The annual Ocean Wise Seafood Chowder Chowdown went down last night at the Vancouver Aquarium. This year was the 10th anniversary of the event and was marked with a special All-Stars Edition with previous winners competing for the title. 13 notable chefs from Ocean Wise seafood partner restaurants brought their best recipe to the table. Each competing chef had at least one Chowder Chowdown title to their name, and for the first time ever, chefs from outside B.C. participated.
A judging panel of food-savvies selected Chef Julian Bond and team as the 2017 Ocean Wise Seafood Chowder Chowdown Champions. They presented chowder lovers with a colourful twist, serving their Witches Brew chowder with a pea base and delicious bites of bacon and B.C. sidestripe shrimp — a combo that left the judges wanting more. Chef Julian was the 2017 winner of Devour! Osoyoos’s Ocean Wise Chowder Competition.
The award for Best Beer Pairing went to Chef Yosuke Okubo of Hapa Izakaya for their Japanese-Style Rhode Island Chowder, which featured a dashi broth and shinjo dumplings made with Ocean Wise little neck clams. In 2010, Hapa Izakaya won both the Judge’s Choice and People’s Choice awards at Chowder Chowdown. This year’s winning dish was paired with R&B Brewing’s Stolen Bike Lager, with smoked green tea, and sake-infused with orange peel and ginger.
The crowd of several hundred had their say too, and voted Brodo Kitchen as the People’s Choice Award winner, selected for Chef Paul Cecconi’s Smoked Albacore Tuna Belly Chowder with Truffled Cauliflower Puree, Fennel-Spiced Buckboard Bacon, Confit Sunchoke and Lemonpeel Doughnut, and Pickled Ambrosia Apple and Mustard Seed. Chef Paul was the 2011 Judge’s Choice Chowder Champion and took home the prize for Best Beer Pairing that year too. For his win this year, he took home a beautiful knife courtesy of Knifewear.
Other participating chowders including the following:
Creamy Chorizo Sausage & Prawn Chowder from Chef Jennifer Jaewon Kim of Thomsons Restaurant, Hyatt Regency Calgary
Dungeness Crab Chowder by Chef Justin Paakkunainen of Preston’s Restaurant, Coast Coal Harbour Hotel
Parsnip Chowder by Chef Doug Neigel of Mercatto
Ocean Wise Dungeness Crab & Vietnamese by Chef Thompson Tran of Fried Tomalley Chowder The Wooden Boat
“Bun Rieu Chowder” Vietnamese Dungeness Crab and Pork Chowder by Chef Roger Ma of Boulevard Kitchen + Oyster Bar
Wayward Chowder by Owner & Executive Chef Aaron Rail of The White Whale Restaurant
The “Ultimate” Seafood Chowder by Executive Chef Karan Suri of ARC Restaurant, Fairmont Waterfront
Mussel and Maple Chowder with Caramelized Fennel and Pollen from Executive Chef Ned Bell of Vancouver Aquarium | Ocean Wise Catering & Events
Smoked Mussel and Saffron Seafood Chowder by Chef Rob Schrier of Locals Restaurant
Smoked Mussel and Saffron Seafood Chowder by Chef Rob Schrier of Locals Restaurant