SALTY MAGAZINE BRINGS JOHNNY SPERO OF PASSAGE
TO MICHELIN-STARRED BURDOCK & CO
FOR ONE-NIGHT VANCOUVER DINNER
Andrea Carlson and Johnny Spero unite for a
Pacific Northwest tasting menu on August 11
The Salty Magazine Dinner Series will bring chef Johnny Spero, executive chef of Passage at The Inn at Langley on Whidbey Island, Washington, to Michelin-starred Burdock & Co in Vancouver for a one-night collaborative dinner with chef-owner Andrea Carlson on Tues., Aug. 11, 2026.
The dinner brings together two remarkable culinary voices with coastal kitchens and a shared reverence for the seasonal bounty of the Pacific Northwest. Together, Carlson and Spero will explore the land and sea through a collaborative tasting menu shaped by their distinct creative perspectives.
Spero previously served as executive chef of José Andrés’ Minibar, which received a four-star review from Washington Post critic Tom Sietsema during his tenure. During his time leading Minibar, he was celebrated as Eater’s Chef of the Year and competed on Netflix’s The Final Table.
He later opened Reverie, an intimate and deeply personal restaurant that earned a Michelin star in 2022. Now, as executive chef of Passage at The Inn at Langley, he is beginning a new chapter in the Pacific Northwest, immersing himself in the region’s ingredients and building relationships with its farmers, fishers and foragers.
At Burdock & Co, Carlson has spent years exploring that same landscape through a distinctive British Columbian lens. Her moon-inspired tasting menus follow the province’s micro-seasons, shaped by wild ingredients, produce from her own garden and a profound respect for the natural world.
EVENT DETAILS
The Salty Magazine Dinner Series: Burdock & Co x Passage
Tuesday, August 11, 2026
Burdock & Co
2702 Main St., Vancouver, BC
$195 per person, excluding tax and service
Optional wine ($95) and non-alcoholic ($65) pairings
For more information, click here
Burdock & Co is thrilled to announce O’Rourke Family Estate and Peak Cellars as the official wine partners for the August 11 Salty Magazine collaboration dinner with Johnny Spero of Passage at The Inn at Langley on Whidbey Island.
Recently opened in Lake Country, O’Rourke Family Estate is one of the Okanagan’s most ambitious new wine destinations. Designed by renowned architect John Taft, the dramatic estate marries contemporary architecture with raw granite, working vineyards and an underground network of caves. The property was recently featured in Robb Report as part of the Okanagan’s emergence as a luxury wine destination.
O’Rourke Family Estate wines are shaped by Lake Country’s cool climate, glacial and granite-influenced soils and meticulous farming across distinct vineyard blocks. Elegant, age-worthy pinot noir and chardonnay are the core focus, each crafted to express tension, purity and a sense of place. Fruit is hand-harvested and handled with restraint, with fermentations tailored to preserve varietal detail and natural freshness.
Sister winery Peak Cellars offer a complementary, natural-leaning expression of the same landscape. Small-lot production, native fermentation and minimal intervention let the fruit speak for itself. From vibrant, mineral-driven rieslings to complex reds and expressive roses, Peak Cellars crafts wines that are full of character.
Both wineries recently earned scores above 90 points from legendary wine critic James Suckling, with particular praise for the balance, freshness and restrained oak of their cool-climate chardonnay.
EVENT DETAILS
The Salty Magazine Dinner Series:
Burdock & Co × Passage
Tues., Aug. 11, 2026
Burdock & Co
2702 Main St., Vancouver
$195 per person, excluding tax and service
Optional wine ($95) and non-alcoholic ($65) pairings
For more information, click here
ABOUT CHEF ANDREA CARLSON
Few chefs in Canada are as closely associated with local, organic and sustainable cooking as Andrea Carlson. Hailed the “High Priestess of Pacific Northwest Cuisine” by enRoute Magazine, she is the creative visionary behind Vancouver’s acclaimed Burdock & Co, Harvest Community Foods (a neighbourhood grocery and noodle café) and Bar Gobo (a hi-fi wine bar). In 2022, Carlson made history by becoming the first female chef-owner in Canada to earn a Michelin star in 2022. Four years later, Burdock has successfully retained its star and remains the only Michelin-starred restaurant in Canada led by a female chef. Born and raised in British Columbia, she studied at Dubrulle Culinary Arts before training in organic farming and landscape design. Her early work at pioneering restaurants such as C Restaurant and Sooke Harbour House shaped her farm-to-table ethos. She later created Canada’s first 100-mile tasting menu at Raincity Grill and served as executive chef at Bishop’s. At Burdock & Co, she is celebrated for her wildly innovative moon-inspired tasting menus that change every two months and for her unwavering commitment to local producers, natural wines, and regenerative food systems. Outside the kitchen, Carlson is a certified master gardener (MGABC) and a natural fragrance maker, having recently completed a diploma in perfumery with Bravanariz at Mas Flaquer in Spain. She is on the board of Sole Food Street Farms, is a member of Slow Food Canada and Ocean Wise, an ambassador for Community Food Centres Canada and West Coast Seeds, and a founding member of Growing Chefs.
ABOUT CHEF JOHNNY SPERO
Born and raised in Maryland, Spero began his culinary career at the young age of 16. Early on, he had the opportunity to work alongside James Beard award-winning Chef Johnny Monis, learning that the best restaurants fine-tune every aspect of the experience—not just the food. Just two years later, Spero worked at Chef John Shields’ acclaimed fine-dining restaurant, Town House, before eventually finding a role as the Executive Chef at José Andrés’ Minibar in D.C. During his tenure, Minibar received a four-star review from Washington Post critic Tom Sietsema and Spero was celebrated as the Eater “Chef of the Year”. He also represented D.C. as one of ten contestants on the Netflix competition The Final Table. Never one to stop learning, he then returned to Europe to stage at Mugaritz, a top-ten contender for the “World’s 50 Best Restaurants” whose playful presentation and creativity inspired Spero to begin planning a restaurant of his own. Opened in October 2018, Reverie was the result of more than ten years of daydreaming, an intimate and personal expression of his travels and talents. The restaurant earned its first Michelin star in the spring of 2022, just weeks before the opening of Spero’s second independent venture—Bar Spero—a seafood bar and grill in D.C.’s East End. Prior to its closure in September 2023, Bar Spero was recognized as a James Beard semifinalist for Best New Restaurant in 2023, and was featured in nationwide lists such as Robb Report and Bon Appétit, and named “Best New Restaurant” by Esquire and Robb Report. As Executive Chef at Passage at the Inn at Langley, Spero brings a consistent depth of craft to the Pacific Northwest: working in close relationship with the farmers, fishers, and foragers of this region, and informed by a curiosity that has never stopped traveling. The cooking is marked by reverence, restraint, and nuanced simplicity. Instagram: @johnnyspero
ABOUT SALTY MAGAZINE
Salty Magazine, founded by Chef Geeta Bansal, is a unique print and digital publication. The independent democratic platform that provides an unbiased arena for free expression, where divergent voices of the culinary fraternity exchange ideas, concepts, and experiences at all levels. Invited members of the international gastronomic community share their thoughts and views in exclusive interviews and features penned by them with readers around the globe. Salty has been fortunate to have the support of and feature renowned and emerging chefs, food scientists, historians, front of house and beverage professionals, designers, visionaries, producers, social entrepreneurs, and food activists. Instagram: @thesaltymag_
ABOUT BURDOCK & CO
Burdock & Co, led by Andrea Carlson, was the first Canadian restaurant owned and operated by a female chef to win a Michelin star, which it has retained for four consecutive years. On the cutting edge of sustainable dining since it opened in 2013, the restaurant is a passionate advocate for regenerative, small-scale producers and growers, offering micro-seasonal, hyper-local, moon-inspired tasting menus that change every two months. The intimate, 32-seat room is a tiny gem of rustic minimalism made with all-natural recycled and locally hand-made materials, including the reclaimed barn-board panelling and pine beetle-damaged wood ceiling. Here, in this magical space buzzing with creative energy, diners are invited on a journey of discovery. From foraged forest fragrances to floral fermentations, saline seaweeds and revelatory roots, a meal at Burdock & Co ignites a sensory awakening.
The Burdock family of restaurants include Harvest Community Foods, a neighbourhood grocery and noodle café that offers a weekly, year-round CSA, and Bar Gobo, a Michelin-recommended wine bar and Vancouver’s premier listening lounge, outfitted with a custom-built analog sound system.