Most of us stop to admire flowers for their beauty.
Chef Andrea Carlson tastes them.
At Vancouver’s Michelin-starred Burdock & Co, Carlson’s latest tasting menu, Flower Gazing Under a Berry Moon, transforms British Columbia’s fleeting blooms into an extraordinary culinary experience that is equal parts garden walk, science experiment, and edible work of art.
Running through early August, the menu invites diners to see flowers not as decoration, but as ingredients rich with flavour, texture, and possibility.
“These flowers tell the story of our urban coastal landscapes,” says Carlson, a Master Gardener who foraged many of the blooms from her own East Vancouver garden. “They were chosen for flavour, above all, and the alchemy they harbour.”
That sense of transformation is woven through every course.
A delicate scallop crudo arrives surrounded by begonia sorbet and koji-salted broth. The star ingredient isn’t chosen for fragrance but for its startling acidity.
“This flower is a one-liner,” Carlson says of the tuberous begonia. “It doesn’t have any floral notes. It’s all about acidity—very clear, linear, shiny, high-toned and crisp.”
Elsewhere, petals from a 50-year-old magnolia tree growing in Carlson’s backyard are preserved kimchi-style to amplify their naturally warm ginger character. Paired with charcoal-grilled spotted shrimp, leek, and fuki, the dish quietly pays homage to British Columbia culinary history, tracing a line back to the legendary Sooke Harbour House and its pioneering approach to local ingredients.
Then comes elderflower.
While many chefs use it delicately, Carlson embraces its intensity. The flower’s pollen is fermented into butter, creating something unexpectedly funky and complex.
“It turns super funky,” she says, “almost blue-cheesy,” while still retaining its ethereal floral qualities.
That butter is used to baste grilled cabbage, balanced by elderflower vinaigrette and sabayon alongside sustainably farmed sea bass.
Perhaps the menu’s most surprising transformation belongs to sakura. Through salt fermentation, the flower’s soft floral perfume evolves into notes reminiscent of bitter almond, appearing in both cherry blossom milk custard and cherry-sakura sorbet.
Even staghorn sumac reveals a different personality than many diners expect.
“Fresh sumac is so bright and lively,” Carlson says. “It’s a real trip.”
On the menu, it dusts a nori mochi doughnut served alongside Burdock & Co’s signature uni gelato—a dish that feels simultaneously playful and profound.
The result is a tasting menu that captures something increasingly rare: a genuine sense of place.
Every flower, fermentation, and flavour tells a story about the Pacific Northwest, its seasons, and the remarkable ingredients growing quietly around us.
For those looking to extend the experience, the Burdock family offers plenty of reasons to linger: Harvest Community Foods continues its beloved year-round CSA program, while nearby Bar Gobo provides a stylish escape from the city’s World Cup crowds.
Part wine bar, part listening lounge, Bar Gobo pairs terroir-driven wines, inventive cocktails, and chef Ralph Cravalho’s Filipino-inspired dishes with a custom-built analog sound system designed for deep listening and slow evenings.
But the real star of the season is Carlson’s flower-filled journey through B.C.’s edible landscape—a reminder that some of the most extraordinary ingredients are hiding in plain sight.
Flower Gazing Under a Berry Moon is available Thursday through Monday at Burdock & Co through early August. The tasting menu is $175, with optional wine and zero-proof pairings available. —Noa Nichol
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