Tag Archives: Whistler

The Fairmont Pacific Rim is one of my favourite hotels in Vancouver. It’s unique exterior is wrapped with poetry from UK artist Liam Gillick.

From the ultra-chic interior lobby and lounges, to the TVs in the bathrooms, no detail is overlooked. This is THE place to stay and even celebrities like Lady Gaga and Rihanna are drawn to the hotel.

So I was delighted to attend a recent media dinner at the hotel’s Oru Restaurant this week.

The restaurant has undergone a menu transformation and now positions itself as a hotspot for food from the Pacific Northwest with flavours from the Pacific Rim.

Executive Chef Darren Brown joined Oru in October 2011 and set to work overhauling the menu.

His 2-page biography is telling of his fascinating culinary background, which includes opening Whistler’s Quattro restaurant, working at Las Vegas Mandalay Bay hotel and being the private chef on Merv Griffin’s 150-foot yacht.

Brown is passionate about working with local providers and preparing as much as possible in-house. He gets produce from Notch Hill Organics in Mission and cheeses from award-winning Natural Pastures farm on Vancouver Island.

Oru’s menu reflects the locally sourced and sustainable West Coast foods and Brown’s own background working with flavours from Japan, Polynesia, France and South America.

Last night began with SkyBar’s signature Bijou cocktails and a selection of appetizers, including a trifecta of goodness: Short Rib Poutine, Chicken and Chorizo Poutine and Spot Prawn Poutine. We also enjoyed the SkyBar take on the mini BLT with house-made bacon.

Next, we were treated to a back-of-house tour (take your own behind the scenes tour by checking out Chef’s blog). The hotel’s garde manger is filled to the brim with house-made pickles and preserves, while Chef and his team turn BC-sourced meats into house-made bacon and charcuterie. The hotel pastry chef, Jason Pitschke, produces amazing sweet treats.

Chocolate Oru Restaurant in Pacific Rim Hotel Vancouver

Having just moved to Vancouver from Whistler, I loved the sweet irony that both chefs got their start in Whistler back in the 1990s. Their history in the kitchen dates back more than 18 years

Now..for the main event: dinner!

Sunchoke Soup – velouté of roasted sunchokes, finished with a truffle foamed milk.

Notch Hills Beet Salad - pickled and poached baby Sorrento beets, beet chutney, chimichurri vinaigrette, cabrales blue cheese.

Qualicum Island Diver Scallops – sesame sweet peas, cauliflower purée, smoked salmon chiar su lardons, preserved lemon condiment.

“Kalua” Pork Belly - Fraser Valley pork belly, oven-dried pineapple, maple-mustard glaze, fried sage, pork cracklings, lotus root purée.

Sake Cured Haida Gwaii Sablefish - Alaskan salt cod brandade, butter poached sunchoke, melted leeks, fennel and chorizo, tomato-mirin broth.

Strawberry Rhubarb Vacherin with buttermilk ice cream.

Chocolate Four Ways.

It’s hard to pick a favourite, but if I had to, I would choose two: the pork belly and sabelfish. The pork belly had an almost tropical flavour and I could totally imagine eating something similar in Hawaii or Polynesian islands. Meanwhile, the sablefish was cooked to perfection with a delicious crispy exterior.

Throughout the dinner, Chef’s passion was infectious. I love the new take on Pacific Rim meets Pacific Northwest cuisine and believe that this restaurant has big things in its future.

Connect With Oru

Twitter - @FairmontPacific #oruCuisine

Facebook - facebook.com/fairmontpacificrim

Web – orucuisine.com

Resolution…How do you say that in Sanskrit?

January 2, 2012

Health & Wellness, Lifestyle

2 Comments

Whistler yoga instructor visits Africa Yoga Project

Photo: Robin O'Neill

kRtasaMkalpa. It’s Sanskrit for “one who has formed a resolution.” (Yup, that is the kind of sh*t yogis say.)

I’ve always been a little hesitant of resolutions. The guilt one feels for not quitting smoking or not exercising every day for a year – it hurts the soul, man.

Alas, I have found an attainable goal. This year my resolution is twofold: give back more and do more yoga to find balance in my own life. So, what better way to do it than to combine the two?

I rang out the New Year on December 30 at the Yoga Jam, run by local yoga instructor, Erin Anderson. The regular events are held to raise money for the Africa Yoga Project, which helps empower at-risk African youth by introducing them to the healthy lifestyle and physical and mental benefits of yoga. The program trains Africans to become yoga instructors, and then, in turn, they become employed to teach in their communities to help bring a ray of light to those facing darkness.

“My favourite thing about the Yoga Jam Events in Whistler is the amazing vibe of community coming together in the spirit of giving and in play,” says Erin. “It’s an unusual yoga class because when we practice yoga for others there seems to be a dropping of seriousness and the mood becomes more playful and light. It’s fun.”

Photo: Darby Magill

The Yoga Jams take place every month or so at the Squamish Lil’Wat Cultural Centre and are frequented by around 70 people. The atmosphere is upbeat with live DJs setting the scene for kids, tourists and locals sweating it out on their mats to a mash-up practice where multiple instructors take turns leading the class. There are even door prizes at the end.

Anderson, who owns White Gold Yoga, has a loyal following of yoga devotees with her light-hearted teaching style and specialized classes like Stiff Guys Yoga and Teen Yoga.

She recently visited Africa to teach classes and see the Africa Yoga Project in action first-hand. Anderson was joined by renowned action sport photographer, Whistlerite Robin O’Neill. You can check out more of Robin’s Africa photos here.

visiting Africa for the Africa Yoga Project

Photo: Robin O'Neill

“My biggest takeaway from Africa is that I saw and experienced is that yoga can empower others to give back. I saw a lit up group of youth who had once been living on a dangerous edge now leading others into self-awareness and health,” Erin explains. “They now reach out to the far corners of Africa and it’s changing lives. From what I saw, I take with me the possibility of empowering others to live big, to reach high and to change the world. Why not?”

Photo: Robin O'Neill

With passionate yoga leaders in the Whistler community, it’s hard not to feel inspired to take in all that yoga has to offer. In the spirit if giving and receiving, here is what yoga has given Erin:

“Yoga grounded me, gave me a place to come into true presence. Yoga brought me the ability to step into a big life from a very simple place. Yoga allowed me to give to myself so I can give to others.”

Well, if that’s not a good reason to check out the next Yoga Jam, I don’t know what is.

Stay connected

Yoga Jam Events Facebook Page

Africa Yoga Project on Facebook and Twitter (@AfricaYoga)

And more proof that one should never take themselves too seriously: