Vancouver and Calgary chefs collaborate for two-city, three-part dinner series

Vancouver’s homegrown culinary talents Josh Gale, Chef de Cuisine at Wildebeest, and Juno Kim, owner and chef at Juno Kim Catering, have teamed up with Executive Chef Sean MacDonald from Calgary’s MARKET restaurant, for a collaborative chefs’ dinner series taking place in both cities at three restaurants.

The trio initially banded together late last year to create an impressive and seasonal-inspired feast. The three chefs stepped into the kitchen at Nicli’s Next Door restaurant (now shuttered) in Vancouver, where they prepared “An Autumn Dinner” for their guests.

The evening was so well received the chefs decided to turn the event into a three-part collab series, which would grant each chef the opportunity to host.

Next in line to host is Executive Chef Sean MacDonald of MARKET restaurant in Calgary. MacDonald will open his kitchen up to Gale and Kim on March 23 for the second event in the series, where 50 diners will be treated to a memorable four-course meal with carefully matched wine pairings.

The focus of the dinner (like always) is on local and seasonal produce. Each chef will pick a seasonal ingredient and base an elevated dish full of depth and flavour around it.

“The first event was a lot of fun,” says Kim. “We realized we loved working together, and due to all of our complimentary, yet different backgrounds, we always learn something new when we work together. Our styles are synergistic, and we can combine our visions to create a cohesive menu,” adds Kim.

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For the upcoming collaboration, the three chefs are putting even more focus on the experience outside of the coursed dishes. Guests can expect a couple of surprise treats.

“The MARKET event will be an interesting one for diners”, remarks Kim. “Right now, Calgary and Vancouver have very different wild ingredients due to the differences in weather. We are foraging some ingredients in Vancouver, and bringing them over [to Calgary] to create a dialog about local ingredients and seasonal differences between the two cities,” elaborates Kim.

Kim, Gale, and MacDonald will end the collaboration series back in Vancouver in June, where Kim will host a long-table dinner in a surprise location. “We’re going to rent a gorgeous space, and serve up a six-course meal,” says Kim. Tickets to the event and the location of it will be disclosed at a later date.

The trio will then headline The Greasy Spoon Diner Supper Series, along with Chef Joseph Kennard of Save on Meats (who will be joining Juno Kim’s team), which challenges Vancouver chefs to take over the kitchen at Save On Meats and serve a dining room full of guests to benefit programs that support the local community.