The valley’s restaurant industry has expanded in recent years and the Okanagan Chefs Association is celebrating just that, with hopes of making the Okanagan known for its food.
The OCA celebrated the local culinary scene for the first time ever, filling Kelowna‘s metro hub with both food and people on Monday night.
“This is the one time where we get the community to come in and help us be part of something else. So they get to come here, see us, meet us, meet and greet the chefs,” said OCA president Brent Durec.
The event also gave local foodies the opportunity to connect once again after being apart earlier in the pandemic.
“This night is special for a lot of people in this world of the restaurant industry as well as the pandemic and everything. This is the first time we all get to kind of hang out together as chefs in the restaurant business and just kind of hang out, see what each other are doing,” said Provisions Kitchen chef Brock Bowes.
The night also showcased how the food scene in the valley has grown in recently, with more and more restaurants being established.
“The restaurant industry has exploded in the Okanagan. We’re fortunate with our brewery that we own, that basically the whole beer district down the street has just exploded,” said Bowes.
“It keeps it challenging, keeps it original, makes us challenge ourselves, even more, to be different than all the competition around us.”
The Okanagan is famous for its wineries, but the OCA says it’s working to change that and make the valley known for its food as well.
“We’ve watched that grow over the years and now you can go to so many different wineries. They have excellent food, they have excellent wineries, it’s a great fun event and it’s fun to watch them grow,” Durec said.
Also on the menu at Monday’s event was an award ceremony. Those in the culinary industry were celebrated with hardware, including the top young chef and chef of the year.