Held March 30 at Main Street’s Heritage Hall, Vancouver’s final 2026 Curry Cup Tournament of Champions showdown brought together seven past winners for one last spirited battle to walk away with the coveted Curry Cup.
In front of a sold-out crowd, Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar’s multiple award-winning executive chef, Roger Ma, was crowned the winner in both the People’s Choice and Judge’s Choice for his Balinese-inspired Chicken Honey Moon Curry dish.
“The Curry Cup is a great community event that promotes our local chefs and brings awareness to our industry,” says Ma. “Being on stage with your colleagues is fun. I couldn’t have won without my team, the people behind the scenes at Boulevard who made this happen.”
Ma resurrected his 2016 Curry Cup winning dish for this competition.
“It was a no-brainer … 10 years ago, I spent my honeymoon in Bali, and I was inspired by the cuisine,” says Ma. “My cook, Armond Fang, is Balinese, and we used his family’s technique to make this year’s dish more authentic.”
Hosted by the Chefs’ Table Society of British Columbia and Mount Pleasant BIA, the 12th Annual 2026 Curry Cup Tournament of Champions was emceed by Vancouver personality Fred Lee, with an esteemed panel of judges that included the first winner of the Curry Cup, Taryn Wa, along with past judges including Chef Meeru Dhalwala, City Councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung, Food Journalist Tim Pawsey and CBC host Margaret Gallagher.
Executive director of the Chefs’ Table Society of British Columbia Shawna Gardham was thrilled with the turnout.
“The first Curry Cup was held in 2014, and so we invited back some of the past winners to compete for the final showdown,” says Gardham. “Over the years, we have donated about $25,000 to community organizations, such as Project CHEF. Money tonight is going to the Mount Pleasant Lunch Program.”
Gardham went on to say: “To replace this event in the spring, we are bringing back the Chowder Cup, and we also have the Spot Prawn Festival May 31.”
A full line up of events lives here. —Michelle Hopkins
Returning Champions
- Dixie Sunthareswaran, @Dixiecooks – 2025
- Balvant Ajgaonkar, Desi Lounge – People’s Choice 2025
- Katy Cheung, Burdock & Co – 2024
- Curtis Luk & Laura Messinger, Farmhouse on 10th – 2023
- Raj Jaganathan, Rogers Arena – 2022
- Felix Zhou, Personas Patio + Restaurant + Lounge – 2017
- Roger Ma, Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar – 2016
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