For Vancouver-based chef Alex Kim, some of his earliest experiences growing and cooking food came from summers at his grandmother's farm near his birthplace of Seoul, South Korea. “I watched her not just cook, but grow and prepare those ingredients from the first stages of planting seeds, like for Korean chilis,” he recalls. “After harvesting, we would take them up to the roof, wash and sun-dry them, then grind them and make gochujang, or ferment them for condiments and preserves, like kimchi.”

The farm also grew everything from eggplant and tomatoes to pumpkins, orchard fruits and walnuts. “I got to see how things are made and what makes them taste good. I saw how much time and effort she put into making just a small batch of condiments. It showed me the importance of doing things right, of taking the time to learn and improve.”

Learning is a lifelong passion for Kim, who has spent the last dozen-or-so years travelling and cooking around Western Canada, from Edmonton to Lake Louise to Vancouver. “I never thought about competitions before. I was always focused on improving myself,” he says. “But I have a friend who has been competing for years and had been pushing me for a long time to do it. I finally said yes after coming back from two months in Europe.”

But Kim didn't say yes to just any competition. It was the 2025 edition of the annual Canadian Culinary Championship, one of the country's most prestigious - and gruelling - cooking showdowns. Signing up meant months of preparation and rigorous trial runs before the regional qualifier in Vancouver against some of the province's top chefs. His winning dish that night also became the foundation of his gold-medal winner at the national competition, held in Ottawa on January 31 and February 1 this year.

Kim credits his European holiday for some of the inspiration behind the dish. The trip, which took in parts of Spain, Italy and France, also reinforced Kim's own views about sustainability in the kitchen. “In Italy, from north to south, there are different [characteristics] in their flavours. It's lighter and more focused on seafood in the south, with more starchy textures and heavier meats in the north. In France, I tried a dish that had braised intestines. In Korea, we also eat intestines, so it felt familiar. It's really all about what's local and freshest at that moment.”

That crossover of flavours and ingredients makes its way onto the menu at Vancouver's Five Sails Restaurant, where Kim is Culinary Director. Fermented tomato water becomes the base for one dish, while a bit of gochujang livens up another. Behind it all is a desire to connect the diner to where they're sitting, perched practically above the downtown waterfront.

“Sustainability, for me, starts before the menu ideation stage,” Kim explains. “The first thing I do is talk to our suppliers, ask them what they're growing, what's best for each season in terms of flavour and texture. Some crops, like cauliflower, are available year-round, but the best time to use them is late fall and early spring. Of course, in summer we have more fresh vegetables and fruits, but I love coming up with fall menus, because then you can spotlight a single item, like sunchoke or celeriac or beets.”

This story has been edited and condensed for clarity. Read the original version in the Spring/Summer 2025 edition of driver magazine.

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