There was no sign on the front of 1898 Main Street to announce grace-gallery, the venue for a 48-hour marathon of cooking, looping local indie film shorts, and a food-related art exhibit. The windows of the non-descript, stuccoed lowrise were also covered. However, as I came closer, I noticed the posters in the window, suggesting it was the right place. However, there were none of the usual indicators offering greater certainty — a lineup, an open door, a host/ess, a sidewalk sign, noise coming from within, etc. Slowly opening the door, I peered into the darkness inside, the scene gradually coming into focus as my eyes adjusted. A few people were cooling their heels; the power in the block was out!
It was an unfortunate mishap to befall the event an hour before kick-off with the potential to derail a great deal of meticulous planning. Thankfully, power was restored in a couple of hours and merely resulted in minor rescheduling, albeit after some anxiety over the food and the possibility of having to contact so many guests. When I returned for an 8:00pm seating, the gallery was humming along like clockwork as if nothing had happened.
The premise of 40+8 Hours of Food & Flicks was to explore whether or not the chef is an artist. However, for 12B’s Chef Todd trying to break his record by cooking for 48 hours straight, it also begs the question, is the chef a masochist? Does the love of food extend to a willingness to punish oneself in order to offer culinary pleasure to others? The answer to that, however, would evolve closer to the end of the marathon.
While it was a relaxed affair with people free to talk during the screening of the shorts, there was an undercurrent of seriousness. The quality of the food was high and the service attentive, with servers taking care to serve the women first. But once the course was efficiently delivered to the patrons, you could eat at your own pace and not worry about being hushed, as in a cinema. This did make it difficult at times to hear dialogue, depending on the recording level of the audio track and where you sat, but you could always buy a DVD for $20 if you wanted to watch them again at home.
$20 for a three-course meal, a glass of wine, and 1 1/2 hours of entertainment from our local budding film makers is not only good value, but an enjoyable way to support Vancouver’s artistic community. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s in store for next year and try meals at different times of the day for comparison. Chef Todd broke his record, but I don’t feel he needs to go for 50 hours to prove anything. The fact that his underground restaurant keeps him very busy is testament enough of his talents.
^ Chef Todd’s temporary kitchen setup inside grace-gallery with bowls staged for serving the soup course.
^ Co-curator, Rachel Zottenberg, pours Sangria for guests.
^ Orange-pear-ginger soup with cilantro garnish.
^ There were 24 two-hour seatings of 20 people featuring 15 shorts chosen by Bienvenido Cruz and Rachel Zottenberg.
^ Second course: quail with a sour cherry sauce, frisée, and golden beet.
^ The finale: warm Madeleine.
~ RG
