2018 International Culinary Series

Taste the Elegance of England

Building on the success of the 2017 International Culinary Series, which welcomed top Panamanian chef, Mario Castrellon of MAITO restaurant; this year's event will take you further afar – to the other side of the Atlantic. Through The West Coast Fishing Club’s partnership with Canada’s 100 Best, the 2018 International Culinary Series will welcome one of Europe's top culinary leaders, Executive Chef, Gary Foulkes for this one-of-a-kind experience.

The stage for this year's International Culinary Series - London.

Tuna tartare, hass avacado, wasabi and shiso by Chef Gary Foulkes.After more than two decades in Michelin-starred restaurants and globetrotting across Southeast Asia and Central America, we are pleased to welcome one of the UK’s most acclaimed chefs from across the Atlantic to the shores of Haida Gwaii. Gary Foulkes, executive chef of London’s Angler restaurant, will be delighting guests with his culinary mastery at this year’s event.Perched atop the South Place Hotel, Angler is a Michelin-starred restaurant renowned for highlighting sustainable seafood from British waters. We couldn’t ask for a better international guest chef with such a wealth of culinary experience from a more aptly-named restaurant! Guests on this exclusive trip will be amazed by Gary’s picture-perfect plates and sensational approach to creating vibrant, seasonal dishes inspired by his love of nature and travel. Gary will also host an interactive cooking demonstration highlighting one of his personal favourite recipes. Don’t miss this opportunity join one of Great Britain’s elite chefs on this one-of-a-kind gastronomic journey.

Chef Gary Foulkes Confirmed for 2018!

Chef Gary Foulkes Executive Chef, Angler Gary Foulkes has a wealth of experience, with over two decades of working in Michelin-starred restaurants and in some of the UK’s most highly-acclaimed establishments.Starting his career under the guidance of Gary Rhodes, he has since worked with a whole series of acclaimed chefs. These include John Campbell, The Vineyard at Stockcross (**) as well as Richard Neat and also William Drabble at the Aubergine (*) in Chelsea. Gary then moved to Philip Howard’s renowned Restaurant, The Square (**) in Mayfair, where he progressed to the role of Head Chef.In April 2016, Gary joined the Michelin-starred restaurant, Angler, as Executive Head Chef. He has since retained the restaurant’s Michelin star in the 2018 Michelin Guide, whilst creating a new reputation for Angler, focusing on his unique style of cooking.Gary is an avid traveller and his skills draw strong influence from the three years he spent travelling across South East Asia and Central America. Gary’s cooking is inspired by these travel experiences with the use of different styles and flavours to create vibrant, seasonal dishes using the best of British produce where possible.

Mission Hill Family Estate Winery

We're thrilled to announce our partnership with Mission Hill Family Estate Winery for this year's International Culinary Series - London.The perfect complement to Chef Gary Foulkes' Michelin-starred fare, taste some of B.C.'s finest wines expertly paired by Mission Hill's very own sommelier, Rocco D’Agostino.Be sure to read our 2017 event summary below to see the highlights from last year and find out why this is a must-attend event!

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Event Recap: 2017 International Culinary Series

By Patricia Wu | Director of MarketingIt’s always a nice touch when our guests bring the sun with them to Langara Island. Our guest Chef Mario Castrellon, owner and chef of Panama City’s MAITO restaurant and his sous chef Samuel Gonzalez Laborda proudly proclaimed just that as their helicopter touched down at The Clubhouse on a beautifully sunny warm day. A week of sun, calm waters, great fishing and internationally acclaimed chefs from Panama – it was a perfect setting to experience the exotic flavours of Latin America while on a luxury fishing vacation and The West Coast Fishing Club’s inaugural International Culinary Series did not disappoint. As Deepwater Don said, “Summer is not yet over… and neither is the fishing”.

Chef Castrellon posing with his culinary students.

Chef Mario Castrellon, Patricia Wu and Samuel Gonzalez Laborda all smiles and ready to get their fish on.

Chef Castrellon with his nice catch!One of the most popular seafood dishes of Latin America is ceviche. Simple to make, but a fresh, bright dish highlighting the delicate flavours of salmon, Chef Castrellon hosted a hands-on morning cooking class walking guests through a B.C. salmon ceviche recipe. His recipe was uniquely Panamanian, using Aji Chombo peppers, the fiery Panamanian Pepper, with its extra hot heat and fruity flavor. During his cooking demonstration, Chef Castrellon taught guests how to slice the salmon against the grain of the fish and how to squeeze fresh ginger juice directly into the ceviche – a technique he learned early in his career.

A gorgeous sunny day for Chef Castrellon's cooking demonstration.

Guest culinary station.

Chef Castrellon preparing for his demo.We suspect many salmon ceviches will be served in the coming weeks since guests caught many coho and chinook during their visit and quickly snapped up extra copies of Chef’s Castrellon’s recipe to take home.

Guests making chef Castrellon's salmon ceviche recipe.

Alex Huston and Alexa Hornby with the finished product!

Stefanie and Kelly Van Aken taking a morning off fishing to indulge in chef Castrellon's cooking demo.Later that evening, Chef Castrellon masterfully combined the flavours of Latin America with a four-course menu beautifully highlighting the seafood of Haida Gwaii.

Octopus, coconut and fresh herb sauce.An octopus was caught recently and kept by the kitchen for a future dish. Chef Castrellon blanched the octopus three times in hot boiling water, boiled and roasted it to make it perfectly tender. The octopus was paired with a coconut, fresh herb sauce reflecting the African influences in Panama.Many cultures delight in the treasure trove of crunchy, golden and nutty rice that sticks at the bottom of a pan most often in a paella. In Panama, they refer to that bottom-of-the-pan crispy rice delight as concolón. Chef Castrellon used a special technique to create a comforting, crunchy saffron risotto.

Tres Leches. Our tropical culinary journey starring British Columbia’s finest seafood ended wonderfully with a Latin American’ classic dessert: tres leches. An exquisitely sweet dessert, Chef Castrellon’s tres leches, a sponge cake soaked in three kinds of milk: evaporated milk, condensed milk and heavy cream topped with a light meringue and served with local B.C. strawberries, was perfectly executed and a guest favourite of the evening.

Perfect fishing conditions to end the season - blue skies, light winds and water as smooth as glass.Muchas gracias to Chef Castrellon and Chef Samuel Gonzalez Laborda for taking our lucky guests on a wonderful culinary journey through the flavours of Panama while incorporating local seafood from the majestic waters of Haida Gwaii. Nothing beats thrilling our guests with the world’s best salmon fishing experience during the day and delighting their taste buds with an international culinary experience at night. We can’t wait to continue our tradition of hosting world-class gastronomic experiences next year as we look to celebrate our 30^th anniversary with more spectacular culinary events.