Culinary Cut-Rates: Bistro 101 - Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts Vancouver, BC

My wife and I decided to head out to Granville Island for maybe one of our last few outings before our little one enters our beautiful world.

I made reservations to Bistro 101 for dinner as we decided to celebrate our wedding anniversary which is a few days from now as baby can come out at any time and we might not get the chance to celebrate it.

Bistro 101 is a restaurant/bistro located at the bottom floor of the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts – voted as the best professional culinary school in Vancouver.

Impressive selection of breads in their complimentary bread basket.

They offer seasonal lunch and dinner menus, and have and extensive wine list. They also have featured West Coast buffet every first Friday of the month which we have yet to try. The meals are a prepared by the students of PICA – Canada’s future chef s and culinarians.

Although, these kids are still students, they seem to have a good grasp of the culinary world, trends, tastes, and presentation.

I was definitely impressed with the quality of the food they served us.

Amuse-bouche of a simple cured Salmon Rose with pickled capers and onion

Miner’s Mix Salad

Smoked Trout, Grape and Fennel Salad

Sole Fillet with Potato Confit, Sautéed Greens and Hazelnut Brown Butter

Pork Jowl with Turnips, Rapini, Marinated Cherries and Pistachio Powder

Exotic Flower Vacherin, with Coconut Meringue and Vanilla Ice Cream and Sous Vide Mango

Passionfruit and Calamansi, Brown Butter Sable, Crème Brulee, Pralines and Mascarpone

It’s also fun to observe the students as they serve and prepare the dishes through the huge glass window that separates the dining area from the kitchen. Totally reminded me of my culinary school days – panicking to get the dish out, scrambling for garnishes, getting organized and sequencing orders etc…

Obviously, it’s a school, and these younglings are still learning, so you can’t expect perfection, but seeing them try, and the efforts and talent that they put into it is definitely worth the experience and the $ you pay, if not more.

Culinary Cut-rate price: $30/head

• Three course menu: Apps/Salad, Main Course, and Dessert including a variety bread basket.
• Lovely, quiet ambience
• Unique experience observing students reach for their goals and pursue their passions as culinarians and chefs

We love finding excellent quality eats at budget prices!

Links:
Bistro 101 - https://www.picachef.com/bistro-101-restaurant
PICA - https://www.picachef.com/