Who’s ready to eat! These Campers were and wow did we FEAST at COOKSCAMP 2022!

This outlines the menus that were served along with some special notes from the Chefs that prepared and served the amazing food.

Please credit @kasselmancreative and @cookscamp when posting images on social media. No commercial use please!

Onsen Style Eggs with Shakshuka
Merguez Spiced Pork Sausage
Grilled Flat Bread

From Chef Ken Nakano
What a great event venue with much camaraderie and thoughtful, meaningful, inspirational activations, and the food….!!!
I had the opportunity to meet and reconnect with many people, thank you.
For the BC Egg breakfast, I had envisioned a far less well appointed “camp kitchen” and space to service the anticipated 200 guests outdoors.  I designed the menu accordingly with most of the items prepared and transported with us from the Island.
Shakshuka sauce was made with tomatoes and peppers from Sun Wing Farms, the garlic and onions were from our own garden and the summer squash, parsley, cilantro and mint were from North Arm Farm.
Flat breads were made here, par baked and finished on the fire.
The eggs were prepared onsen style but with the lower numbers we could have done a different preparation.
Merguez spiced pork sausage patties were prepared by many, including Jason, Fraser, Ray and the late night “sausage party” crew and cooked on the fire.
Thank you to Robert, Lucas, Alex T and Tret for helping out on the day of, sorry but I’m sure I missed some others…😉
Austin and I had a great time, just wish we could have stayed to the end but such is life, hotel buy out conferences wait for no one….
Chef B – you are a rockstar as always!

Regards,
Ken Nakano, Executive Chef, Inn at Laurel Point | Aura Waterfront Restaurant + Patio

In almost every food service establishment around the world, we share a common tradition, the family meal. Made by the staff for the staff to help nourish them for yet another service. In the places where breaking bread and sharing about yourself is expected, the family meal starts everyone one off on the right foot for the service to come. Having all of the attendees contribute to the COOKSCAMP Family Meal is meant to put everyone on the same level, to be cooking beside a master chef or beside someone in their first year of cooking. It is to show that we all have something to offer our fellow cooks and workmates. We asked a group of Chefs to help lead this dinner, with their leadership and the help of all the attendees, it was the meal of a lifetime. A big thank you to Bernard Casavant, Alex Chen, Isabel Chung, James Walt and Thomas Haas.

Slow Roasted Whole Lamb
Slaughtered onsite, from Beerfarmers farm
Whole Roasted Wild BC Halibut, Wrapped in fig leaves
Slow Cooked Beef Shanks, Chimichurri
Roasted Wild New Brunswick Sturgeon
Slow Roasted Pigs Head and Porchetta
Spatchcocked Rossdown Chicken
Paella of Geoduck and BC Seafood

Fennel cooked in Lamb Drippings
Heirloom Tomato and Burrata Salad
Nectarine, Plum and Arugula Salad
Pear and Spinach Salad with Goat Cheese
Seglinde Potato Salad
 Grilled North Arm Vegetables with hummus 

Red Haven Peach Gallette with a pistachio almond crème
Crème fraiche and lemon thyme

From Chef Bernard Casavant-
I decided to cook those beautiful Beef shanks. Rubbed with French’s mustard (which I am still getting remarks on……. 😀) and the leftover spice that Chef Robert made, with a few additions from the pantry table.

Cooked for 9 hours over the charcoal pit. While they were hanging low and slow, (thank you to Chef Luke for working the charcoal so well!) I roasted off a mirepoix directly in the coals, then added to the rondeau with red wine donated by Sandhill, herbs from the farm and some beautiful Pemberton glacier fresh water! Simmered for hours, it was delicious. I then took the beef shanks, broke them down and braised them overnight, low and slow, making a remoulage from the bones.

For the dinner service that night, Chef’s Ross and Kelsey made a delicious herb chimichurri for the beef shanks. We were going to make some fried Bannock, but decided to utilize Chef Ken’s flatbread which was re-thermed in the oven. I think the shredded beef dish was pretty tasty!

Also of note, a thank you to Chef Robyn who also helped out with service of the dinner buffet. And most importantly of all, thank you to Chefs Ross, Kelsey, Robyn who worked thru to the end, breaking down the buffet, packaging the leftovers for the food bank (thank you Izzy for the containers!) and also pushing thru too ensure the kitchen and buffet table area was left organized and clean.

The biggest take away from this epic camp, was as per the norm, sooooo many people stepped up asking how they can help with the prep. So great to see that spirit alive and prospering, regardless of age or occupation.

Thank you to all for your kind words. I have always thoroughly enjoyed helping where I can with events like this. Especially as we worked our way thru the inevitable hiccups of a first-time event. It did not seem like hard work as the days went by. Many hands make the workload light!

The end result was a resounding success I feel. Great camaraderie, wicked food, beautiful location, interesting speakers and a ton of new contacts, renewed contacts and anticipation for the next one!!

Stay well, Cheers,
Chef B
Chef Bernard Casavant C.C.C., Hospitality Operations Consultant

From Chef Thomas Haas
With the dessert we wanted to be authentic to what could be made “on a farm” with the only equipment being heat (oven) so we decided to make giant seasonal peach galettes on a delicate brisee pastry with pistachio-almond cream, crème fraiche and lemon thyme.

My extended “thank you” to everyone! Everyone was very gracious, kind and truly above and beyond when it came to the quality of the meals being served. Thank you!

A special thank you to chef Bernard who supplied the most amazing juicy peaches and portrayed his trademark “salt of the earth” aura.

Special thanks to chef Robert B. and Shawna……as well as Robert Clark who bought me an espresso. True story.

Special thanks to volunteer Keisha……who happens to now start working with us this Friday!! That’s an example of how important networking can be.

I did not like the sheep demo. I do understand the importance of actually demonstrating it and I think it was necessary to do so (still haven’t touched meat since then except last night…and…. last week…….). thank you!

If I were in the beginning years of my career, I would NOT want to miss this event! I don’t accept any excuses of affordability since this is one of the best investments one can make into their young career……. and get fed ***** food at the same time! WTH! I think it’s time of a reality check for those young cooks to prioritize what really matters……. if your career matters! Ask that question first!

Thanks again!
Thomas

Breakfast Sandwich
Beef Shin Potato Hash

 From Jason Pleym-
I can speak for our whole team in saying we absolutely loved the event and reconnecting with so many industry folks, old and new friends!
The food program was amazing and it was so great to be such a big part of it.
Our breakfast was a bit of a mishmash of lovely leftovers;
Chef Bernard’s beef shin was reheated and turned into a potato hash with some fingerling potatoes and also did a vegetarian option.
Country pork breakfast sausage patties that we hand made and cooked over the grill.
Eggs were done scrambled with cheese and without.
Ham and cheese cold cuts were out and buns for make your own breakfast sandwiches

And that’s a wrap…

boom

Averill Creek
BC Hospitality Foundation
Cioffi
Continental Importers Ltd
Ecowise Hydrochem Solutions Inc
Eska Water
Fanny Bay Oysters
FoodSupplies
Geoduck Underwater Harvesters Association
The Gourmet Warehouse
Island Life
Johnston's
Medium Rare Chef Apparel
North Arm Farm
North Vancouver Island Chefs Association
Okanagan Chefs Association
Phillips Brewing & Malting Co
R&B Brewing Co
Rossdown Chicken
Russell Brewing Co
Spirit Wares Wholesale
Terra Breads
Thomas Haas
Toque
Unsworth Vineyards
Vancouver Island Brewing