Breaking Bread goes behind the plexi

St. Lawrence #3 by Luis Valdizon. Photo courtesy of Breaking Bread Now

The hospitality industry has been among the hardest hit by the pandemic. Now a new initiative is aiming to help those who’ve experienced employment setbacks due to COVID-19. Call it a photo finish to a brutal year.

The food service industry support hub Breaking Bread, in collaboration with restaurateur Brad Roark (Nook, Oddfish) has launched a photography fundraiser called “Beyond the Plexi” that will raise funds to directly help hospitality works whose careers have been affected by COVID-19.

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Spirits of the season

Sip, celebrate, share and make merry this winter

Leila Kwok photo

Cocktail collab at Botanist

Botanist Bar in the Fairmont Pacific Rim has a holiday gift for cocktail lovers: an avant garde, off-menu cocktail and food pairing experience that celebrates the flavours of the Pacific Northwest.

It’s a collaboration between head bartender Jeff Savage, Canada’s Bartender of the Year 2020, and executive chef Hector Laguna. Together, this talented team will take guests on a wild flavour journey. “This one is very specific to what I love about the Pacific Northwest; it’s five savoury courses and one dessert course,” says Savage. “My cocktails are a love letter to Canada—
a love letter to the beautiful nature around us.”

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Hospitality in the shadow of COVID-19

The original members of the “Breaking Bread” collective, a growing initiative designed to support independent restaurants, their staff and suppliers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Represented here, from left to right: Café Medina, Juke Fried Chicken, Beetbox, L’Abattoir, Havana, Belgard Kitchen, Wildebeest, Nuba, Heritage Asian Eatery, Origo Club. Photo courtesy of Breaking Bread

It happened slowly, then all at once. Was it just a week ago we were still joking about bumping elbows instead of shaking hands? Since then, the COVID-19 pandemic has rolled over absolutely every aspect of our lives, and that includes our vibrant culinary culture.

Across British Columbia, people in the hospitality industry have taken proactive action against the virus, not waiting for government to tell them to change the way they do business.

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