Much of the Downtown Eastside news these days concerns the alighting of contentiously named Pidgin on the borders of Pigeon Park. However, there's another restaurant just across the way that's been doing its thing without accolade or controversy for seven years now. And it too deserves our attention.
There's no shortage of cooking schools in Vancouver, from polished places with their own bistros that can take you from near neophyte to capable of opening your own restaurant, to bread and butter places that keep the wheels of our culinary community rolling by turning out qualified sous-chefs, sauciers and more.
However, the HAVE Culinary Training Society (it stands for "Hope, Action, Values and Ethics") is a school with a difference. It trains people, often right off the street, who face a real challenge getting sufficient skills for employment, whether it's due to addiction, mental health, language or other issues.
Over the past seven years, HAVE Café has trained some 700 students and placed them in the food and beverage industry - a success rate of more than 75 per cent.
The only prerequisite for being accepted into the program is to be clean and sober, says Len Nakonechny, director of development and training. He's witnessed any number of people, who - with HAVE's help - have managed to turn their lives around.
Sit down at this bustling café for a healthy bite (such as a grilled chicken salad or moo shu prawn and salmon rice bowl) and it feels like any other lunchtime diner, with no shortage of well-prepared plates on the menu.
The menu is, explains Nakonechny, slightly more extensive because the idea is to give students as much practical exposure as possible. All proceeds go to support the society.
Under Executive Director and Chef Amber Anderson, the business end of HAVE's kitchen runs like clockwork. Ask the chef to single out some of her more memorable "successes" and she'll tell you "I'm very lucky that I get to do this," before embarking on a string of stories with happy endings.
Sometimes her new students may have only the clothes they show up in: no home, no money - and no food. The café, with professional counseling on hand, will not only help them find shelter but also feed and set them on a path to self-sufficiency.
In time, just about everyone working here will be placed in jobs at restaurants such as Donnelly Group's The New Oxford or Mark Brand's No. 1 Noodle House, to mention just a couple of restaurants across the downtown core that make a point of hiring HAVE's qualified graduates.
Anderson relates the story of one person who, when they started, couldn't even look her in the eye. Now the person is full of life with restored confidence, she says with a quiet smile of modest pride.
In fact, HAVE Café's model is so successful that another will soon open on the North Shore, with plans for New Westminster and later Kamloops and Victoria.
So next time you're on the Downtown Eastside looking for a tasty, well priced bite, why not give it a shot? You'll be not only well fed but also supporting a truly worthy cause in the process. The cafe, located at 374 Powell St, is open Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
FISHY BUSINESS
We're happy to see one of the country's most fervent advocates for sustainable seafood is wimming back onto our radar. Former C Restaurant and Kambolis Group exec chef Robert Clark is launching multi-tasking The Fish Counter. It will not only sell Ocean Wise and sustainable seafood of every kind (in season) but also promises to be more than your average casual diner.
Clark says he'll offer the freshest seafood available, with serious fish 'n chips topping the bill. No doubt with beer batter, too, seeing as he'll be right next door to Portland Craft, at Main and 22nd. Look for a mid summer opening, likely in August. See you there!
BELLY'S BEST
Chateau Ste. Michelle Columbia Valley Riesling 2011
Here's a perfect partner for our summer-like spring. Juicy up front lime and stonefruit notes with a touch of mineral, that makes for a perfect patio sipper, or excellent match with gently spicy plates such as pad Thai or mild curries. BCLS $15.99 (on special through May 25th. 90 pts.
