5 Top Vancouver Food Influencers Dish On Their Favourite Festive Eats

Laura Ullock is your ultimate source for discovering exciting activities and delectable culinary delights across the Lower Mainland. Her motto: “Food and fun are what life is all about!” During the holidays, Ullock’s palate is drawn to anything eggnog-flavoured, appies and small plates. For a festive night out in Vancouver, she heads to the Reflections Winter Terrace at the Rosewood Hotel Georgia, where, last Christmas, “they let you put any drink you wanted in a Santa Cup. I went with their Scrooged Up cocktail with Grey Goose, mandarin juice, winter spices and chocolate foam.” She adds, “I also love checking out what new items Starbucks brings out each year, and I look forward to tasting—and judging it! This year it’s the new Iced Gingerbread Oat Chai!”

For Steph Wan discovering new restaurants, savouring diverse cuisines and documenting special culinary moments is a passion. In fact, her love for restaurant spaces and the connections they create led her to open Okini in Kerrisdale with partner Kevin Lin. During the holidays, a large roast or whole fish followed by pecan butter tarts, chewy ginger molasses cookies, buttery shortbread cookies, chocolate truffles and “candy cane-sprinkled anything” tickles her festive fancy. “I always look forward to the Chestnut Tart from Thierry, the ridiculously cute holiday cream puffs from BETA5, stuffed Cornish hen from Okini chestnut travel cake from Boulevard.”

Michael White and Kley Klemens are the foodie duo behind @jewkarta, your culinary guide to Vancouver’s diverse food scene. Their journey began during the pandemic, as they aimed to support local restaurants affected by restrictions. Hailing from Indonesia, Klemens cherishes his mother’s cooking, while White embraces Hannukah traditions … and Chinese food.

“Neither of us grew up with typical North American holiday traditions, in my case because I’m Jewish and Kley’s because he spent the first two decades of his life in Indonesia,” White says. “I do love matzo ball soup, brisket and latkes, but I’m happier eating Chinese food, which became a custom among Jewish families because Chinese-owned restaurants used to be the only ones open on Christmas Day.” He adds, “Kley grew up with a mother who, he says, was a better cook than most professional chefs. Her saksang—a typical North Sumatran pork dish cooked in the pig’s own blood and a variety of rich spices, including andaliman, which is part of the Szechuan pepper family—was especially praised by his parents’ extended families.”

For a festive night out in Vancouver, their go-to spot, Song, serves up a signature oyster dish with nam jim sauce, that’s “possibly the best one-bite/slurp dish in the city.” Order it with a funky natural wine full of sediment and mouth-puckering acidity.”

Initially sharing fashion and beauty tips, Eleni Chountalos is a Vancouver-based content creator whose focus shifted to food when pandemic restrictions limited her restaurant visits. When it comes to holiday dining, her heritage influences her love for visually appealing dishes. “I’m Greek so we eat with our eyes, and I love all the creative presentations,” she says. Her go-to holiday eatery is Glowbal. “They transform the restaurant with Christmas trees and twinkling holiday decorations, making it the perfect spot to take cute holiday pic—and you get to enjoy some delicious food, too. Win-win!” Pro tip: order the Jingle Juice—a cocktail made of bourbon, maple-roasted apple, lime juice, ginger syrup, ginger beer and dehydrated apple—and the Japanese A5 Wagyu beef.

Clarissa Nuttall wears the hats of a food blogger, social media manager and photographer. For a festive night out in Vancouver, her top pick is Tocador, a Cuban restaurant on Main Street for creative cocktails (ask if the bartender will mix you one off-menu), patatas bravas and cauliflower tacos. “Every year they come up with fun drinks that are in spirit of the holidays, but a constant is their delicious mulled wine, and I’m really eyeing the Lookin’ Pine cocktail—I hear it comes in a cute Christmas mug!” —Ashley Harris