Famed French Chef Negotiates with Vancouver’s Shangri-La Hotel
Chris · April 17, 2008
Vancouver’s upcoming Shangri-La Hotel opening seems to be creating considerable PR buzz. Surprisingly, local hotel professionals located as far away as Cairo, Egypt (Vacant Ready’s new home-base) are watching the opening of the Shangri-La with some anticipation.
The Vancouver Sun reported today that renowned French chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten (now hailing from New York City) is negotiating to open a new restaurant in the Vancouver property. No agreements have been formalized yet, but Jill Killeen, Director of Public Relations at the Shangri-La Vancouver confirmed that talks are currently underway.
Vancouver culinary scene insider Andrew Morrison of UrbanDiner.ca already caught wind of discussions with Jean-Georges earlier this week, and member comments on Urban Diner reveal some excitement about the potential opening.
The Vancouver Sun article by Bruce Constantineau tempers any exuberance however, with a comment from Barbara-jo McIntosh, owner of Barbara-Jo’s Books to Cooks store in Vancouver:
“It’s a sign that Vancouver is becoming recognized as a growing metropolis with a culinary scene that is worthy of these grand chefs’ attention,” she said in an interview. “It’s fine, and kind of neat, but it doesn’t excite me to an exultant level because we already have a great culinary community.”
I don’t know who Barbara-jo is (apart from a local Vancouver shop owner), but I certainly share her belief in Vancouver’s culinary prowess. Living in Cairo is full of delights and excitement, but the food scene is definitely not one of the world’s seven wonders.
Apparently there have also been rumours circulating in Vancouver that the Shangri-La was trying to entice celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay to open a restaurant in the property, but Killeen has denied any such discussions.
The Shangri-La continues to build momentum on its journey to opening day in January 2009 (already postponed from their expected 2008 opening). Let’s hope they don’t fall into the same opening date delay quagmire faced by the nearby Loden Vancouver.
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Image thanks to Flickr member [suntom]
