CALGARY— Darren MacLean, chef and founder of three of Canada’s Top 100 Best Restaurants — Shokunin, EIGHT and NUPO — is gearing up to welcome London, England’s leading culinary talent, Andrew Wong to collaborate in his International Chef Exchange, hosted in Calgary. The exchange seeks to actively promote Alberta’s and Canada’s culinary background and cross-cultural character around the globe, while learning about other country’s cooking styles and practices.
Wong is the proprietor of two Michelin-starred A. Wong in London. His years of research has created a cuisine that celebrates the diversity of China’s vast food culture. His dishes are contemporary and artistic interpretations of traditional dishes and ancient recipes, paying homage to authentic tastes, flavours and skilled techniques developed throughout Chinese culinary history.
During his visit, Wong will participate in local foraging and fishing, heading to secluded streams by helicopter, to collect the country’s finest and freshest seasonal ingredients. Together, MacLean and Wong will create a varied and innovative, cross-collaborative menu, bringing together their diverse experience and finesse to MacLean’s restaurants. Their menu will be served for two ticketed dinners, firstly at Shokunin and then as a finale to the trip at EIGHT, offering innovative dishes using ingredients, techniques and flavours that make up the cultural mosaic of Canada.
“It’s the best way for us to learn more about ourselves, whilst learning from each other. Food is ordinarily the first interaction we have when exploring new cultures,” says Chef Darren MacLean. “The exchange is not only a discussion on what Canada has to offer, but rather fostering a catalyst of creativity and collaboration.”
The Chef Exchange, developed in partnership with Food Tourism Strategies, has hosted global chefs including Mark Best, Amanda Cohen and Timothy Hollingsworth.
