FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 26, 2015, Vancouver, BC—Long-time industry stalwart Pekka Tavela has been named Executive Chef of Vancouver's award-winning Wildebeest. Chef Pekka got his start as a pastry chef, and has worked in many of Vancouver's top kitchens, including Chambar, Boneta, and Pourhouse. With a precision that comes from his years of training in pastry, and a modernist French style that was honed behind the stove under some of the city's best chefs, Chef Pekka had held the position of Chef de Cuisine at Wildebeest for a year. Over the next few months, watch for him to put his own stamp on the menu.
"New dishes will stay true to the protein-focused Wildebeest framework. I would love to feature more game birds, and I won't just stick with meats," says Chef Pekka. "I'm looking forward to raising the profile of our vegetables too."
Trained at the Northwest Culinary Academy, Chef Pekka entered the industry as a pastry chef, but was later drawn to cooking, encouraged by mentors including Chefs Lee Humphries, and Ciaran Chung. Chef Pekka draws from a diverse range of influences; his family's background is Finnish, and he spent much of his childhood in Singapore. He's also inspired by more recent travels in Europe and the US, and Vancouver's Asian cuisines.
Chef Pekka will host his first special event dinner at Wildebeest on June 30th with Westbier Imports. Tickets for the multi-course beer pairing dinner 'Beest Meets West are on sale now. Go here to purchase tickets.
ABOUT WILDEBEEST
Located at 120 West Hastings St. in Gastown, Wildebeest is open daily from 5pm to 12am, and for brunch on Saturday and Sunday. Reservations can be made by phoning the restaurant at 604-687-6880 or online. For more information visit www.wildebeest.ca.
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