Chef collaboration events offer something unique for diners, says chef-owner Andrea Carlson of Burdock & Co. Photo by Hakan Burcuoglu /Handout

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A restaurant kitchen is a chef’s domain; a space where one might imagine outside visitors to be largely unwelcome.

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But, the frequency of the one-off dinners that see guest chefs take over the kitchens of Vancouver restaurants that are happening in and around the city lately seems to dispel this assumption.

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“Chef collabs are an excellent opportunity to bring some new viewpoints into the kitchen,” says Chef Andrea Carlson, owner of the Michelin-starred restaurant Burdock & Co. (2702 Main St.). “It’s an opportunity for learning and dialogue.”

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Rather than encroaching on someone else’s culinary turf, a guest-chef dinner offers the opportunity to merge the dialogue of two culinary voices — if only for one night.

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Chef-owner Andrea Carlson of Burdock & Co. Photo by Hakan Burcuoglu /Handout

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And, at a time where things feel particularly divided, the coming-together of chefs and diners for a meal feels comfortingly cohesive.

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“Perhaps the divisive nature of global politics has brought out a desire in people to build bridges through food collaborations at this time,” muses Carlson. “Dining together is one of the best ways to make friends and break down barriers.”

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Carlson is opening her restaurant’s kitchen on Aug. 11 to Johnny Spero, executive chef of Passage at The Inn at Langley on Whidbey Island, Wash. The dining event is part of The Salty Magazine’s Dinner Series organized by founder and Chef Geeta Barnsal.

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“Chef Spero is a highly acclaimed U.S. chef who has recently relocated to the Pacific Northwest,” says Carlson. “I’m excited to see our coastal environment expressed through his culinary lens.”

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For Spero, joining forces with another chef has long been an important element of his own culinary story.

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“Collaborations have always been a huge part of what I do,” Spero says. “I’ve probably done about 30 collaboration dinners. The first year at Reverie, we did one every month.”

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Johnny Spero, executive chef of Passage at The Inn at Langley on Whidbey Island, Wash. Photo by Johnny Spero /Handout

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Noting the guest-chef experience allows for exposure to new ingredients and techniques, Spero says the events represent a welcome mindset and menu refresh for everyone involved.

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“I would never want to copy anyone else, but it breaks you out of the mindset that this is the right way to do things,” says Spero. “Sometimes, you’re so focused on the finished version in your head, you miss all the other versions that might have been.

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“Collaborating with others allows you to look at opportunities you might have missed because you were so focused on one specific way.”

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For diners, Spero says these one-off events present an introduction to a culinary talent who they may not otherwise get the chance to discover.

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“It’s always fun to travel and to bring people to your city and introduce them to the people who support you,” he says. “They might not have any idea who the chef is, but then they end up going to that restaurant outside of the collaboration because they want the whole experience. It builds everybody up and it’s so much fun, really.”