LADIES COOK FOR A CAUSE
Chefs will create a feast for cancer fundraiser
For Isabel Chung, food is filled with happy memories.
“As a child I remember weekends in the kitchen with my mom and dad as a real treat,” she recalls. “My mother had a great love for baking, and often on Sunday afternoons she and I would work together on some nostalgic treat from her childhood in Singapore.
“I fondly think of those days even 20 years after losing my mother to cancer. Those were the days that first sparked my interest in the kitchen, the ones that gave me my thirst to learn more.”
Fast forward to today, and Chung works to create culinary creations worthy of new memories as the executive chef at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler.
But, her time in the kitchen hasn’t always been easy.
As a woman working in the culinary industry, she’s faced her fair share of struggles.
“I’d like to say no, but I think that we all face challenges in this industry,” she says.
“Each culinarian’s journey is a deeply personal one. For me, I think that perception plays a large role in success, I have been very lucky — privileged — to have many great role models and strong supporters in my journey. However, I think that pre-conceived ideas of how one might behave because of gender stereotypes has been something that I have really noticed as I form relationships with suppliers, colleagues and others.”
These experiences, coupled with the death of her mother, were just two of the reasons Chung jumped at the opportunity to collaborate with a pool of talented women for the upcoming ELLEvate TogetHER dinner, happening during the Cornucopia festival in Whistler.
“It is about the gathering of some great chefs, a winemaker and sommeliers in recognition of one of the most heartbreaking challenges that most of us will face in this lifetime,” Chung says of the dinner, which will also feature dishes from Top Chef Canada all-star winner Nicole Gomes and Bearfoot Bistro executive chef Melissa Craig.
“(It is) a coming together of tremendous talent and friends that lets us take you on a culinary journey while we pay homage to those that we love. It’s about lifting other women in the hospitality industry, whether they’re seasoned or just starting out.”
Quails’ Gate winemaker Nikki Callaway will be present, alongside two top B.C. sommeliers — Maryke Vandermarel from Bearfoot Bistro, and Jill Spoor from Fairmont Pacific Rim.
Full proceeds from the ticketed dinner will go to the Canadian Cancer Society. The meal evening features five courses with a wine pairing, including Pemberton beets with walnut butter, cardamom, buckwheat and black currant by Craig and apprentice Marianne Lafleur; Alberta potato gnocchi with organic agria, preserved lemon, goat ricotta, chanterelles and pancetta by Gomes and apprentice Ashley Sparks; and wild salmon and pork belly with organic ocean ivory salmon, cauliflower, caviar, buttered scallop broth and pickled tiny vegetables by Chung.
“Each of these dishes is something that the chef or apprentice has worked on and speaks to them,” says Chung. “For me, the pork belly and salmon dish is a reflection of my heritage and where I am today in equal part — pork being a cornerstone of Chinese cuisine, salmon representing the Pacific Northwest and my first fishing trip with my family. It brings me comfort to pay homage to those that guided me in the very early days of my culinary dream.”
In addition to crafting delicious eats and supporting the battle against cancer, Chung is looking forward to working closely with these talented creators.
“It gives us the opportunity to share ideas, to work together in the spirit of giving back to the community, to raise the bar and to ensure that there is a future, one where maybe the world is a brighter place,” she says.