With a cultural background that includes Scottish and Vietnamese ancestry, chef Quang Dang has plenty of heritage to draw on when creating a dish as executive chef at West restaurant.
The Calgary-raised Dang is also an advocate of sustainability and champion of West Coast cuisine, a role he continues to undertake in defining his approach to modern cookery.
His talents and personal take on food will be showcased as one of four renowned chefs at the From the Kitchen to the Boardroom event Jan. 28 at the River Rock Show Theatre.
Dang will kick things off on the menu that evening with the first course — a carrot and beetroot salad with farmhouse chèvre (goat cheese), endive and dijion vinaigrette.
The creation displays the culmination of Dang’s ability as one the city’s top chefs, a status he did not have totally in his sights when he originally moved to Vancouver in 1998.
Back then, he was more focused on finishing his engineering degree and fulfilling his other dream — playing elite field hockey for Canada’s national side.
But a series of part-time positions in the hospitality industry helped sway him as he traded the pitch for the kitchen where his culinary career started to bloom.
Dang graduated to compete in numerous international food competitions, including the prestigious Bocuse D’Or in Lyon, France, the National Chaine des Rotisseurs in Winnipeg and the 2011 European Seafood Exposition in Brussels, Belgium where he represented Canada.
Dang has been at West since 2011 and is thrilled to be back home leading what he considers to be one of the finest culinary and service brigades in the country.
At the From the Kitchen to the Boardroom event — presented in by the Richmond Newsand Richmond Chamber of Commerce — Dang joins Brett Turner, of Droski/Turner Hospitality Management, Jackie Kia Ellis, of Beaucoup Bakery and Vikram Vij, one of the Canada’s top celebrity chefs.
Together, they will serve up helpings of business experiences and fine food in a unique environment. Tickets are $250 and can be ordered through the chamber at richmondchamber.ca.
