Track & Food Podcast

Now brought to you by Scout Magazine. Marijuana was legalized in Canada just a few years back and we are certain there are not many who are upset with this. Psilocybin, the chemical altering compound found in "magic mushrooms" is still illegal. It has been since 1974. This needs to change. Enter in Spencer Hawkswell. He's the CEO of a new Victoria based non-profit called TheraPsil....

Now brought to you by Scout Magazine. Well this was a fun one.  James Grant , the newly crowned 2021 World Class Global Bartender Of The Year and his good friend and mentor, Jeff Savage , who himself came second at the 2019 World Class Global Finals distill at length their passion and adoration for what they do for a living and why they continue to pursue careers in this fickle industry. Essential...

Now brought to you by Scout Magazine. What luck it is for me today to discuss today's topic with UBC Professor Edward Slingerland. His latest book which came out on June 1st delves into the world of imbibing and how its purveyance within our world and history has helped shape our modern civilization. The book in question is titled, Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced and Stumbled Our Way To Civiliza...

Now brought to you by Scout Magazine. It's always wonderful to chat with individuals who are happy and fulfilled. Today's talk with bartender and budding entrepreneur Alex Black of imminent Blnd Tger was no exception. I've known Alex for many years now as a prominent fixture within the Vancouver hospitality industry. He's worked for some exceptional people and businesses. Most...

Now brought to you by Scout Magazine. There are those who talk and those who do. Tristan Jagger is in the latter camp and Vancouver is better for it. Having launched Vancouver Food Runners at the beginning of the pandemic last year, her charity has helped address and bridge the gap of food waste in the community using innovative app technology. With a roster of over 1,200 volunteers, Vancouver Foo...

Now brought to you by Scout Magazine.  Now here’s a fun one. Two Chef heavyweights talking collaboration, life during the pandemic, staying upbeat, frustrations with third-party delivery apps and why they both love Chef Peter Ho.   First, let’s just call it what it is, Chef and entrepreneur Doug Stephen has been killing it these past few years with his Downlow Chicken brand. Don’t believe me? Just...

Now brought to you by Scout Magazine. What an excellent chat. For this one we were very thrilled to have on the President and CEO of the BC Restaurants And Food Services Association, Ian Tostenson, to talk about what his group has done to help the restaurant community during the pandemic. As someone who is at the forefront of communication with the government, Tostenson has a unique perspective an...

Now brought to you by Scout Magazine. It's been just over a year since the pandemic upended everyone's lives. Some more than others, none probably more so than Chef Alex Sandoval of Le Crocodile. Jamie was intrigued to bring her on today so she could tell her story. As someone who was living her best life, cooking under world renowned Chef Ignacio Mattos at eponymous restaurant Estela in...

Now brought to you by Scout Magazine. There isn't much to explain here. Indoor dining has been shelved for three weeks. Probably longer. It sucks. This is going to hurt a lot of restaurants. The boys dispel their feelings. Sadly, co-host Mickey McLeod wasn't able to join due to work commitments. His presence was missed in so many ways. But never fear, this chat has a plethora of commenta...

Now brought to you by Scout Magazine. This episode is also brought to you by Tullamore Dew Irish Whisky. We partnered with them to help bring awareness for their O'Everyone campaign. You can learn more about it here. Tullamore D.E.W. invites you to create your very own personalized O' Lastname T‑Shirt & Bottle label bundle. 100% of proceeds from merchandise sales on this site are don...

Now brought to you by Scout Magazine.  In this episode we were excited to finally record again (Jamie got sick with Covid for 3 weeks - wank!) as well as chat with Grace Kennedy, the owner of Livlite, Vancouver’s newest zero waste grocery delivery company.  Having only been around since August of 2020, we were curious to discuss with Grace why she’d open during this period, how she got Livlite off...

Now brought to you by Scout Magazine. In this episode we were thrilled to not only record again but excited to chat with Tacofino's head of Talent and Culture Taylor Chobotiuk about their Shift Change  series on diversity in restaurants. Shift Change began back in 2019 as a new thought experiment by the team at Tacofino. "Shift Change aims to encourage dialogue about issues prevalent in...

Now brought to by Scout Magazine. In this fun split episode it thrilled us to bring back on two of our most inspiring previous guests in Max Curzon-Price of Botanist and The Diamond and Dallah El Chami of Superbaba and the Vancouver Food and Beverage Community Relief Fund.  We were excited to check in on Max’s new cocktail giving back initiative, Pine and Palm, where he’s engaged the local bartend...

Now brought to you by Scout Magazine. It’s a dream we have all wanted at some point or another. Whether you work in the restaurant industry currently or have always wanted to. To open your very own, small, independent restaurant, where you’ll get to connect with your community, local farmers and become a hub for your friends and family is something we all covet. For some of us, this concept remain...

Now brought to you by Scout Magazine. There are few people on this planet who understand viruses and pandemics more than Dr. Bonnie Henry. As BC’s top health officer, her years of experience in dealing with past crises such as Ebola in 2001, SARS in 2003 or H1N1 in 2009 gave her the knowledge to help guide us during COVID-19. With a low transmission rate and an even lower death toll, her efforts h...

Now brought to you by Scout Magazine. In this episode, our 50th, it thrilled us to bring on one of the most respected and hard working hospitality veterans in Vancouver, General Manager Leticia Castro of The Diamond.  We waxed on all things COVID, reopening her bar, how she’s managed these weird times, staff expectations, her managerial philosophy, stories from the past and much much more.  We als...

Now brought to you by Scout Magazine. Today’s episode is big for us as we were beyond thrilled to have British Columbia’s Attorney General David Eby on the podcast to discuss the new restaurant and bar wholesale pricing parameters his office released last week. This new pricing, with restaurants and bars receiving 20-25% off what they currently pay, is something the industry has been clamouring fo...

Now brought to you by Scout Magazine. In this emergency episode, we brought on two of the owners of Mount Pleasant’s Como Taperia, Shaun Layton and Frankie Harrington to discuss all the hoopla surrounding their patio expansion. In a desperate Hail Mary attempt to garner some attention to their plight, they wrote a detailed Instagram post of why they had been turned down by the city of Vancouver. S...

Now brought to you by Scout Magazine. In this episode it thrilled us to bring on the Editor-in-Chief of our presenting sponsor, Andrew Morrison of Scout Magazine. This is Andrew’s second time joining us on the pod and well similar to his first go around, he didn’t disappoint. We waxed on the state of dining here in Vancouver, his thoughts on the how the pandemic has changed the way restaurateurs h...

Now brought to you by Scout Magazine. In this episode it delighted us to bring on two prominent hospitality veterans in Paul Grunberg and Romano Castillo . You might recognize these two as the former faces of Gastown’s L’Abattoir, where they helped distinguish that restaurant as being one of Vancouver’s best for many years.  However, a few years back, Paul and his partners ventured out on their ow...

Now presented by Scout Magazine. In this special COVID-19 episode it thrilled us to have on Chambar co-owner Karri Green-Schuermans and our old friend James Iranzad of Gooseneck Hospitality. We wanted to hear them speak about what’s happening on the front lines regarding how the British Columbia government is looking to reopen the restaurant community. As the two lone independent restaurateurs fro...

Now presented by Scout Magazine. In this weeks episode it thrilled us to bring on highly respected restaurateur Brandon Grossutti. Owner and operator of Gastown staple Pidgin , we were eager to discuss a new venture he’s been developing, a new “at cost” delivery service called FROMTO.   With so many restaurants struggling to keep their heads above water during this trying time, we wanted to learn...

Now brought to you by Scout Magazine. In this special Covid-19 episode we brought on Abdallah (Dallah) El Chami of Victoria's Superbaba to discuss the Vancouver Food and Beverage Relief Fund he and couple of his friends recently started. With so many of us in the industry struggling with this current way of life, we were eager to hear Dallah's thoughts on how he and his fellow local rest...

Hello fellow isolators and welcome to the Midrange Group Chat. Today, some of the members of the Midrange team got together remotely to talk about pretty much whatever came to mind. This round we are joined by Mickey, Jamie, Dan, and Tristan. While there is some unavoidable speculation regarding what will come from this new way of life, the team tries to focus on some potential silver linings of w...

Brought to you by Scout Magazine. In light of our current social and economic circumstances due to the Covid-19 virus, we wanted to reach out to our close friends in the community and chat with them on how they are dealing with this pandemic. First up today is our loyal friend James Iranzad of Gooseneck Hospitality. If you don't know James, you probably know of his restaurants. Think Wildebee...