Since its debut last April, the Fairmont Pacific Rim’s in-house restaurant, Botanist (1038 Canada Place), has received plenty of attention and attracted the appetite of local and global food-lovers.

Its Pacific Northwest concept has been attractive enough to lure renowned French chef Julien Royer to cook with Botanist’s executive chef, Hector Laguna, at a collaborative dinner this week.

Chef Royer is the owner of Odette, a two Michelin-star restaurant in Singapore that offers modern French cuisine influenced by seasonality, terroir, and artisanal produce. This dining event will mark his Canadian cooking debut.

The two talented chefs will work together to serve a seven-course tasting menu on Thursday and Friday (February 22 and 23)—the latter date is already sold-out.

“It’s an honour to welcome Chef Julien Royer to the Botanist kitchen,” says Hector Laguna, executive chef, in a press statement. “Our philosophies are similar in that cooking with honesty and sourcing the best ingredients available in season will showcase their purest version, which will be illustrated in each course of our menu.”

Guests will be able to enjoy intricately designed dishes made with unique ingredients, which offer plenty of flavour and texture. Some of the featured dishes include parsnip (parsnip bark, mousse, and champagne gelée), lobster tail (fennel, pasta veil, and aragosta), and 20-day matured duck (yuzu glaze, turnip, and kinome [Japanese pepper]).

For those who have an elevated palate and plan to take part in this special dining event, remember to save room for the dessert known as “Choconuts Vancouver”—a delicious blend of nuts, sable Breton (French salted butter cookies), Tanariva chocolate, and salted caramel ice cream.

Limited tickets ($188 per person, plus taxes and gratuity) are still available for tomorrow’s (February 22) seating. Optional wine pairings can be added for an additional $90. Reservations are required and tickets can be purchased by calling 604-695-5557.