Marc-Andre Choquette, Executive Chef

Loden Hotel and Voya Restaurant

There's a new boutique hotel on the block. Loden Vancouver was the first new hotel to open in Vancouver in five years. Chef Marc-Andre Choquette is the executive chef of the Loden Vancouver and the 80-seat restaurant - Voya. Marc-Andre is best known for his outstanding work as executive chef at Vancouver's award-winning Relais Gourmand restaurant, Lumiere. Having honed his craft in Montreal, France and New York, he is classically trained and a French-Asian cuisine specialist. Chef Marc-Andre gives us an entrée into his restaurant and bar.

So you're a French-Asian specialist. What exactly does that mean?
My training is classical French - I'm from Montreal and I studied in France - then I had a chance to come to Vancouver and work at Lumiere with Rob (Feenie). Rob was doing a lot of Asian dishes at the time and that affected my style. Then I went to Australia where there is a major Asian influence as well. But my favorite cooking style is still traditional French. Although I like to experiment, I try to respect the French base and evolve from there.

What will the experience at Voya be?
You can expect a beautiful classic dining room, modern-vintage in style with a private 18-seat dining room and a 70-seat lounge. For the food, we are going to try to work as much as possible with local, seasonal products. I'm planning on changing the menu as much as possible - more than the usual "four times per year".

Is there such a thing as a "Vancouver flavour"? How would you describe it?
Yes definitely, we are very lucky here to have a large gathering of people of all ethnicities - Japanese, Korean, Filipino, Chinese, Indian... All of that brings a lot of beautiful products to work with. The Vancouver flavour is very cosmopolitan.

What do you like about living in Vancouver?
I love all the outdoor space and the climate. There are no harsh winters here like back east. I love to ride (snowboard) and if I want some snow, I just go up to Cypress Mountain before work (30 minutes from downtown). Actually, I've probably been late to work a few times because of a good dump of snow!

www.lodenvancouver.com

October 2007