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Dive into Sustainable Dining at this Pop-up Culinary Event

Chef Ned Bell is cooking up a menu to satisfy guests’ stomachs and ethics.

Chef Ned Bell is cooking up a menu to satisfy guests’ stomachs and ethics.

Living oceanside has its perks—and fresh, ethically-sourced seafood is a big one.Bringing together sustainability and delicious Pacific seafood, Toyota BC is inviting guests to their one-of-a-kind event, Dîner en Hybrid: a pop-up, carhop-style dinner party hosted in partnership with Ocean Wise and the Vancouver Aquarium.This one-night, contest-entry only culinary event will be held on August 12 outside the Vancouver Aquarium. All dishes served at the dinner will be crafted by Ned Bell, renowned Ocean Wise executive chef, and his team. Each plate will feature sustainable seafood and produce, offering guests a piece of the best that the West Coast has to offer.In classic car-hop style, guests will be served in Toyota hybrids. Chef Bell considers this a harkening back to in-vehicle dining, which he refers to as the “original food tourism.” Photo: Toyota BCChef Bell brings to the table 30 years of industry experience—and a drive for cooking with the future in mind. “Food is the one thing that connects every human,” Bell says. He takes a keen interest in responsible aquaculture and agriculture, including how food is farmed and harvested. He believes that it’s important “to appreciate the journey that food has been on to find itself on our plate.”Chef Bell’s passion for keeping our oceans healthy has taken him all over the world in search of sustainable seafood. “We can’t grow anything on land anywhere on this planet without a healthy ocean, so I feel sustainable seafood is crucial for the survival, not only of us as humans, but also of the systems that we rely on to thrive into the future.”The Vancouver Aquarium’s commitment to conservation and strong connection to the Ocean Wise mandate makes it the ideal background to experience Chef Bell’s creations—and Toyota’s commitment to clean energy makes the hybrid the ideal vehicle. Plus, as the proud owner of a Toyota RAV4 hybrid , Chef Bell is the perfect connecting thread between the two companies.What’s on the menu? Expect dishes that include sustainable scallops, shrimp and salmon—though the menu is subject to change. Whatever Chef Bell serves up, you can be sure it will be both delicious and ethically sourced. “I want to make sure that the food that I’m putting onto my plates today is responsible,” he says.He adds, “As a chef I’m inspired by the seasons. I call my food globally inspired and locally created, so really, it will be a celebration of Asian, south Asian flavours.” Photo: Ocean WiseIt’s more than the sourcing that Bell takes into consideration when preparing a sustainable meal. He aims for dishes that cut out big portion sizes, speaking to a new way to think about food, food waste and nutrition. Bell says he’s hoping this sustainable dining experience will “slow people down a little bit and appreciate some subtle conversations about the things that they’re eating.”Toyota BC is running a contest from now until midnight on August 6 for diners to win seats. The winners will be invited to experience the nostalgia of drive-in dining and the innovation of Chef Bell’s cooking.Chef Bell looks forward to an evening of environmentally-conscious fun—and so can his guests.“There’s a certain amount of creativity and art to feeding people that you know and love, but maybe even more so the people that you’ve never met before,” says Bell. “I can’t wait to celebrate Ocean Wise, celebrate family parks, celebrate Toyota Hybrids, celebrate the taste and place at that moment when I get to pull together the dishes.”