FORAGE || Sustainable Dining Fresh from Nature
You can taste the seasons at Forage.
With a menu categorizing dishes by sea, soil, and land, the delectable creations are prepared to retain the highlight the fresh ingredients. With dedicated foragers labouring year round to source ingredients you won’t see on the market, Forage works closely with farmers, obtaining fresh produce directly from the ones who grow the crop.
Executive Chef Welbert Choi focuses on food that can be a part of memorable moments. Born in Hong Kong, Welbert trained at Dubrulle Culinary Institute and later worked at Opus Hotel’s former restaurant Elixir, and then helped open Forage in 2012 as Pastry Chef. After 2 years he was given the title of Chef de Cuisine, where he managed the daily kitchen operations at Forage. He is now the Executive Chef of Forage, Timber and Forage Catering.
Welbert sets an example for his fellow Vancouver chefs to contribute to helping build long term farming, fishing and foraging legacies in BC for generations to come by working closely with local producers. The ingredients Forage chooses respects and considers the environmental impact of what is brought into the kitchen, and approaches food in a way that celebrates the whole ingredient.
The ‘soil’ dish featured moral mushrooms, which are in season. The main star of the dish is supported by grilled asparagus, hazelnut mushroom soil, onion puree, birch syrup, and topped by a 60-degree egg. The considered creation thoughtfully meshes the crispiness of fresh greens, the soft texture of the mushrooms, the crunch of hazelnuts, and the creaminess of the 60-degree egg which acts as a sauce to blend all the ingredients together.
The ‘soil’ is composed of coco powder, hazelnut, truffle oil and mushroom powder, and the scent of the dish alone will surely make you salivate.
Next, the ‘land’ dish. Butcher’s cut Canadian bison steak paired with king oyster mushroom, marrow roasted potato, sweet onions, radish and tiger blue jus. This is definitely a hearty dish for carnivores, and we love how the size and flavours of each element in the dish balances out the rich bison.
We highly recommend trying any of the desserts prepared by Pastry Chef Mike Sonsmann. This one is titled ‘Baker’s Garden’, a vegetable inspired creation with pecan carrot cake and seasonal accompaniments. Aligned with Forage’s commitment to using fresh ingredients, Mike created ‘Baker’s Garden’ with 9 different vegetables. A pecan carrot cake, potato pancakes, picked rhubarb, pickled carrots, white chocolate pea cream, carrot chip, cucumber gel, raspberry beet and yellow pepper sorbet, and eggless beet meringue.
The cucumber gel carries a slight ‘fizzy’ taste to it once you put it on your tongue, while the picked rhubarb carries a sweetness that will remind you of the freshness of the spring season.
Now that the summer season is starting, guests will be able to gather in the outdoor space to enjoy their meals. The ever-changing menu at Forage lets you taste what’s really in season and allows you to contribute to the sustainable dining movement by supporting Chefs like Welbert and Sonsmann who work closely with local producers, farmers and foragers to sustain the local community. Forage is a great dining destination for visitors looking to experience authentic, memorable BC cuisine - make sure to add it to your travel bucket list!