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The Ticket: Chat with Vancouver’s Top Foodies at YVR Food Fest

By Kaitlyn Funk /

Join chefs Angus An, Andrea Carlson and more at the second annual Food for Thought speaker series.

Have you ever found yourself scrolling through the TED Talks food category? If so, this is the event for you! For the second year in a row, YVR Food Fest (on now until July 3) will be bringing some of the city’s top foodie professionals together for a panel discussion about Vancouver’s food landscape.

“As Vancouver has grown into a world class city, we can truly now call ourselves a diverse multicultural metropolis,” says Food for Thought producer and MC, Michael Unger. “One of the ways to bring all these cultures together is to talk about subjects that we can all relate to, and food is certainly one of them.”

Each of the speakers—including 2017 Restaurant Award-winning chefs Angus An (Maenam) and Andrea Carlson (Burdock and Co.)—will be sharing their unique local and international perspectives on everything from family-style dinners and dietary restrictions (when was the last time you met someone who wasn’t following a gluten-free diet?) to foraged foods and, simply, reasons for eating. Audience members will also have the opportunity to ask the panelists questions, and to respond as part of the discussion, for what promises to be a truly collaborative event.

This year’s lineup includes:

• Angus An (Maenam and Fat Mao)• Andrea Carlson (Burdock and Co.)• Camille Flanjak (Museum Eats)• Desiree Nielsen (Urban Vegetarian)• Jair Tellez (Fayuca, Laja and Merotoro)• Cease Wyss (Raven and Hummingbird Tea Co.)

“Already I can sense that our speakers are not only excited to share their ‘food for thought’ with the audience, but also with each other,” says Unger. “I’m really excited to see that interaction, and the conversation that will happen between them—I’m always surprised by the direction the conversation sometimes goes.”

The Food for Thought speaker series is part of YVR Food Fest (formerly known as Food Cart Fest), a week-long festival with a jam-packed schedule of food-centric programming, including a Street Food Showdown, Canada Day Cookout, outdoor brunch and Gather dinner. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit yvrfoodfest.com.

Food for Thought

When: Thursday, June 29 (7 p.m. to 10 p.m.)Where: Fox Cabaret, 2321 Main StreetPrice: $17