Foodies of the Year

The Quebecois chef won WL's 2018 Foodies of the Year, bringing a taste of his hometown to the West Coast.

This power duo is training up-and-coming-chefs and serving incredible (and affordable) meals.

"The topic of Indigenous cuisine can open a conversation about relocation and much more."

Somewhere between chain and independent restaurants lies this Calgary supergroup spearheaded in part by Martin.

Emkao is the first single source, traceable and sustainable chocolate purveyor in B.C.

Mouallem took a bite out of the film world with his original documentary starring Alberta's Burger Baron restaurant chain.

There's something fishy going on here (it's carrots).

It’s our 15th Annual celebration of the farmers, chefs, activists, owners, authors and more who make the West the very best place to be for food lovers.

The fuss over Oca Pastificio comes from the lack of fuss.

The pair behind Dachi, Elephant and Hanai are always spotlighting the success of their collaborators (but they deserve some major credit, too).

Guignard's group, the Alliance of Beverage Licensees, gave restauranteurs a much-needed boost during trying times.

She's the champion of tofu the worlds needs right now.

Meet the Top 40 folks shaping how we eat in Western Canada.

Nominations are open until January 15th.

Meet the 10 tastemakers shaping how we eat in the West right now.

When it came to COVID pivots, they delivered.

This dynamic duo is reinventing the Naramata Inn.

Trust in trout.

Kula Kitchen is making community cool.

Helming Calgary's new hotspot.

This self-proclaimed pastry nerd won our hearts (and stomachs).

Island wine is having its moment.

Potatoes to the rescue!

In praise of the Nude dude.

The 40 finalists who made pandemic life a little more bearable.

The leadership team at Como have achieved the impressive feat of making tapas cool again.

Bringing artisanal flour (and transparency) to East Van.

She'll serve you a killer bottle of wine... but you'd better believe she'll be in Converse while she's doing it.

Meet the dumpling darlings of Victoria.

The plant pioneers bring their craft to Kelowna.

The cookbook author takes a stand against our clean food obsession.

At the edge of Vancouver Island, they're reshaping B.C.'s food scene.

The Francophile with a palate of gold.

The nomination period for our 2020 Foodies of the Year awards is open until December 19.

And the winners are...

The Edmonton chef's hunting and fishing skills keep him at the forefront of the re-emergence of Indigenous cuisine in Canada.

The restaurateur is no stranger to fighting the good fight against Vancouver’s “No Fun City” rep with her collection of always-playful bars and restaurants.

"We're trying to bottle a feeling."

The director of the Chinese Restaurant Awards puts the spotlight on a deserving community of restaurateurs. 

When the pair moved to Saskatoon in 2016, they both began to miss the fresh bread they remembered from home.

The beer industry couldn’t have asked for two better-suited fairy godmothers, or founders, to start a collab craft brewery.

The Vancouver-based cook and community facilitator understands the capacity food has to empower people and bring them together.

A big deal from a small town. 

There’s something about Colannino's tiny, perfectly imperfect spot on the city’s east side that feels a world away from Vancouver.

This fall will see the Calgary-based chef open two new restaurants in the Alt Hotel: Barshoku and Nupo. 

These storytellers, bartenders, brewers, chefs and do-gooders are raising the bar for all the foodies across the West.

The Victoria chef is building an empire, and taking the city along with him.

The world-class bartender has the trophies to prove it.

This trailblazer is on a mission to change the way we understand pork.

The pair proved that Winnipeggers will line up in -30C for the right kind of ice cream.

This dynamo has been pushing the envelope in the Okanagan, and making our wine world a much better place.

The activist brought attention to food waste in the city—and succeeded in diverting nearly 4,000 pounds of food waste each week.

When the apocalypse hits, we're making a beeline to Kevin's house.

The duo that brands Vancouver's restaurant scene sees their influence grow around the world.

Matt Kohlen and Adam Henderson are brewing up a little magic. 

Meet the 40 finalists on our 11th annual Foodies of the Year shortlist.

These chefs, bartenders, restaurateurs, producers and designers are making the West a delicious place to live.

Wanting to help newly arrived refugees, Nihal Elwan created a series of pop-up dinners that have now developed a cult following.

Is a restaurant's design more important than the food? The designer trio behind Calgary's most frequented rooms makes a compelling case.

JP Pedhirney is back in his hometown, serving some of Calgary's most eclectic and playful food.

When everyone was telling him to play it safe, Joël Watanabe decided to gamble with an Italian-Japanese hybrid restaurant.

The Kiwi-born winemaker has become the go-to consultant for small wineries looking to push the boundaries.

With fresh and innovative cocktail programs, Kevin Cam is quite literally raising the bar in Edmonton.

One of Vancouver first craft breweries, Parallel 49 is growing up with Graham With's care.

The restaurant owner's newest Japanese izakaya, Raisu, has just as much personality as its predecessors.

With a brand new cookbook, Blue Heron Creamery's Karen McAthy brings vegan cheese making to the masses.

These island sisters represent a new wave of landlords, curating a foodie community with their tenants.

So what better time to revisit her sage advice on all things fried chicken.

Meet the 40 finalists on our 10th annual Foodies of the Year shortlist.

We’re on the hunt for Western Living’s Foodies of the Year—and we need your help!

This year's winners are making the West a delicious place to live.

Editor-in-chief Anicka Quin and food editor Neal McLennan share food trends and the FOTY 2016 finalists who are reinventing the West.

Our shortlist shines a spotlight on the up-and-coming Western Canadians who are reimagining the way we eat.

We’ve been privileged to document the West’s explosion of great food during our magazine's history, and we’re even prouder to present our 2015 Foodies of the Year winners.

We think this Calgary chef is the next big thing.

The &27 Chef is an Edmonton prodigy.

This trailblazer is changing the way Western Canadians enjoy a brew.

The Green Gourmets' Nosh Eatery is the new inspiration to eat vegetarian.

This master mixologist is shaking it up at the Fairmont Pacific Rim.

This dream team may be from a small town, but they're thinking big.

This self-taught chef is bringing a taste of India to the Okanagan.

These thought provokers produced the award-winning film, Just Eat It.

The founder of TH Wines in the Okanagan proves to be quite the terroirist.

The Tacofino duo are building nothing short of a food empire.

Western Living's annual collection of the best and brightest foodies in the West.

We’re half a decade into this exercise of scouring the West in search of the young turks who are shaping (and shaking up) the way we eat, shop and drink, and narrowing the list to just 40 has become progressively more difficult each year. All of which underscores the point that living here—with its near-perfect blend of urban and rural, beauty and bounty—is the ideal place to be a foodie.

This year’s feted include ranchers, drink-slingers and everyone in between. The thing they all have in common? A youthful approach to using the bounty of the West with passion and zeal.

They’re young, talented and pretty damn confident. From Edmonton’s 27-year-old foodie blog queen to the 30-year-old chef who’s upending Vancouver’s Italian scene, these are the men and women reinventing how we eat in the West.

In our second annual listing, meet the new generation of passionate chefs, restaurateurs, food producers, wine and spirits experts and activists who are helping to define and change the way we eat in Western Canada today.

These restaurateurs, chefs, winemakers, bartenders, producers and activists have rocked local palates in their own communities—and changed the way we eat across the West ... one delicious plate, glass, taste at a time.