The past year has been a pretty intense ride for Trevor Bird and 2013 is shaping up to be even busier.
Capitalizing on his fame on Top Chef Canada, where he was the Season 2 runner up, the Vancouver chef opened Fable last May on West 4th. It was a chance for him to flex his creative muscle in the kitchen and pursue his dream of creating exactly the sort of restaurant where hed like to eat.
Eight months later, when Bird is told that Fable was chosen as the Best New Restaurant in WE Vancouvers Best of the City readers survey, it adds to his feeling that it has all been a little bit overwhelming. Overwhelming in a very good way.
Its a dream, really, he says. And as much as hes really stoked that Vancouver diners love his farm-to-table concept, hes also very open to ideas on how to make it even better.
Like him, Vancouverites love to eat but they are also conscientious about eating foods that are fresh and healthy. He makes sure he eats his vegetables, and his plates include a lot of healthy options, too. Its well balanced food, he says.
The most popular items on the menu include the steak with black pepper jam, and duck that is seared to crispy perfection and brushed with a sherry glaze. But the dish that surprises people the most is his Canned Tuna appetizer.
People dont quite understand it when they read it on the menu, he laughs. You dont have high expectations but when you eat it, youre like, Oh shit, this is good!
He takes fresh albacore tuna and puts it in a mason jar along with fingerling potatoes, confit lemon, confit tomatoes, olive oil, tarragon and chervil. He submerges the jar in hot water and lets it bathe for about an hour, cooking the tuna and melding all the tastes together. When it arrives on the table, people are given a teaspoon of salt which they mix in to release all the flavours before spreading it on toasted sourdough bread. We can attest that its delicious!
Its this sort of creativity plus the daily specials that make all the demands of owning his own restaurant so rewarding.
Not that hes going to have the chance to rest on his laurels. The next few months are jam-packed with culinary adventures, including cooking demonstrations, teaching cooking classes and going to Fernie to cook for 200 Telus executives. As well as hosting some Top Chef Canada chefs from Season Three at the restaurant, hes also travelling to Banff to cook with chefs from all three seasons.
Its through-the-roof busy, Bird says as he goes through a mental check list of his to-do list. But dont say he doesnt love it.
