![\"Marcus](\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.sailsandspices.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Marcus-Von-Albrecht-1.jpg?resize=680%2C454&ssl=1\")
Acclaimed Chef Marcus Von Albrecht is the president & CEO of Von Albrecht & Associates<\/a> and MAVA Foods<\/a> in Vancouver, Canada. \u00a0He serves as\u00a0Vice President of AREGALA<\/a> (Asociasancion Restaurandores Gastronomicos De Las Americas), representing the culinary arts of 42 countries in North and South America.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\nChef Von Albrecht\u00a0is a six-time recipient of the Canadian Culinary Federation\u2019s President\u2019s award, and is \u00a0past-president and\u00a0Lifetime\u00a0Achievement Award winner of the Chef\u2019s Association of\u00a0British Columbia.<\/em><\/p>\n Sails & Spices sat down with Chef Marcus Von Albrecht on a sunny rooftop patio overlooking English Bay in downtown Vancouver, Canada. \u00a0Over a couple of signature XFour drinks\u00a0, we discuss Chef Von Albrecht’s inspirations, the evolution of the Vancouver food industry, tips for the home cook, and the future of MAVA Foods… in outer space. \u00a0Enjoy!<\/p>\n Sails & Spices: \u00a0<\/strong>Chef Marcus Von Albrecht, thank you for joining us today! Let\u2019s jump right in.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve said that \u201cFood is the essence of life. Eating fresh, local, and healthy is what it\u2019s all about\u201d. Would you tell us a little more about your philosophy of food?<\/p>\n Chef Von Albrecht: \u00a0<\/b>When I started in the food industry, farmers were struggling to get local products into restaurants. As I moved through the ranks, eventually becoming president of the Chef\u2019s Association, there was a big trend towards\u00a0consumers wanting to eat something local.<\/p>\n I approached the Ministry of Agriculture and we laid out the groundwork for the BC Association of Farmer’s Markets. I brought the chefs, and the Ministry brought the farmers. We started out with one farmer\u2019s market at the time. We did a lot of PR and got chefs involved in the 100-mile diet, eating local, and buying local. [perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]You eat with your eyes, your nose, your fingers, and with the sense of satisfaction food gives you.[\/perfectpullquote]<\/p>\n Before we knew it, 14 years later, we have farmer\u2019s markets all over Vancouver\u00a0and people are coming. It\u2019s been crucial\u2026 We live here in British Columbia which has access to the vegetable gardens of the Fraser Valley, fruits of the Okanagan, 95+ wineries throughout the region, and it would seem a shame if we did not\u00a0bring that to the table.<\/p>\n S&S: \u00a0<\/strong>Speaking of local, what are we drinking today? I understand it\u2019s a BC recipe that has just won some significant accolades abroad.<\/p>\n Chef Von Albrecht: \u00a0<\/b>This is Percy\u2019s Old Fashioned Lemonade. It\u2019s my great grandfather Percy\u2019s recipe, a vodka cooler of fresh squeezed lemons, lemon zest, organic honey, and XFour vodka\u2026 all hand crafted.\u00a0\u00a0 No artificial flavors, no aspartame, or anything like that.<\/p>\n There were 482 distilleries that entered products to the SIP (Spirit International Prestige)<\/a> Awards in Los Angeles in 2016, and Percy\u2019s won a Platinum award, the highest\u00a0category, as the best in North America. \u00a0Another member of the X-Four family, the X-Four Chocolate Cocktail, won Gold in 2016.<\/p>\n S&S: \u00a0<\/strong>That\u2019s incredible, and no wonder. Percy’s Lemonade is crisp and wonderfully delicious, congratulations! Not solely local, you\u2019ve also traveled extensively\u2026 having lived in South America, lead food and wine buying trips through Europe, and taken Canadian cuisine around the world. How has travel inspired you as a chef?<\/p>\n Chef Von Albrecht: \u00a0<\/b>To give a little prelude as to why I\u2019ve done all of that, when I was four years of age I knew I wanted to be a chef. My mother taught us all how to cook. I would make crazy things and feed the family. I pretended they were guests in my restaurant\u2026 at 4 years old! I was crazy.<\/p>\n My father told me I would never make it as a chef and I should go into Law, so I went to university and got my bachelor\u2019s degree. I did a stint with a Cabinet minster as his executive assistant and that\u2019s when I decided I needed to go back to my passion.<\/p>\n [perfectpullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]You can get a lot done by making good food and having dinner…[\/perfectpullquote]<\/p>\n Being in the food industry doesn\u2019t mean you just cook. I got actively involved in taking these ideas to other countries. There is a massive group of chefs, companies, and culinary universities that travel all over the world. It\u2019s extensive. You could be traveling every week. This career has taken me around the globe for the past 26 years. To see other cultures and to learn about their techniques and their ways of doing things, you bring that back. You exchange ideas.<\/p>\n You can get a lot done by making good food and having dinner\u2026. Take this building for example. When I moved here 17 years ago all the neighbors were fighting and they didn\u2019t really know one another. I said, \u201cWe need to have a dinner! We need to break bread together. Let\u2019s have a barbeque\u201d. Our first year about 30 people showed up. The next year there were 90, and every consecutive year since over we have had over 150 people. They come and party and everyone knows one another. It\u2019s a community. It happened through food!<\/p>\n S&S: \u00a0<\/strong>You\u2019re an incredible host, and we\u2019ve been fortunate enough to be your guests on several occasions. You regularly have people over for the most inspired meals. How would you recommend people get back to cooking and eating as a community in today\u2019s busy lifestyle? I\u2019ve always been amazed how you host and prepare elaborate meals for your guests yet you\u2019re an entrepreneur who is seemingly on the go 24 hours a day.<\/p>\n Chef Von Albrecht: \u00a0<\/b>I think that cooking is therapeutic. In today\u2019s life in Vancouver, you need to have a lot of money in order to live. That requires working hard, and working efficiently.\u00a0\u00a0 You also need to balance that out with some sort of therapy for your mental health.\u00a0\u00a0 Cooking is pleasing to me.<\/p>\n S&S: \u00a0<\/strong>What do you find is the biggest challenge about being an entrepreneur and a business owner responsible for multiple brands?<\/p>\n Chef Von Albrecht: \u00a0<\/b>The biggest lesson I\u2019ve learned as an entrepreneur is that I\u2019m not here to make money. I\u2019m here to enjoy life. If you are enjoying life, then you aren\u2019t working. Even though I put in 60-90 hours a week, it doesn\u2019t feel like work because I enjoy it. Consequently, the money comes.<\/p>\n S&S: \u00a0<\/strong>Vancouver is a dynamic place. How have you seen tastes change here over your 26 years as a chef?<\/p>\n Chef Von Albrecht: \u00a0<\/b>Vancouver\u2019s tastes have incorporated all of the different spices and flavor profiles from around the world. Being a hub for international shipping, we can have anything you could find anywhere in the world, 365 days per year.<\/p>\n The consumer has changed. They\u2019ve gone away from the heavy, overcooked, large portions towards a more sophisticated taste. \u00a0They want to have five or six or ten flavors in a dish. They want tapas, small portions.<\/p>\n Go into Hawksworth<\/a> or any restaurant of notoriety and you\u2019ll find the portions are smaller but they are much more pleasing than in years past. The presentation is a piece of art.<\/p>\n You eat with your eyes, your nose, your fingers, your sense of taste, and with the sense of satisfaction it gives you. S&S: \u00a0<\/b>\u00a0What is some of the most sage cooking advice you\u2019ve received over the years?<\/p>\n Chef Von Albrecht: \u00a0<\/b>Take the ingredients and cook them properly. Cooking technique is important. If you take some of your freshest beans and you turn them to mush, the flavor will be gone. When you smell food cooking, that\u2019s the flavor leaving it. That\u2019s what you want to keep and enjoy.<\/p>\n Presentation\u2026 you have to appeal to all of the senses when you are making food. If you go to McDonalds it\u2019s only to satisfy an urge, but when you truly eat, it should be an experience. There are many things I have learned from my mentors, but a lot of it I think I was born with too. Maybe I was a chef in a past life.<\/p>\n S&S: \u00a0<\/b>\u00a0I think you may have been, knowing at age four with such conviction that you wanted to be a chef.<\/p>\n Chef Von Albrecht: \u00a0<\/b> I knew I wanted to be in business, and that I wanted to be a chef. Now, being a chef in today\u2019s market, unless you are a superstar, is not a real well paying job. [perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Chefs have become superstars.[\/perfectpullquote]<\/p>\n S&S: \u00a0<\/b>\u00a0Has the heightened interest in \u201ccelebrity chefs\u201d been positive for the food industry, or has it detracted from it?<\/p>\n Chef Von Albrecht: \u00a0<\/b>I think it\u2019s been good, but the celebrity status has been taxing on the chef. Typically as a chef you operate your property\u2026 but now you also have to do all of this extra stuff on your own.\u00a0\u00a0 The property has to be very forgiving to let you go and pursue\u00a0those things. The properties have done so because it\u2019s brought them notoriety. You have a lot of great chefs that also represent well-known establishments, resorts, and hotels. That\u2019s because of the food, but also because of their TV shows, appearances, and billboards.<\/p>\n Chefs have become superstars.\u00a0\u00a0 People are watching these TV shows, and they crave it. They seek out new ideas and then they mimic them. I think that it\u2019s a natural progression.\u00a0\u00a0 Thank goodness that the general populace have taken the flag and carried it on\u2026<\/p>\n S&S: \u00a0<\/b>\u00a0Now, to the practical\u2026 We\u2019ve moved quite a bit the last few years, and as a result have been regularly re-working our kitchen to make it a more functional space. What are your top 3 must-haves in the kitchen?<\/p>\n Chef Von Albrecht: \u00a0<\/b> Good knives, an area to prepare, and good organization.<\/p>\n You see the kitchen I have, it is a downtown condo kitchen in a 30-year old building. But, I can prepare an eight-course sit down dinner for twelve people in that kitchen. Most people couldn\u2019t do that. The key to the success of any kitchen is organization. \u2026and knives, spend the money. They\u2019ll last you your entire life.<\/p>\n S&S: \u00a0<\/b>\u00a0How about cookware? Cast iron vs. Stainless Steel vs. Non-Stick?<\/p>\n Chef Von Albrecht: \u00a0<\/b>No non-stick. It releases too many chemicals into the food. Stainless steel is my favorite. It spreads the heat well, won\u2019t burn, and cleans in 3-4 minutes. Cast iron is good, but maintains the flavors and aromas of what you were cooking. It can also burn. It has its place\u2026 maybe over an open camp fire\u2026 though it feels like something of yesteryear.<\/p>\n S&S: \u00a0<\/b>\u00a0Yesteryear is nostalgic for many people. But, in today\u2019s age, what would you tell a young 19-year old whippersnapper named Marcus who is trying to enter the food industry in 2016?<\/p>\n Chef Von Albrecht: \u00a0<\/b> I would tell them to ensure they follow their passion in life. Make sure that if they are going into food to realize that the road is long. To evaluate why they are going into it. If they are going into it for fame and money there is only one in ten thousand who achieve that. But if they are going into it for passion, then the comforts of life will come. They will find great satisfaction, and the long hours won\u2019t be something that holds them down. [perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Follow your passion. Cook like there is no tomorrow, and enjoy yourself.[\/perfectpullquote]<\/p>\n Don\u2019t forget, the temperature of a kitchen is at least 100 degrees when you\u2019re in front of the flames. You\u2019re going for 8 hours. Usually a busy restaurant will do 200-400 covers in 6 hours. You have to keep focused. Is that something you want to do? Or do you have an illusioned idea that you are going to be a TV star and an instant chef? You aren\u2019t a chef until you put in the years, no matter how good you are, because a chef is not just a person that can cook. They understand all the ingredients that are required to run an establishment. So, to sum that up: Follow your passion. Cook like there is no tomorrow, and enjoy yourself.<\/p>\n S&S: \u00a0<\/b>We\u2019ll end here\u2026 you mentioned your dad inspired you to write five, ten, and fifteen year plans. What does Chef Von Albrecht and Mava Foods have in store for 2026?<\/p>\n Chef Von Albrecht: \u00a0<\/b> It\u2019s interesting. I\u2019ve always put together a ten year plan. Recently, I\u2019ve cut it back to 5 years. I write down everything I want to have materialistically, everything that I want to accomplish emotionally, and everything I want\u00a0to know spiritually. Of course, spiritually can mean a lot of different things.<\/p>\n So you asked what\u2019s in line for Mava Foods. Me personally, I want to go to outer space. I want to have something to do with the food that is served on the space hotel. Mava Foods, it grows every year. It\u2019s growing because it has good common sense. That means we make quality food, we listen to our clients, and we fulfill their needs. We\u2019re small enough to make changes.<\/p>\n Ten years from now? Hopefully I\u2019ll be in a winery in Argentina creating a guest ranch B&B where you can come down and visit me.<\/p>\n S&S: \u00a0<\/b> Perfect! That\u2019s our plan too, and we look forward to seeing you there. Thank you very much, Chef Von Albrecht!<\/p>\n Acclaimed Chef Marcus Von Albrecht is the president & CEO of Von Albrecht & Associates and MAVA Foods in Vancouver, Canada. \u00a0He serves as\u00a0Vice President of AREGALA (Asociasancion Restaurandores Gastronomicos De Las Americas), representing the culinary arts of 42 countries in North and South America.\u00a0 Chef Von Albrecht\u00a0is a six-time recipient of the Canadian Culinary…<\/p>\n
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To contact Chef Marcus Von Albrecht or to find X-Four products at a location near you, visit:\u00a0https:\/\/vonalbrecht.com\/contact\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"