, drink and travel writer who covers all things ingestible. She also edits—and voraciously collects—cookbooks. Lee Man is a regular contributor to Vancouver magazine and is a founding judge for the Chinese Restaurant Awards.
Brendon Mathews is a freelance food writer with expertise in Chinese cuisine and ajudge of the Chinese Restaurant Awards. Heather Odendaal is a Whistler-based wine sales and marketing professional who has been an active part of the local hospitality industry for over 14 years. Mijune Pak is the founder of Follow Me Foodie.com, a FoodNetwork Canada personality and resident judge on Top Chef Canada. Tim Pawsey eats, drinks, writes and shoots at Hiredbelly.com; for
Where, Quench, Taste andothers; and on Instagram and Twitter @hiredbelly. Treve Ring is a wine writer, judge, traveller and geek; when not tasting at the Trevehouse, she can be found on a plane or in a vineyard. Jennifer Schell is the author of cookbook series The Butcher, The Baker,
The Wine and Cheese Maker, aformer editor of Food and Wine Trails magazine, co-founder of Garagiste North Wine Festivals and co-proprietor of Schell Wines. Mia
Stainsby is the Postmedia Network restaurant critic for the Vancouver Sun and Vancouver Province. Iris Yim is an experienced editor who has worked in both Hong Kong and Vancouver. She writes travel and gourmet articles for different Chinese magazines and blogs in Vancouver, including EliteGen, AutoNerve, West Canada Weekly and BCbay.com on a regular basis.
BEST NEW DESIGN JUDGES
Marianne Amodio is a registered, LEED-accredited architect and is principal of Marianne Amodio Architecture Studio. She holds a masters degree of architecture (honours) from the University of Manitoba. Denise Ashmore, founder of Project 22 Design, worked on a wide range of retail and hospitality projects in Toronto and Australia. She settled in Vancouver over 14 years ago to focus closely on residential and hospitality design. Martin Tessler is an award-winning architectural photographer whose work has been published in Western Living, Azure and the NewYork Times.