What i’ve learned about vancouver’s hospitality scene from atop a couple of milk crates
G’day,
April 25th is the one year anniversary of our first episode of Mates on Crates—where I interviewed myself—beginning a series that has now produced over 100 episodes.
It feels surreal even writing that.
This project is one that is far bigger than just myself. We have an amazing team that produces and manages this little rocket ship and wouldn’t exist without them. Shout out to our squad - Kelly, Kevin, Connor and Emmalyn.
It’s been an incredible year and at this amazing milestone I’m delighted to share some of the highlights from the first 100 episodes of Mates on Crates.
Highlights
We interviewed 99 guests from 67 different establishments/organizations in the past year. Of those 99 guests we’ve interviewed over 25 distinct roles including:
14 Owners
12 Chef-Owners
12 Executive Chefs
12 Managers
3 Founders
VanMag’s 2024 Chef of the Year
VanMag’s 2024 Sommelier of the Year
An Indigenous Chef-Author
A Chef-Consultant
A Beer Guy
A BC Lions Punter (and Kicker and Defensive Lineman)
The (2024) Head Coach of the Vancouver Whitecaps
An Operator of Good Times
A Young foodie
and many more!
Over the course of those 100 episodes Mates on Crates has been VIEWED OVER 1.75 MILLION TIMES (which means on average each episode of Mates on Crates gets viewed over 15,000 times)!
OUR MOST VIEWED EPISODE belongs to the amazing Claire Lassam at Livia on Commercial Drive. Her episode was viewed over 45,000 times.
When we were first filming we had a couple of cancellations on day 1 and so THE FIRST PERSON WE INTERVIEWED—not counting myself—was GINO “TACOGINO” DI DOMENICO, the managing partner at Tacofino. He just happened to be across the street when we were filming my own episode and sat down with us just 10 minutes later.
No less than 6 interviews were interrupted by passers-by on the street crashing the shoot, 19 episodes had to be stopped because of nearby sirens, 1 episode had to be paused due to a fire in an adjacent building, 99 episodes were injury free, only one camera has been broken so far, and 3 episodes had a cat become part of the theatrics.
What I’ve Learned
When I started Chef’s Favourite back in 2021 I had the goal of highlighting some of my favourite hospitality professionals here in the city and telling their stories of premium hospitality and resilience in a tough industry. Mates on Crates became the perfect avenue for fulfilling that dream and along the way it defied my every expectation. My reverence, admiration and affection for hospitality has only gotten deeper and deeper.
While we interviewed 99 guests we’ve met so many more people along the way. Between their stories and the recommendations we’ve collected, I feel so much more connected to the people making world class hospitality in our beloved city and I absolutely love it.
The Chef’s Favourite project was born out of a desire to tell stories and my god we’ve heard some amazing ones. Among some of my favourite stories are:
Johnny Negrin, a retired hockey pro who started a shipping container bar focusing on local beers, wines and food trucks. Lucky to have them as neighbours, their genuine warmth towards guests and their unique space is unquestionably one of my personal hidden gems and favourite patios in the city.
Luke Boswell at Bar Corso. Super well travelled and experienced for a young chef. Taking over the kitchen in the midst of Covid and being new to the city, he’s an absolute stud and one of THE most underrated chefs in the city, I predict massive things for him and Bar Corso.
Patrick Hennessy of Barbara. His culinary journey from local restaurants all the way to working at Eleven Madison Park, navigating his own personal health challenges to opening a 14 seater tasting menu restaurant (named after his mum) and winning a Michelin star. All the while only opening 4 days a week (Tuesday - Friday) to allow him and his team to work at their best is just a great story.
Also one of the funniest blokes I’ve met.Claire Lassam of Livia, from humble origins making bread and pastries to sell at local farmers markets to having one of the hottest cafes and brunch spots in the city. She’s truly one of those in the know!
The most interesting place we filmed
Mates on Crates has filmed at some incredible locations. Originally the concept was to film in the back alleys or loading bays of the venues. This evolved and has included interviews in dining rooms, construction sites and outdoor patios.
To date, the most interesting space that we have filmed in was centre-field at BC Place with Chef Wayne Chen. Closely followed by the locker room at the whitecaps training facility.
Most Memorable episode(s)
We filmed some episodes on-location last summer during our “Lil Aussie BBQ” series at Batch. The guests that we invited on didn’t have any prep time or expectation that they would be filming, they just sat down and went with it. Those episodes were some of my favourite due to their raw spontaneity and gut reactions.
A place that defied expectation
Shout out to PETRICHOR SOCIAL. Luc and Thibault are just two lovely young lads taking their best shot in a tough neighbourhood. Their hospitality and warmth are truly first class and their food absolutely slaps! Their commitment to their dream, like many in the hospitality business, are inspirational.
A place that blew you away
CHUPITO. The creativity and the quality of their back alley speakeasy was truly remarkable. The magic of both the food and beverage that they were able to execute with a minimalist set up was actually mind blowing.
Their original location has unfortunately closed, with development on the site imminent.
They have moved to a new location just off of Cambie and 8th, cannot wait to get back there for some of the best mexican and cocktails going in town!
Hello, World!
So what’s next?
WE’RE TAKING THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD!
In the works is a series in VICTORIA and TORONTO. We’d love to get out into regional BC also. This province is blessed to have an incredibly diverse climate and terroir which allows for all manner of delicious produce.
Further, Chef’s Favourite is here to champion any and all that impact our wonderful Hospitality industry. Beyond chefs, WE WANT TO GET TO KNOW FARMERS, DISTILLERS, BREWERS, WINE MAKERS, AND MORE.
What started as having a chat with notoriously awkward chefs on their throne of safety has morphed into a movement! We regularly have people tell us they have discovered their new favourite date night spot or a hidden gem because of Mates on Crates.
We are excited to continue producing Mates on Crates and we look forward to adding some variety to our content with some fun new concepts in the works.
We truly believe that Vancouver has all the necessary ingredients to be a world class hospitality city. The produce is exceptional, the cultural diversity is second to none and there is young talent brimming with confidence and creativity.
WE ARE HONOURED TO TELL THE STORIES OF THIS GREAT INDUSTRY. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING US AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY, YOUR FAVOURITE LOCAL SPOTS.
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