FIT FOR A KING: ROYAL DINETTE CROWNED BEST NEW RESTAURANT AT ANNUAL VANCOUVER MAGAZINE RESTAURANT AWARDS

 

 

Locavore-forward Restaurant’s Founding Chef/Owner David Gunawan Also Anointed Chef of the Year at Annual Awards Gala

 

Marking its eighth month of authentic, farm-to-table fare in fine style, Royal Dinette was crowned Best New Restaurant last night at the 27th annual edition of the prestigious Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards, while its founding chef and owner David Gunawan was named Chef of the Year.

The brainchild of celebrated chef and locavore disciple Gunawan — who previously claimed honours for Restaurant of the Year and Best Casual restaurant for South Granville staple Farmer’s Apprentice at the 2014 Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards — Royal Dinette also earned a silver medal in the category of Best Downtown restaurant.

“I’m extremely humbled by this award, but it also belongs to the entire back-of-house teams at Royal Dinette, Farmer’s Apprentice and Grapes & Soda,” said Gunawan. “At Royal Dinette, credit especially goes to our talented Head Chef Jack Chen, who has been the catalyst behind the day-to-day kitchen operations since its inception and continues to set a new standard for sustainable farm-to-table cuisine.”

With the kitchen team spearheaded by Chen (formerly Farmer’s Apprentice, L’Abattoir) and front-of-house operations directed by General Manager Chen-Wei Lee (formerly Chambar, Wildebeest, Bao Bei Chinese Brasserie), Royal Dinette has quickly established a reputation for offering a diverse and ever-changing menu featuring artisanal, seasonal and locally sourced ingredients delivered fresh to its door each day.

“It’s probably safe to say that ‘business as usual’ is not a concept that David Gunawan looks upon favourably,” said Vancouver Magazine‘s Timothy Taylor in the May edition of the magazine. “After all, his career has been defined by a seemingly relentless need for change, both in the plates he puts out and the places in which they get served. That sensibility has found its fullest expression at Royal Dinette, where the food that he and head chef Jack Chen are creating is almost defiantly — and always unapologetically — creative.”

Already named Vancouver’s best new restaurant by The Globe and Mail’s Alexandra Gill in December 2015 along with Gunawan’s sister South Granville natural wine bar Grapes & Soda, Royal Dinette turned heads by curating an ongoing series of Ugly Duckling dinners that bring the concept of “trash cooking” and food-waste awareness to the forefront by transforming the “ugly ducklings” of the culinary world into gourmet menus with an underlying ecological message.

“This is an enormous honour not only for myself but for everyone who has contributed towards the success of Royal Dinette,” says Lee. “We share this award with everyone at the restaurant who has worked tirelessly to ensure that we not only offer a true farm-to-table experience, but inform and inspire our guests in the process.”

ABOUT ROYAL DINETTE | Located in the heart of Vancouver’s financial District at 905 Dunsmuir St., Royal Dinette brings together the best fresh, locally sourced ingredients for a true farm-to-table feast for the senses. With an ever-changing seasonal menu, fresh pasta, pastry and butcher stations and a bar menu offering an array of local craft beer, sparkling wine and handmade classic cocktails, Royal Dinette pairs the laidback, informal atmosphere of a bygone diner with an elegant standard of service to bring quality, value and creativity of cuisine to a whole new audience.

ABOUT DAVID GUNAWAN | A celebrated champion of locavores and a staunch proponent of ecological gastronomy, Chef David Gunawan sharpened his skills in acclaimed kitchens in Chicago, Seattle, Vancouver and Belgium before opening Farmer’s

Apprentice in 2013 and Grapes & Soda and Royal Dinette in 2015, each setting a new standard for sustainably sourced farm-to-table cuisine. His culinary approach is dictated by whatever fresh produce arrives at his door from local farmers each day, with Farmer’s Apprentice being named Restaurant of the Year and Best Casual Restaurant at the 2014 Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards and No. 2 on En Route Magazine’s 2014 list of the Best New Restaurants in Canada.

905 Dunsmuir St., Vancouver B.C. V6C 2G2 | Lunch Mon – Fri 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. | Dinner Mon – Sat 5 p.m. – late | L’Apéro Happy Hour Mon – Sat. 4:30 – 6 p.m. | (604) 974-8077 | www.royaldinette.ca | Twitter @RoyalDinette | Instagram @royaldinette | Facebook /RoyalDinetteVancouver

 

Feature image: photo credit Bemoved Media