Take Your Tastebuds Abroad at Dine Out Vancouver Festival’s
9th Annual Vancouver World Chef Exchange
Canada’s largest food and drink celebration returns: January 22 to February 9, 2025
Experience global culinary flavours at Dine Out Vancouver Festival’s most anticipated culinary event. The 9th annual Vancouver World Chef Exchange will bring award-winning chefs from international culinary hubs to a selection of MICHELIN recognized restaurants in Vancouver for a series of three collaborative dinners, featuring flavours from Sydney, San Diego and Chicago. Since its inception in 2016, more than 30 chefs from around the world have come to Vancouver for these exquisite collaborations. This year’s event features the return of Chef Mark Best, one of Vancouver’s first official World Chef Exchange participants.
During each event, the pairings will feature MICHELIN Guide recognized teams for a delicious multi-course dinner at the Vancouver-based chef’s restaurant, drawing inspiration from their menu’s most popular dishes, their own cultural influences and favourite fare, as well as local, seasonal ingredients.
New this year, is the first ever Vancouver World Chef Exchange – Bartender Edition, a twist on the Vancouver World Chef Exchange that includes a collaboration between award-winning bartender Eric van Beek from Mexico City’s Handshake Speakeasy (#1 World’s 50 Best Bars) and Jeff Savage from Vancouver’s Prophecy Bar.
The spirit of the Vancouver World Chef Exchange is one of collaboration and community building: sharing ideas and experiences, as well as developing relationships between Vancouver-based and international chefs and the destinations that have influenced their cooking.
Tickets for the Vancouver World Chef Exchange are now available for purchase. Be sure to book them quickly as seats are limited.
Dine Out Vancouver Festival 2025 Vancouver World Chef Exchange Pairings:
Mexico City’s Eric van Beek and Vancouver’s Jeff Savage
Where: Prophecy Bar
When: January 23 at 7:00 PM
Details: Join Jeff Savage from Prophecy Bar in welcoming special guest Eric van Beek, the mastermind behind the world-renowned Handshake Bar (No.1 on the World’s 50 Best Bars list) in Mexico City for a one-night only takeover at one of Vancouver’s favourite bars. The first Vancouver World Chef Exchange – Bartender Edition features an extraordinary evening that promises to raise the bar on Vancouver’s cocktail scene, with a carefully crafted menu of unique, world-class cocktails that blend the innovative techniques of both bartenders with hand-picked, premium ingredients. Learn more here.
Sydney’s Chef Mark Best and Vancouver’s Chef Charlie Kunsang
Where: L’Abattoir
When: January 26 at 6:00 PM
Details: MICHELIN-Recommended Chef Lee Cooper and Chef de Cuisine Charlie Kunsang, look forward to welcoming Chef Mark Best, from Sydney, Australia to L’Abattoir’s Private Dining Room on January 26. A leading voice in Australian Cuisine, Chef Mark Best returns to the Vancouver World Chef Exchange roster nine years after participating in the first ever Exchange dinner at West Restaurant in 2016. Coincidently happening on Australia Day, this five-course dinner brings these esteemed chefs and their circumglobal experiences and flavour influences together for a once in a lifetime collaboration. Learn more here.
San Diego’s Chef Travis Swikard and Vancouver’s Chef Ricardo Valverde
Where: SUYO Modern Peruvian
When: February 4 at 5:00 PM and 8:30 PM
Details: Join ‘MICHELIN Guide-Recommended SUYO Modern Peruvian Chef Ricardo Valverde as he hosts Chef Travis Swikard, of San Diego’s MICHELIN-Guide Recommended Callie Restaurant for this exclusive collaboration. Savour a one-night-only culinary event that celebrates the blending of Peruvian and Mediterranean Cuisine. SUYO specializes in modern takes on classic dishes from Peru, Chef Ricardo’s homeland. At Callie, Chef Travis Swikard brings together the diversity of Mediterranean cuisines with the ingredients and terroir of his hometown, the greater San Diego region. Culinary enthusiasts can expect similar flavours and a lust for fresh ingredients at this one-of-a kind collaboration, inspired by Chef Ricardo’s recent trip to San Diego. Learn more here.
Chicago’s Chef Thai Dang and Vancouver’s Chef Vincent Nguyen
Where: Anh & Chi
When: February 5 at 5:30 PM and 8:30 PM
Details: The culinary team at MICHELIN Guide-Bib Gourmand Anh and Chi looks forward to welcoming Chef and Owner Thai Dang of Chicago’s MICHELIN Guide-Bib Gourmand HaiSous Vietnamese Kitchen, for an extraordinary evening of culinary collaboration, celebrating the artistry and vibrant flavours of Vietnamese cuisine. Travel back in time to the 1980s, as Chefs Thai Dang and Vincent Nguyen re-imagine nostalgic family recipes from their North American upbringings, blending these heartfelt dishes with the refined, elevated Vietnamese culinary excellence for an exclusive dining experience featuring an indulgent 9-course menu. Learn more here.
For more information, including ticket prices, visit dineoutvancouver.com/events.
Support for the Vancouver World Chef Exchange is provided by partners Air Canada and the Westin Bayshore, Vancouver. As the official airline of DOVF, Air Canada is offering a 15% discount on all base fares for the first 1,000 bookings made on flights from the U.S. and Canada to Vancouver for travel between January 21, 2025 to February 10, 2025. See dineoutvancouver.com/travel/
Dine Out Vancouver Festival runs from January 22 to February 9, 2025. Visit dineoutvancouver.com for more information. Diners can follow @DineOutVanFest on Instagram and Twitter and @DineOutVanFestival on Facebook for culinary inspiration. Follow along on #DOVF.
About the Vancouver World Chef Exchange
The spirit of the Vancouver World Chef Exchanges is one of collaboration and designed to spread Vancouver’s culinary story around the world. It is an exchange of ideas, experiences and ultimately the development of a community of relationships between Vancouver-based and international chefs and the cities they come from. The Vancouver World Chef Exchange is produced by Destination Vancouver as part of the annual Dine Out Vancouver Festival and is generously supported by Air Canada and the Westin Bayshore, Vancouver. #VWCEx
About Dine Out Vancouver Festival
Back in 2002 a group of food and wine enthusiasts got together with the team at Destination Vancouver and pitched the idea of a fixed-price menu deal to get Vancouverites out and into restaurants during a normally slow time of the year. Twenty-two years later, Dine Out Vancouver Festival has grown into Canada’s largest food and drink festival. Dine Out Vancouver Festival is supported in part by Community Partners Fortis BC, Air Canada, Downtown Vancouver, The Westin Bayshore Vancouver, Evo Car Share and Stay Vancouver Hotels. Its Charitable Partner is the BC Hospitality Foundation.
About Destination Vancouver
Destination Vancouver is the non-profit, member-based destination management organization for the spectacular city of Vancouver, BC. Our purpose is to transform our communities and our visitors through the power of travel and to be thoughtful leaders, advocates and ambassadors for our city. We work with our 800+ members and our many partners in Vancouver’s visitor economy to develop compelling experiences and offerings for our visitors and to promote Vancouver in key Canadian, US, and international markets. The responsibility to build a sustainable and resilient visitor economy is the foundation of everything we do. Visit us at destinationvancouver.com
