The Nosh
A weekly show about the people, places and issues behind what we eat and drink. Hosted by Anya Levykh.
Episodes
Ep 220: Canadian Culinary Championship is Back!
The 2026 Canadian Culinary Championship is coming up and it all starts with regional qualifiers in 10 cities across Canada. Anya chats with some of the competing chefs and the Head Vancouver Judge for Kitchen Party Vancouver about culinary inspiration, industry ethos, creating in chaos, childhood dishes, supporting children and youth across Canada with access to food, sports, and music programs, and so much more.
Ep 219: BC Craft Beer Industry Update
Anya chats with Luppolo Brewing’s Ryan Parfitt about the current state of the industry, the push against the current provincial taxing strategy, what makes a craft beer craft, wild yeasts, food-forward brews, and more.
Ep 218: Pastry Chef Samson Iza-Fellows of Bacchus Restaurant & Lounge
From homey childhood favourites to modern French and Italian influences, Anya chats with Samson Iza-Fellows about his journey in the industry, the best kind of carrot cake, the cuisine of the poor, afternoon tea with a nostalgic twist, and so much more.
Ep 217: Sustainable Community-Based Fishing with Skipper Otto
Anya chats with Skipper Otto co-founder and CEO Sonia Strobel about local fishers, the state of the industry for small fishing families, where all the seafood is going and why it’s more expensive than ever, how we can support local fishers and sustainable seafood, what needs to change in the industry, and more.
Ep 216: Chef J-C Poirier of St. Lawrence Cooks a Summer in Quebec
From maple water to sugar shacks and scrambled eggs, plus summers in Quebec and tables champetres, Anya chats about (almost) everything, even caviar, with Chef J-C Poirier of St. Lawrence and Chez Celine, as well as the summer dining series that takes guests through a field-to-table experience with a twist.
Ep 215: Pakals! in August & Sweet Ube with Diana Silva
‘Pakals’ means “Let’s eat!” or “Let’s feast” in Cebuano. In the Philippines, it’s how you celebrate community, have fun, and come together. Now, a celebrated food writer and judge, along with two acclaimed chefs, are coming together to create a feast like no other. And later, a recap of Anya’s chat with Diana Silva of Cake it Easy.
Ep 214: A New Island Restaurant Collective & Stone’s Throw Organics
Anya chats with two founding members of a new Vancouver Island restaurant collective that is hoping to highlight the best of Island dining to locals and visitors alike, and later talks about farming, foraging, and dining local with Tomer Rockman of Stone’s Throw Organics in Courtenay.
Ep 213: All About Sake
Curious about sake? And shoju? And rice? And water? (Yeah, it’s a thing.) Anya chats with two of the city’s most knowledgeable sake sommeliers and restaurateurs about this unique rice-based beverage that is not a wine and not a spirit, with a flavour profile that ranges from delicate and floral to bold and earthy. And yeah, there might be some barley talk as well. Listen in, eh?
Ep 212: Too Many Chefs & Indian-French Fusion at Peya
How many chefs are too many? An upcoming event in support of Lapu Lapu Day victims tries to answer that question in the most delicious way. Anya chats with Chefs TJ Conwi and Andrea Aldridge about the event, comfort food, caring for community, fave childhood dishes, and more. And later, it’s all about the Indian-French fusion at Peya Restaurant.
Ep 211: The Three Amigos & Mental Health
Three legendary Vancouver chefs are coming together to raise awareness and funds for mental health in the hospitality industry, and Anya chats with them about the changes they’ve seen over the decades, what needs to change moving forward, the challenges the industry is facing, and more.
Ep 210: Jannell Lo of My BF is GF
From the comfort dishes of her Chinese-Canadian upbringing to her modern gluten-free lifestyle, this chef and food writer has been busy reimagining Asian dishes, sauces and condiments from a celiac-friendly perspective and is now set to release her first cookbook, all inspired by her best friend’s (aka. husband’s) celiac diagnosis. Anya chats with chef/writer Jannell Lo about her book, cooking and dining out with a gluten-free friend, the joys of chicken feet, and more.
Ep 209: Boards of Vancouver & Eating for a Cause
Anya chats with Nikki Bayley, founder of Boards of Keremeos and now Boards of Vancouver about cheese, charcuterie, pickles, Spain, doing what makes you happy, grazing boards, plant-based cheeses, and more. And later, chef Mark Singson joins to talk about his fundraiser for Lapu Lapu Day victims, cooking on Top Chef Season 6, and finding balance.
Ep 208: Chef Maria Ponce of La Taqueria & Forager/Farmer Tomer Rockman
Maria Ponce, executive chef for La Taqueria restaurant group, joins the show to chat about growing up in Mexico, cooking in the fine dining milieu, Mexican cuisine in Canada, the problematic nature of “authenticity,” and more.Later, Anya chats with forager, farmer and chef Tomer Rockman about local supply, sustainability, urban foraging, and cooking in the field.
Ep 207: Spot Prawn Festival is Back & Cake It Easy Serves Up Sweet Filipino Treats
Those sweet, delicate crustaceans are back for another short season. Alex Tung from Chefs’ Table Society is on to talk about the upcoming spot prawn festival, where to buy your prawns, how to cook them, and more. And later, Cake It Easy owner Diana Silva joins to chat about pandemic baking with her daughter and how that led to running successful business, ube sweets sans rival, bubble tea, and more.
Ep 206: Filipino Culture, Food & Kapwa
It is a heavy week for the Filipino-Canadian community and for all who were impacted by the tragic events of Saturday, April 26, 2025 at the Lapu Lapu Festival. The community is still reeling but is already embodying the concept of “kapwa”, the idea of “I am you, and I am not me without you,” via counselling, financial support and most especially, food. Anya speaks with food writer, culinary judge, and cookbook author, Joie Alvaro Kent, Lee’s Doughnuts owner Celine Bacani, and Ben Castro of Second Winds Counselling.
Ep 205: Chef Ashwani Dabas of Peya Restaurant & Ksenia Dempster’s Spring Dessert Picks
Anya chats with chef/owner Ashwani Dabas of Peya Restaurant about Indian-French fusions, moving beyond butter chicken and gulab jamun, mother sauces, and more. And later, pastry chef Ksenia Dempster talks spring desserts, cherry blossom onigiri, perfect pie crusts, and she and Anya wax rhapsodic over soft-serve ice cream, ek mek (IYKYK), and peaches.
Ep 204: Chef Angus An of Maenam & Tara Davies of Chupito
Anya chats with chef Angus An of Maenam about his newest opening, the robustness of northeastern Thai cuisine, regional specialties, and more, and later, Tara Davies chats about her experiences behind the bar and running the show at Chupito, being a woman in the industry, living and working in Mexico, raicilla and mezcal, and Chupito 2.0.
Ep 203: Rumble Fish is Coming to Hastings Sunrise & Massy Books Talks Tariffs
Anya chats with industry veteran Tyson Reimer about his upcoming fish-and-chips (and more) shop in Hastings Sunrise, the ethics of eating octopus and Humboldt squid, the novels of S.E. Hinton, simple food done well, and more. And later, Patricia Massy of Massy Books talks about tariffs, Indigenous authors, and pivoting in the face of another potential economic crisis for the publishing industry.
Ep 202: Jay Nok Thai & Canadian Book Tariffs
The much-loved and long-running Sala Thai closed after almost 40 years of serving generations of loyal customers, but the story isn’t over. The next generation is reimagining Thai at Jay Nok while paying homage to their family’s legacy. Anya chats with co-founders Bobby Kongsilp and Bumpen “Nok” Khangrang, the husband-and-wife team behind the new False Creek restaurant. And later, Anya chats with Jennifer Kim of Nooroongji Books on Granville Island about the potential impacts to the Canadian publishing industry from the current trade war with the U.S.
Ep 201: Hanap Filipino Fusion Bakes & Restaurant Reservations for Good
Anya chats with Cyril de Ramos, the founder of Hanap Filipino Fusion Bakes about Filipino cuisine and desserts beyond ube, reinventing the classics, upcoming pop-ups, and more. Later, restaurant owners James Iranzad of Bufala, Lucky Taco, and Bells & Whistles, along with Vincent Nguyễn of Anh & Chi, talk about how they’re dealing with reservation ghosting by doing good.
Ep 200: Food in Schools
Anya chats with Brent Mansfield, elementary school teacher, co-founder of LunchLab, and school food advocate about running for a cause, the importance of school lunches, their educational and societal impacts, the recent news from the provincial and federal governments, and resetting the structural idea of school lunch entirely.
