Driving the Fraser Canyon is really beginning to be a foodie adventure. I discovered 293 Wallace Restaurant last summer and I’m pleased to say that it keeps getting better and more adventurous.
I was running late on Friday evening so as I pulled into Hope I just managed to get in the door of 293 Wallace St Restaurant before they closed up for the evening.
Knowing how hard kitchen staffs work, I declined the front of the house staff offer to get the kitchen to make me a dinner and instead asked if I could talk to Chef Yoshi Takeda, the creative genius behind 293 Wallace St Restaurant.
After a brief chat with Chef about his training experiences at Noma, one of the top three ranked restaurants in the WORLD he offered to make me a dessert. How could I say no!
He brought out a maple cheesecake with Chilliwack raspberries, Agassiz hazelnuts turned into a crisp, and a smear of raspberry compote. The little green leaves, oxalis, provide a slightly citrus-like flavour hit. There was also chocolate “soil” and crumbles. Honestly, my iPhone picture does not do this dessert justice.
Chef Yoshi told me that during his experience at Noma in Denmark he was learning how to use hyper-local ingredients. With that in mind he is designing his next fresh sheet for 293 Wallace to incorporate some of what he learned about using local ingredients, including local blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and Douglas fir tea, ponderosa pine, and … ants…yes ants!
He did tell me that he recognizes the fact that he still needs to meet his customers needs and appetites but he really wants to push things as far as he can without losing his customers while on his food adventure.
I am looking forward to seeing the creative and hyper-local foodie adventure that Chef Yoshi takes us on.
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2 responses to “Chef Yoshi Takeda Returns to 293 Wallace”
There is a bigger story here…how on earth did Yoshi get to 293 Wallace after training at one of the world’s best.
Chef Takeda was working at a small camp outside of Hope and left that role when he partnered with another chef to open the restaurant we now know as 293 Wallace St Restaurant.
He wanted to expand his food/chef experience so he traveled to Noma.