A Passionate Preview

Images, from left to right, top to bottom: Baby squid stuffed with organic scallops and preserved lemon over yellow heirloom tomato and saffron coulis, Boneta. Helmer potatoes stuffed with Salt Spring Island goat cheese and topped with cured spring salmon, C Restaurant. A smorgasbord of treats from Mix the Bakery. Pan-roasted succulent pork, summer plum jam, coffee gastrique, Brussels petals and crispy yam, Diva at the Met. O’Doul’s Rooibos tea-smoked Polderside Farms duck breast with crispy rice cake and Okanagan black plum sauce. Passions poster

It’s one of Vancouver’s top food and wine events, has earned a reputation as “Best Small Gala” and it’s happening this Sunday. The 7th annual Passions event in support of the Dr. Peter Centre brings together over 20 top local chefs and bakers, along with enough beer, wine and martinis to drown Atlantis all over again.

Here’s the rundown on who’s participating this year: Beachside Forno, Bin 941/942, C Restaurant, Chambar, Cibo, Coast, Crave, Diva at the Met, El Barrio, Fraîche, Italian Kitchen, La Terrazza, Le Gavroche, Market by Jean-Georges, Mix the Bakery, The Observatory, Cin Cin, O’Doul’s, Oru, Provence Restaurants, and Tojo’s.

If you’ve never been, there are still some tickets available. For $200, you can eat and drink to your heart’s—and palate’s—content, while enjoying live entertainment from fiery flamenco duo Sangre Morena. But back to the food…

Each participating chef prepares a single, unique dish, served tasting-size, and you can go back for seconds, thirds or even fifths—just make sure you leave room for dessert. The last Passions event I attended, Mix was offering a smorgasbord of their signature treats, and I spent a considerable amount of time standing by the table, picking out my victims.

The photos above are from previous Passions events, to give you a sampling of what’s to come. While the menus change every year, the quality of the dishes is unvarying, and, hey, you can assuage the guilt of those extra calories by remembering that it’s all for a very good cause.

You can buy tickets and find out more at www.drpeter.org or by calling 1.800.656.0713.