Chef's Special: COAST's Executive Chef, Josh Wolfe

Welcome to Chef's Special, where we talk shop with Vancouver's hottest chefs, wine stewards and gourmands.

Who: Josh Wolfe

What: Executive Chef

Where: COAST Restaurant, 1257 Hamilton St. Vancouver B.C. 604.685.5010. www.coastrestaurant.ca

What's your specialty? “My training is in fine French cuisine, and I have traveled around the world learning a new vocabulary and new tricks for my contemporary take on the classics.”

Who is your culinary hero? “I owe much of my knowledge to Chef Marc Thuet [of Toronto's acclaimed Atelier Thuet]. The culinary life I had alongside him will be hard to beat. One day I’ll write a book about him.”

If you could cook dinner for anyone (and join them for the meal!) who would it be? “I would gather all of the best chefs present and past like Auguste Escoffier, Paul Bocuse, Marco Pierre White, and Gordon Ramsay.

If you're not dining at your own restaurant, where can we find you? “There are two kinds of places I look for when not at work: a good pub to kick back and put my feet up over a pint, or a Japanese

bistro to sample one of everything being offered that day.”

Vancouver's best-kept culinary secret is… “the panini press at Bosa Foods in Burnaby.”

Best spot in Vancouver for a picnic: “You tell me and I’ll be there with a bottle of bubbly, French baguette and a pâté de foie gras!!!”

Confessions: “When I was an apprentice working on the veg station, I made sure that all of the watercress I served was very clean. Unfortunately, a copper staple from the watercress box made its way onto a plate with the watercress…but it was also very clean.”

You can never have too much.... “cheese!”

You'll never find “fake bouillion” in my kitchen.

What's the one cookbook you can't live without? “Culinary Artistry. It’s not so much a cookbook as it is the best food reference guide around.”

It's your last meal on earth. What are you having? “How can anyone think of food at a time like that?....But now that you mention it…. a burger and fries would hit the spot right about now!”

The secret to any good meal is... “Taking pride in who you’re cooking for.”