Food Notes

Vancouver Aquarium's new Picnic in the Park is packed with flavour and purpose

Available for anyone who'd like to set down a blanket in Stanley Park, the four-course picnic supports the not-for-profit Ocean Wise and the Aquarium

by Gail Johnson on July 22nd, 2020 at 12:16 PM
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      The Ocean Wise Café at the Vancouver Aquarium is making it easy for people to dine outdoors with its new Picnic in the Park.

      Created by chef Will Lew, the offering consists of a sustainably sourced four-course menu—and is packed for a cause.

      Presented in a reusable picnic bag or a take-home wicker basket, each meal comes with a mini seasonal scone with berry jam per person.

      From there, you get a choice of salad (such as Blackened Prawn Sea‘sar’ or Grilled Chicken Waldorf) and choice of sandwich, wrap or bowl--with highlights including California Roll-Style Ahi Tuna Poke Bowl and BC Smoked Salmon Sandwich. Of course, there are sweets, with selections ranging from a seasonal fruit cup to banana bread to Lew’s Whistler Snowy Sugar Bun: sugar-dusted brioche with Chantilly cream.

      The keepsake woven wicker basket comes complete with place settings that include glass wine glasses, porcelain plates, and wood-handled stainless-steel flatware.

      Vancouver Aquarium Ocean Wise Cafe chef Will Lew designed the four-course meal with seasonal, sustainable, local ingredients.
      Vancouver Aquarium.

      You can pick up a Picnic in the Park before or after a trip to the Vancouver Aquarium, but it’s also available to anyone who just wants to get out and enjoy Stanley Park.

      Priced at $48 for two people and $24 per additional person, it can be pre-ordered for grab-and-go or ordered on the spot at the Ocean Wise Café (located just outside the Vancouver Aquarium).

      Proceeds from picnic sales will support the not-for-profit Vancouver Aquarium and not-for-profit Ocean Wise Conservation Association. The organizations are still struggling financially because of COVID-19; the Aquarium was closed for three months, and current physical distancing requirements mean a reduction in the number of visitors allowed.

      Focused on education, research, and direct-action conservation, Ocean Wise runs such initiatives as the Ocean Wise Seafood Program, Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, and the Marine Mammal Rescue—the only facility in Canada that saves, rehabilitates and releases more than 150 marine mammals each year.

      The Vancouver Aquarium recently announced it is open until 7 p.m. on summer weekends; visitors need to book and purchase tickets online in advance.

      More info on the Picnic in the Park is here.

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