Celebrate British Columbia’s Bounty This Wild BC Salmon Season

Restaurants and retailers mark the month with exclusive menus and sampling specials

British Columbia is known for its incredible array of fresh seafood, sustainably sourced from its coastal and interior waters, with none more recognizable than BC’s wild salmon.

August marks the height of the season, where salmon dwells in its pure, natural environment, and between August 1st and 15th the BC Salmon Marketing Council is partnering with some of the province’s top restaurants and retailers to bring fresh and wild BC salmon to plates and mouths everywhere. The nine participating restaurants will be serving up limited time feature dishes, showcasing delicious ways of enjoying the rich flavours of wild BC salmon:

- Michelin recommended Wildlight Kitchen + Bar and chef Warren Chow
  - Feature dish: Torched wild BC salmon aburi

Michelin recommended Bar Bravo and chef Jonah Joffe
- Feature dish: Mi cuit of wild BC salmon

Vancouver’s only indigenous restaurant Salmon n’ Bannock and chef Paul Fortin
- Feature dish: Sage pesto poached salmon

Moments Hospitality Collective’s Nanoose Bay Cafe, Qualicum Beach Cafe, Greenview Taphouse and Deez Bar & Grill, with chef Todd Bright
- Feature dishes: Kaffir lime cured wild BC Salmon, seared wild BC Salmon, wild BC salmon burger and honey glazed wild BC Salmon

Water St. Cafe, named best Gastown Restaurant in 2021 by The Georgia Straight, and chef Alan Tse
- Feature dish: Wild BC salmon and puttanesca, recipe by CDC Denny Beck

Langley-based taproom and restaurant The Barley Merchant and chef Hiran Perera
- Feature dish: Maple syrup glazed wild BC Salmon

Retailers across the province will be hosting guest chef demonstrations and special salmon sampling opportunities. Special events include:

Guest chef demo at 1 Fish 2 Fish Seafood Market
Executive chef Hiran Perera of The Barley Merchant will be demonstrating his maple-glazed wild BC salmon dish to shoppers on Saturday, August 2 from 11am – 12.30pm.

Filet and cooking demo at 7 Seas Fish Market
Learn how to filet and cook fresh wild BC salmon at Kitsilano’s 7 Seas Fish Market with an in-store demonstration by the team on Wednesday, August 6 from 10am – 11:30am.

Wild BC Salmon takeover at The Fisherman’s Market
The Burnaby location will be exclusively carrying wild BC salmon on Saturday, August 9 during the event from 11am – 3pm. There will be cooking demonstrations and sampling by culinary director Alan Tse of Water St. Cafe and a historical exhibit set-up by The Gulf of Georgia Cannery Society.

Salmon blind tasting at Codfather’s Seafood Market
The Okanagan-based market is hosting an interactive and educational event on Saturday, August 9. Customers are invited to enjoy samples and put their tastebuds to the test to identify each of the five different salmon species, for a chance to win a fish box of the top catches. 10.30am – 4.30pm.

Salmon sampling at Inlet Seafoods
Port Moody’s Inlet seafoods will be sampling their house-made salmon pâté and fresh ikura on Saturday, August 9 from 12pm – 2pm.

In addition to the featured events, the following seafood counters across the province will also be highlighting wild BC salmon throughout the season.

Vancouver: eatFISH (online only), The Daily Catch (Commercial Drive)
Vancouver Island: Finest At Sea (Victoria), French Creek Seafood (Parksville)

Why ask for wild BC salmon when dining out or grocery shopping? Throughout the salmon’s lifecycle, they migrate through the pristine waters of the west coast, gaining nourishment and nutrients and resulting in a sustainable, highly flavourful and premium quality product. The fish’s migration patterns have over time created five distinct salmon species; the chinook, coho, keta, pink and perhaps the most well known, sockeye, each with its own defining characteristics.

While many of us may not pay any attention to the species past seeing it listed on a menu, the health of BC’s wild salmon is vital for several reasons. Salmon plays a key role in nutrient cycling in both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, while the commercial and recreational fishing industries depend heavily on healthy populations to support fishing families everywhere. Alongside its ecological and economic impact, salmon holds huge cultural significance in the traditions and lifestyles of BC’s indigenous communities.

This project is supported by the BC Government’s Buy BC Partnership Program; delivered by MNP LLP with funding from the Government of British Columbia.

ABOUT THE BC SALMON MARKETING COUNCIL | The BC Salmon Marketing Council is a non-profit, generic marketing organization for the wild BC salmon industry, promoting the quality, value, and sustainability of wild BC salmon through marketing initiatives, educational campaigns, and industry partnerships. Working closely with commercial fishermen, processors, retailers, and chefs, the Council supports the long-term viability of the industry and encourages consumers to choose wild BC salmon. | bcsalmon.ca | Facebook: /bcsalmonmarketingcouncil | Instagram: @gowildbcsalmon

Media release and images provided by Rebecca Peters, SMC Communications Inc.