BRIAN & CHRISTINA SKINNER
Chefs and owners, Frankie We Salute You, Kelowna
Back in 2013, it seemed like Brian Skinner had achieved practically every measure of success a young chef could dream of. A restaurant to call his own: a 48-seat, woodsy ode to modern dining called the Acorn. A line out the door every night at said restaurant. A Gold Medal Plates championship title to hang on the wall you-know-where. And he’d done it all with what, at the time, was a shocking twist: he was ( gasp!) vegetarian.
In 2020, even your aunt is calling herself “plant-forward,” but just a few years ago dining in the vegetarian and vegan world was considered synonymous with hippie food. Skinner, with his Michelin-level experience (including a stint at Noma), was revolutionary in his approach to all things veg: cook them so that omnivores will give a damn, too. That meant eschewing Tofurky dogs for more sophisticated fare that elevated humble, too-oft maligned vegetables to gourmet levels—think zucchini tagliatelle with cured mushrooms, or preserved lemon and artichoke paté. And in rolled the praise, the awards, the double-takes from meat lovers over platters of beer-battered haloumi.
The ensuing plant-based-dining revolution in Vancouver owes some serious thanks to Skinner’s pioneering—now, just down the street from Acorn, which Skinner sold in 2014, you’ll find the meat-free Chickpea, Meet on Main, and the Arbor, each one jam-packed every Friday night. But conquering the coast wasn’t the end of his culinary march: this past fall, the Pied Piper of PlantBased Dining, along with business-savvy wife Christina Skinner, took on a new challenge. The pair moved to the Okanagan and converted an old VW dealership into the hottest, just-so-happens-to-be-vegetarian-est dinner destination in Kelowna.
While the Acorn aimed for high-end West Coast modern fare, the Skinners’ Frankie We Salute You! (an homage to their respective grandfathers, a famous Canadian botanist and an avid gardener, each named Frank) offers clever but unfussy plant-based interpretations on more casual dishes, with the help of local, seasonal ingredients sourced right from Okanagan farm country. The carrot popcorn and chickpea fries are downright addictive; bulgogi-style mushrooms over crispy rice or grilled avocados tossed in Thai cashew dressing with spicy pickled onions are eat’til-you’re-too-full good. It’s a new city, a new audience of potential skeptics, but it seems the Skinners can’t help but be plant-based pioneers wherever they go: in a minimalist-cool room in an unassuming strip mall, it looks like they’re once again persuading even staunch carnivores to pop in and stay awhile.—