Stir Pairing: West Coast edition with B.C. paintings, spot prawns, and wine
A new exhibition at Marion Scott Gallery; a seasonal seafood delicacy; and La Frenz Sauvignon Blanc
Edward Epp, Freighter - Cowichan Bay, 2003.
Riley’s.
Each week, Stir Pairing suggests locally available food and/or drink to go with a local arts event.
The event
Terrain, Migration, Place: Four West Coast Painters at Marion Scott Gallery to June 30
The food
Local spot prawns
The wine
La Frenz Winery’s 2022 Sauvignon Blanc
Vicki Marshall, Zig Zag 2022
Terrain, Migration, Place: Four West Coast Painters is a new exhibition at Marion Scott Gallery featuring pieces by Edward Epp, Landon Mackenzie, Vicky Marshall, and Carolyn Stockbridge. From small-scale to monumental works, the show shines a light on local environments, historical mapmaking, waterways, and marine passages, while displaying abstraction, figuration, monochrome, and more.
Marion Scott Gallery was founded in 1975 by its namesake patron with a view to showcasing fine Inuit art within a contemporary context, presenting it alongside Indigenous and non-Indigenous forms.
This exhibition is dedicated to the memory of Eury Chang, a theatre practitioner with a background in contemporary dance and movement expression and a PhD from UBC. Husband to Robert Kardosh, Chan played a major role at the Marion Scott Gallery.
Tojo’s. Photo by Leila Kwok
The food
Since we’re focusing on B.C. highlights, it’s only fitting to celebrate spot-prawn season. For food lovers and culinary artists alike, it’s a perennial favourite.
Chefs’ Table Society of BC is hosting its iconic BC Spot Prawn Festival on May 28 back at False Creek Fisherman's Wharf.
The fest features esteemed local chefs serving up the local delicacy. The lineup includes Steven Rutherford of the Westin Bayshore, Tommy Shorthouse of Fanny Bay Oysters, Bobby Milheron of Wentworth Hospitality (Tableau Bistro, Homer St. Café & Bar, Maxine’s, Steve Kuan of Torafuku, Jen Peters and Hamid Salimian of Good Flour Co., Jiwon Seo of Bar Gobo, and more.
There are two brunch time slots (11:30 am and 1:30 pm), a stand-up adult-only rain-or-shine event, while Organic Ocean will be serving up spot-prawn bisque.
In addition, culinary artists will sharing cooking tips at the Spot Prawn Chef Demo stage. The chefs include Dez Lo, Top Chef Season X finalist; Lee Cooper of L'Abattoir; Nicole Gomes, Bravo Top Chef World All-Stars; Lucais Syme of Autostrada Hospitality; Jenice Yu, founder and CEO of F.I.S.H.; and Satoshi Mikase of Tetsu Sushi.
Gastronomy Gastown.
Elsewhere, Gastronomy Gastown is serving up wood-fired roasted spot prawns with Calaprian n'duja butter served on forno flat bread for as long as the season lasts. Go on a Thursday and get 50-percent off wine by the bottle.
Glowbal Restaurant Group has spot-prawn features across its collection, including at Italian Kitchen, Coast, Five Sails, and Black + Blue (which just opened a new location in Toronto). We’re dreaming of the special at Riley’s: a pound of spot prawns with a bottle of Mission Hill Family Estate Winery’s Reserve.
Tojo’s is marking the moment with amaebi nigiri, the prawns resting atop perfectly seasoned sushi rice; the master chef is also making boiled spot prawns, accompanied by a zesty soy-vinaigrette dipping sauce. Try either with the restaurant’s famed seasonal speciality of zucchini flower tempura filled with flying-fish mousse and sesame seed-crusted halibut cheek with fuki miso.
PiDGiN.
PiDGiN is in on the action, too: on May 31, it will be hosting a special five-course celebration by chef Wesley Young and team. Expect luxurious dumplings, a soul-satisfying spot-prawn jigae (Korean stew), umami-filled risotto, and more.
On June 8, Oliver Osoyoos Wine Country will bring the fruits of the sun-soaked region to Vancouver for an exclusive winemaker dinner at H Tasting Lounge at The Westin Bayshore. Each course prepared by the hotel’s executive chef, Ivan Lau, will be accompanied by two contrasting and complementary pairings, showcasing the versatility of wines the region is known for, such as Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot. One of the menu highlights is spot prawn crudo with yuzu compressed daikon, charred fennel, buttermilk dashi, lotus root, and dill oil. (There’s also five-spiced duck breast, roasted lamb loin, and passion fruit and mango mille feuille).
For those who’d prefer to dine at home, BC Live Spot Prawns & Seafood is taking orders of home or office delivery across Greater Vancouver or pick-up at Ladner Wharf. The small family-run business sources directly from a network of fishing families, guaranteeing only wild-caught, sustainable, antibiotic-free and hormone-free spot prawns (and other seafood).
La Frenz Winery.
The pairing
La Frenz Winery is a natural fit for anything related to the best of B.C.
A long-time locals’ favourite, it was voted #1 Best Performing Small Winery of the Year and #2 Winery of the Year at the 2021 WineAlign National Wine Awards.
With 52 acres across five vineyards, La Frenz has crafted a crisp, dry Sauvignon Blanc 2022 from its Wits End and Rattlesnake vineyards on the Naramata Bench and its Rockyfeller vineyard on the Golden Mile Bench.
The wine was hand-harvested over three ripeness levels to showcase the diverse characteristics of the grape. Ferments happened in stainless-steel tanks and maintained at cold temperatures to protect the delicate aromas.
With scents of pea shoots, grapefruit, and honeysuckle, the wine tastes of gooseberry, pear, and passionfruit, showing a pleasing minerality.
The winery recommends pairing the Sauvignon Blacn with a green papaya salad or grilled-prosciutto-wrapped asparagus; we’ll add salt-and-pepper spot prawns to the list.
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