Restaurant Awards Round-up

Vancouver Sun's Mia Stainsby covers the Vancouver magazine Restaurant Awards.

Hawksworth cleans up at 2012 Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards

It’s the year of David Hawksworth as far as the Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards is concerned.

Judges for the 2012 Awards gave him and his restaurant Hawksworth, five top awards at the annual awards partyMonday: Restaurant of the Year, Chef of the Year, Best New Restaurant, Best New Design and Best Upscale Restaurant.

The Best Sommelier award went to Terry Threlfall, who works at — where else? Hawksworth.

“Welcome back, fine dining” said one judge, of Hawksworth. “The former wizard of West roared back to top form in a “triptych of rooms so pretty they’re heartbreaking. And the food’s every bit as good as you’d expect,” enthused another.

In tune with the times, Trafalgars Bistro and the sister bakery Sweet Obsessions took a Green Award for its commitment to reducing waste. The businesses generate about one garbage bag of waste a week.

A Lifetime Achievement Award went to Kimble Chan and Nelson Yeung of Kirin Mandarin Restaurant. “Much as Umberto Menghi, Hidekazu Tojo and Vikram Vij moved their respective cuisines from easy ethnic clichés to sophisticated dining that embraces locality and seasonality, the Kirin Group has long shaped the direction of local Chinese cuisine,” judges said.

There were regular award takers like Tojo’s (Best Upscale Japanese) and Vij’s (Best Indian) and there were some newer kids on the block, Chef Hung Taiwanese Beef Noodle (Best Noodle House) and Nicli Antica Pizzeria (Best Pizzeria) — the latter two are new categories.

Re-up BBQ took the Gold for Best Food Cart.

Reflecting Vancouver’s casual nature, the whole notion of “formal” evaporated, says Vancouver Magazine editor Gary Ross.

“Our judges felt Best Upscale Restaurant, based on the price, was a better descriptor than Best Formal with its hint of stuffiness and starched linens.”