Celebrity chef travelling to Tokyo to offer taste of Alberta
Calgary celebrity chef Darren Maclean will showcase Alberta and British Columbia culinary treats at an exclusive event in Tokyo this weekend.
Maclean, a finalist on the Netflix cooking competition The Final Table, will partner with his friend and colleague Yoshihiro Narisawa, a Japanese Michelin star chef, to present Forest Exchange, a Culinary Celebration of Nature, Sustainability and Recovery.
Maclean met Narisawa seven years ago on a trip to Japan. Since then, the two have shared their philosophies of foraging and sustainability.
“I have been fortunate to have many menu influences and mentors, but none have affected my career path or philosophy as much as Yoshihiro Narisawa,” Maclean said in a news release. “Over the years, our ideas and conversations about sustainability and the planet always lead us back to the forests.”
Narisawa is one of Japan’s most revered chefs who calls his cuisine “innovative Satoyama,” which reflects part of a cultural philosophy to take only the most necessary resources from the earth.
His main restaurant, Narisawa, has two Michelin stars and has been named one of the top 50 restaurants in the world.
The two-part dining event begins Sunday night with Celebration of the Forest and features sampling plates, B.C. wines and cocktails that use wild foraged botanicals from Japan and Canada.
The following evening, ticket holders to Exploration of the Forest will be served an eight-course meal, including dishes made with Alberta-raised Sunterra pork and Canadian-raised beef.
“We are pleased to have the opportunity to support the Forest Exchange event with the supply of Sunterra pork from our farms in Alberta, Canada,” Ray Price, president of Sunterra Group, said in a news release. “It looks like an exciting format and we are looking forward to seeing the chefs’ creations showcasing the best of Canada and Japan.”
Both events will be held at Bees Bar by Narisawa in Tokyo. There are 80 tickets available for the first event and only 20 patrons will get to enjoy the eight-course meal the following night.
Maclean and Narisawa will craft dishes using both their own ingredients and the ingredients of the other’s country.
In addition to being a finalist in The Final Table, Maclean is owner and chef at Shokunin in Calgary, which has been named one of Canada’s top 50 restaurants. He recently opened Greenfish, also in Calgary, which serves high-end sushi made with sustainably harvested fish.