5-course collaborative tasting menu
＋ a short conversation/introduction with Chef Zach Keeshig, including tips
*The menu includes meat, fish, and dairy. A vegan menu is available upon request. If you would like the vegan option, please reply to this email in advance to let us know. We are unable to accommodate other dietary restrictions.
Drinks are not included and will be available for purchase from the FSG counter.
Mæst Food welcomes Chef Zach Keeshig of NAAGAN in Owen Sound, Ontario, for our collaboration dinner.
Zach explores contemporary Indigenous cuisine through ingredients grown, foraged and sourced from the surrounding region. His cooking draws from his Ojibwa heritage and family food traditions while using contemporary techniques to build a cuisine that continues to evolve.
Before opening NAAGAN, Zach worked with Michael Stadtländer at Eigensinn Farm, The Restaurant at Pearl Morissette, and Langdon Hall.
In Conversation with the Land begins with the place itself.
We will spend time exploring the landscape in British Columbia before we cook together. We encounter the season, ingredients and conversations along the way.
It will inform the five-course menu we create for the evening.
The dinner will be served on tableware by Vancouver ceramic artist Janaki Larsen. Emily Matick will create an ikebana installation for the table using local plants.
September 28
La Fabrique St-George dining room
7 East 7th, Vancouver
THE MENU
The menu will not be announced in advance.
After Zach arrives in Vancouver, we will visit a local farm and spend time foraging, exploring what is available here before building the menu around wild, local, and seasonal ingredients.
The dinner will begin with a set of four snacks. Zach will create snack and the main course, bringing his own approach rooted in Indigenous foodways, while Tomoko will prepare a plant-based appetizer, dessert, and a small takeaway.
The final menu will take shape here, from what the land and season offer us.
————
Tomoko Tahara
Chef | Food culture Researcher | Founder of Mæst Food
Tomoko Tahara is a Vancouver-based chef with over a decade of experience in ethical, plant-based cooking.
Her culinary work focus on sustainable, seasonal ingredients, often foraged or sourced from local farms, using fermentation or other unique technique and is guided by a deep respect for technique, culture, and nature.
Tomoko has honed her skills at some of Vancouver’s most respected restaurants, including AnnaLena, Published on main, and The Acorn. She also served as head chef at Harken Coffee, where her inventive, ingredient-focused approach brought a new perspective to plant-based cafe.Her training includes an internship at Inua(closed by pandemic)—the Tokyo-based sister restaurant to Noma—and two terms at the MAD Academy in Copenhagen (2022 & 2024), where she further developed her focus on sustainability, fermentation, and leadership in the kitchen.
Feedback from past guests:
“Mæst Food offers one of the most thoughtful plant-based dining experiences in Vancouver — seasonal, creative and deeply considered.”
— Alicia, Vancouver
“Tomoko’s cooking is incredibly innovative and beautifully executed. Every detail feels intentional, creating an intimate and memorable experience.”
— Jace, Vancouver
“Wonderful and creative vegan gastronomy. A rare and much-needed addition to Vancouver’s food scene.”
— Dali, Vancouver
“Thoughtful, inventive and unlike anything else plant-based events in Vancouver. Every Mæst dinner feels intimate, memorable and beautifully executed.”
— Erin, Vancouver
“I first discovered Tomoko’s cooking at Harken Coffee, where her thoughtful, deeply satisfying food was as memorable as the space itself. Years later, I attended one of her tasting menu experiences and was equally impressed.
Tomoko’s cuisine brings together foraged ingredients, seasonal vegetables, fermentation, and contemporary technique through a uniquely Japanese perspective. Every dish is carefully considered, beautifully presented, and full of unexpected flavours.
Beyond the food, the experience creates a genuine sense of connection and hospitality, making each tasting menu feel personal, memorable, and unlike a conventional restaurant meal.”
ー Brandon, Vancouver, BC
Looking for private dinner experience in your space? Click here
5-course collaborative tasting menu
＋ a short conversation/introduction with Chef Zach Keeshig, including tips
*The menu includes meat, fish, and dairy. A vegan menu is available upon request. If you would like the vegan option, please reply to this email in advance to let us know. We are unable to accommodate other dietary restrictions.
Drinks are not included and will be available for purchase from the FSG counter.
Mæst Food welcomes Chef Zach Keeshig of NAAGAN in Owen Sound, Ontario, for our collaboration dinner.
Zach explores contemporary Indigenous cuisine through ingredients grown, foraged and sourced from the surrounding region. His cooking draws from his Ojibwa heritage and family food traditions while using contemporary techniques to build a cuisine that continues to evolve.
Before opening NAAGAN, Zach worked with Michael Stadtländer at Eigensinn Farm, The Restaurant at Pearl Morissette, and Langdon Hall.
In Conversation with the Land begins with the place itself.
We will spend time exploring the landscape in British Columbia before we cook together. We encounter the season, ingredients and conversations along the way.
It will inform the five-course menu we create for the evening.
The dinner will be served on tableware by Vancouver ceramic artist Janaki Larsen. Emily Matick will create an ikebana installation for the table using local plants.
September 28
La Fabrique St-George dining room
7 East 7th, Vancouver
THE MENU
The menu will not be announced in advance.
After Zach arrives in Vancouver, we will visit a local farm and spend time foraging, exploring what is available here before building the menu around wild, local, and seasonal ingredients.
The dinner will begin with a set of four snacks. Zach will create snack and the main course, bringing his own approach rooted in Indigenous foodways, while Tomoko will prepare a plant-based appetizer, dessert, and a small takeaway.
The final menu will take shape here, from what the land and season offer us.
————
Tomoko Tahara
Chef | Food culture Researcher | Founder of Mæst Food
Tomoko Tahara is a Vancouver-based chef with over a decade of experience in ethical, plant-based cooking.
Her culinary work focus on sustainable, seasonal ingredients, often foraged or sourced from local farms, using fermentation or other unique technique and is guided by a deep respect for technique, culture, and nature.
Tomoko has honed her skills at some of Vancouver’s most respected restaurants, including AnnaLena, Published on main, and The Acorn. She also served as head chef at Harken Coffee, where her inventive, ingredient-focused approach brought a new perspective to plant-based cafe.Her training includes an internship at Inua(closed by pandemic)—the Tokyo-based sister restaurant to Noma—and two terms at the MAD Academy in Copenhagen (2022 & 2024), where she further developed her focus on sustainability, fermentation, and leadership in the kitchen.
Feedback from past guests:
“Mæst Food offers one of the most thoughtful plant-based dining experiences in Vancouver — seasonal, creative and deeply considered.”
— Alicia, Vancouver
“Tomoko’s cooking is incredibly innovative and beautifully executed. Every detail feels intentional, creating an intimate and memorable experience.”
— Jace, Vancouver
“Wonderful and creative vegan gastronomy. A rare and much-needed addition to Vancouver’s food scene.”
— Dali, Vancouver
“Thoughtful, inventive and unlike anything else plant-based events in Vancouver. Every Mæst dinner feels intimate, memorable and beautifully executed.”
— Erin, Vancouver
“I first discovered Tomoko’s cooking at Harken Coffee, where her thoughtful, deeply satisfying food was as memorable as the space itself. Years later, I attended one of her tasting menu experiences and was equally impressed.
Tomoko’s cuisine brings together foraged ingredients, seasonal vegetables, fermentation, and contemporary technique through a uniquely Japanese perspective. Every dish is carefully considered, beautifully presented, and full of unexpected flavours.
Beyond the food, the experience creates a genuine sense of connection and hospitality, making each tasting menu feel personal, memorable, and unlike a conventional restaurant meal.”
ー Brandon, Vancouver, BC
Looking for private dinner experience in your space? Click here
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