In praise of 'slow fish': event encourages eating local and lesser known species

Vancouver's Chef's Table Society exists to educate fellow chefs, culinary students and the public.

The annual Slow Fish dinner is an example of the kind of event the society holds that brings people together for food and drink and information.

"What we want to do is educate people about local, sustainable, and lesser known seafoods that we have right here in our backyard," said Darren Clay, executive chef at the Pacific Institute for the Culinary Arts.

Clay points to local species such as geoduck and side-striped shrimp as examples of delicacies people should seek from B.C. waters instead of buying products from far away.

Clay's students will be preparing canapés for the event such as avocado and pickled onion tostadas with albacore tuna and chorizo and prawns in a bell pepper salsa.

They'll also be serving "salmon safe wine," a distinction that wineries receive after proving their practices don't harm spawning grounds. The program started in Oregon, then moved to Washington state and is now in B.C.

"It's about how they're tending to their soil, what they're putting into their river systems and the ecosystem that surrounds it to make sure that salmon that spawn in those regions have a safe natural place in which to spawn," said Clay.

The event will be held Oct. 15 and is a moveable feast with eight kitchens in use by a list of notable chefs.

This year's participating chefs are:

• Angus An, Maenam (Vancouver)
• Alex Chen,  Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar (Vancouver)
• Curtis Luk, Mission (Vancouver)
• Hamid Salimian, NextJen (Vancouver)
• Jonas Stadtlander, (Vancouver Island)
• Jeff Van Geest,  Miradoro at Tinhorn Creek (Oliver)
• Jesse Vergen, Saint John Ale House (Saint John, N.B.)
• Felix Zhou, Heritage Asian Eatery (Vancouver)

Watch Chef Darren Clay in conversation with Lien Yeung on Our Vancouver.