PARC Wins First Place at West Vancouver Culinary Competition

We’ve always known that PARC’s food stacks up – plate for plate – against B.C.’s best chefs and restaurants. But an exciting recent win provides even more proof: PARC Retirement Living took first place in the 2023 Best of the West culinary competition at West Vancouver’s Harmony Arts Festival, going head to head with our region’s top culinary talent August 9, 2023.

Summerhill PARC’s Executive Chef Robert Fortin led the PARC team that made headlines, supported by Chefs from Westerleigh PARC, Cedar Springs PARC, and Mulberry PARC. “We are proud to say we can compete against some of Vancouver’s most established restaurants,” said Robert. “It was a privilege to participate, but also to proudly showcase the quality of cuisine and the dining experience that our PARC residents enjoy on a day-to-day basis.”

The winning dish was a sous vide lamb loin accompanied by celery root mash, local blackberry demi-glace and bacon jam, and paired with a 2019 Athene from Burrowing Owl Estate Winery.

Delectable and impeccably plated: PARC’s sous vide lamb loin dish won first place in the Best of the West culinary competition at West Vancouver’s 2023 Harmony Arts Festival August 9.

This year’s competition was fierce, with second place going to West Vancouver’s Mangia e Bevi Ristorante team who served a seared duck breast risotto.  Third place was a tie between Water St. Café – serving key lime pie bites – and North Vancouver’s Cantina Norte, with a slow-braised beef brisket.

Dining Like Champions: The PARC Retirement Living Food Philosophy

Culinary awards are an honour, but in some ways they’re no surprise, either. Amazing cuisine flows naturally out of PARC’s culinary philosophy – that food should be an experience for PARC residents. As we say often: our food should delight and intrigue as much as it nourishes and satisfies; a feast for the eyes and the palate.

PARC’s chefs are Red Seal Certified, and they come to us from some of the finest restaurants, hotels, and culinary settings in the world. Whether they’re cooking home-style comfort fare or whipping up inspired seasonal menus and à la carte offerings, they put their passion, talent and artistry into every creation. This is why, every day, PARC residents sit down to dining that rivals high-end restaurants – and that wins awards, too!

Our chefs and culinary teams work hard to create inventive, fresh, nutritious, and eye-catching meals, tailored especially for the needs of aging adults – that are nutritious and healthy, too. Packed with body-nourishing proteins and whole grains, our meals are created from the freshest local ingredients and produce, some grown right in our own gardens.

PARC’s Award-Winning Best of the West Dishes Through the Years

This isn’t the first time PARC has brought home an award from Best of the West – our teams have been competing in the event since 2015, consistently winning top honours with our inventive, beautifully plated, and delicious culinary creations:

• 2022 – Second place: Smoked sablefish with arugula, apple and fennel slaw, citrus caviar with Painted Rock Estate Winery Rosé
• 2020–2021: (No event due to COVID)
• 2019 – Second place: Alder-smoked sablefish, accompanied by yuzu-marinated king oyster mushrooms and black truffle caviar, and paired with a fruity Chardonnay 2017 from the Okanagan’s Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars
• 2018 – Third place: Braised pork cheeks, crispy prawn sushi roll, hon shimeji mushrooms, honey caraway jus, pickled ginger foam
• 2017 – Second place: Sous vide lobster tail with pineapple salsa and rainbow tobiko paired with Laughing Stock Chardonnay
• 2016 – First place: Black Apron Angus braised beef with harissa spiced tiger prawns, fennel confit and puréed local organic yam potatoes, paired with Burrowing Owl 2013 Athene
• 2015 – First place: Vegan wild mushroom tart with smoked chipotle and Kraus Farm blackberry reduction paired with a 2012 Tempranillo from Stag’s Hollow

Still wondering why PARC has won so many culinary honours? Read more about PARC’s delicious and nourishing approach to dining. Better yet, book a residence tour and taste for yourself!