Sonora Resort Canada Blog

Chef Terry’s European Culinary Adventure - Vancouver to London

2011-11-30T13:56:00.001-08:00

After a long flight, I arrived in London on the 18^th and things have been a whirlwind since! My first day in London I visited the Museum of Natural History; it was amazing and featured so many different exhibits including dinosaurs, a life-size blue whale replica and Earth’s Treasury which features many gemstones, minerals and rocks. The Museum of Natural History is located in an area that features 3 of the largest museums in the United Kingdom. For travelers who are interested in visiting

So far, my favorite culinary stop has been Cha Cha Moon, a modern Chinese restaurant where I had dinner in Soho. The above photo is their Sticky Pork – I highly recommend it! The Soho area of London was a lot of fun with people filling the streets, drinking beer and chanting futbol songs (after a Manchester United win) late into the night.

Another memorable meal that I had was at Cinnamon located in a London neighbourhood called Brick Lane. Brick Lane is located in the east end of London in the borough of Tower Hamlets and is famous around the world for their Curry Houses. The area is also home to a wonderful market, art galleries and boutiques.

Before we were even seated this was a new dining experience for me. After choosing where we wanted to eat, we actually bargained the price of our meal with the owner. I had the most amazing, authentic goat curry at Cinnamon, and would recommend visiting this area to anyone who is visiting London and looking for a great meal.

Chef Terry’s European Culinary Adventure

2011-11-18T11:06:00.000-08:00

Sonora Resort’s very own Executive Chef Terry Pichor is embarking on a one-month culinary and sightseeing adventure to Europe today. He will be visiting many places throughout Europe, including London, Portugal, Seville in Spain, Morocco, Granada, and Edinburgh.

As this is his first trip to Europe, he is looking for recommendations of sites to visit, where to shop, and mostly importantly, where to eat! Please leave him a comment with your recommendations.

Although it will be a solo trip, Chef Terry will be meeting up with chefs along the way and friends, as well. Who knows what new ingredients and cuisines he will discover? We are excited for him to bring a little bit of Europe back with him when Sonora re-opens in May 2012.

Follow Chef Terry’s European adventures on our Facebook page , Twitter (with hashtag #cheftravels) and this blog. Chef Terry has also been invited to participate in a special food blog with the Vancouver Sun newspaper.

Bon voyage Chef!

Food, Wine & Autumn in New York – Part 3

2011-11-17T10:37:00.001-08:00

Without a doubt, the highlight of my experience in New York was on the third day when I attended a seminar with Angel Leon, who is currently working with a university in Spain to develop a method of harvesting plankton. Plankton is how fish fill up on Omega 3 fatty acids, which is an extremely healthy form of Fat. By harvesting and dehydrating the plankton, they have been able to use it as a nutritious alternative to other fats (for example, where you would use butter). Very interesting and forward thinking stuff!

My last night was a great one. It started with the ICC gala and awards ceremony. Dinner was again at Eataly in Birreria where I was lucky enough to dine with friends from the Chef’s Garden and the cast of Top Chef All Stars!

I really enjoyed my time at ICC and learned many new tips and tricks that I cannot wait to bring to the Sonora kitchens. Stay tuned for some exciting announcements about cooking classes, guest chefs and more!

Food, Wine & Autumn in New York – Part 2

2011-11-16T13:19:00.001-08:00

Day 2 in New York City I attended a seminar that was hosted by Chef Massimo Bottura, who has been awarded two Michelin stars and placed 6^th on Pellegrino’s World’s 50 Best Restaurants list.

That night I visited the Mario Batali owned Eataly. If you are going to be visiting New York, I highly recommend that you stop in at Eataly. It is an amazing concept – food, wine, restaurants, supermarket, artisans - all Italian, all under one roof. I ate in one of the restaurants inside, Il Pesces, that serves only the freshest fish, oysters, and sea urchin – just to name a few! I cannot say enough good things about the sea urchin that I had. It was drizzled with olive oil, lemon juice and Fleur de Sel and paired with Prosecco. Amazing.

Food, Wine & Autumn in New York – Part 1

2011-11-10T13:43:00.001-08:00

On October 2^nd I was lucky enough to attend the StarChefs.com International Chefs Congress (ICC) in New York City. ICC is an amazing professional culinary show that includes three days of the latest trends, techniques and concepts, presented by some of the world’s leading chefs, pastry chefs, mixologists, and sommeliers.

The first night that I arrived I ate dinner at Chef Mario Batali’s Spanish tapas inspired restaurant, Casa Mono, where without a doubt the highlight of my meal was the razor clams cooked à la planche with garlic and herbs.

In the morning I attended a workshop with Chef Jonathan Benno featuring an amazing Baby Pork Belly and Octopus Terrine. In the evening I met up with an old friend from the Four Seasons Hotel who is now living in Brooklyn. He invited me out with a group of his friends for dinner. They have a really awesome weekly tradition – get together, pick a different restaurant, and order and eat the whole menu. I was honoured that they let me pick the restaurant, Ssam Bar from the David Chang group.

Stay tuned for part 2!

- Terry Pichor
Executive Chef

On the Hunt

2011-10-13T10:04:00.000-07:00

It was one of the most spectacular wildlife moments of the season: seven transient (mammal-eating) killer whales trapped and encircled a big herd of about 150 Pacific white-sided dolphins in the head of Phillips Arm. Cornered by the killer whales, the little dolphins dashed back and forth along the shore, trying to escape along the shallows where the much larger whales couldn't reach them. The suspense of witnessing this very rare event was breathtaking. Much of the action took place out of sight beneath the surface. These moments of complete silence and stillness were suddenly shattered when a killer whale would leap out of the water and come crashing back down on a dolphins that had been cut from the herd. All would be quiet again and there was nothing to see but ripples on the surface.

After an hour of pursuit along the shore, most of the dolphins had managed to slip past the cordon of killer whales, leaving only a dozen dolphins in a small bay along the shore. Then the final act began. The killer whales, realizing that their prey was hopelessly trapped, grouped together and swam to the head of the bay, making no attempt to hide themselves. But just when we thought the final attack would begin, the killer whales turned and slowly made their way out of the bay, remaining quietly at the mouth. A short while later, the dolphins, thinking the coast was clear, made a final desperate dash for open sea, only to find the killer whales had not gone very far.

One of our guests captured this great video of the hunt.

~ Aaron Nagler, Wildlife Guide

The Taste of Summer at Sonora

2011-09-14T10:44:00.001-07:00

Sonora Resort is well known for its sprawling, scenic natural surroundings. Sometimes food may be an afterthought for guests at the all-inclusive property, but after my first couple of bites in the dining room, was certainly wowed!

At my recent visit to Sonora in July, I was definitely impressed by Executive Chef Terry Pichor and his team. Not only does he execute dishes to perfection, many are unique and innovative. He also likes to use local products to celebrate the West Coast surroundings. I had three tasting menus back-to-back and let me just say it was difficult to go home after such wonderful meals!

Take Chef Terry’s Vancouver Island Octopus dish, for example. It was sliced so carefully with matching sauces and ingredients, including pipperade, pickled fennel, garlic, and Spanish olive oil. The octopus meat was tender and flavourful – so often octopus can be tasteless. The plating was beautiful.

Another standout included the Morel Mushroom Agnolotti. The agnolotti pasta was hand-made and cooked al dente. It was accompanied by white asparagus, English peas, and tendrils. It was part of the tasting menu, and is certainly a dish I could have had as a main.

Other favourites included a decadent black squid ink linguine with salmon and tuna, as well as the salmon carpaccio with sweet cucumber pearls.

On my last day, I had to try the Sonora burger. It was so juicy! The beef melted in my mouth, while the bacon was fabulously crispy. The bun was just the right size. The toothpick certainly helped to keep the burger in its place. One of the best burgers I’ve ever had. And the fries were no slouch either. I liked the size and the amount of salt seasoning peppered on top.

Sonora is a world-class culinary destination.

Tip: Ask Chef Terry to make a customized family-style meal for you of steamed crab and prawns. You just need to ask him a couple of days in advance!

- Sophia Cheng

Bears, Dolphins and Whales.. Oh My!

2011-09-09T11:32:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend guests at Sonora were treated to some spectacular wildlife sightings. Seven transient Orca whales, 12 resident Orcas and an estimated 200+ dolphins and porpoises were spotted in the crystal clear waters surrounding Sonora Island. Check out this amazing video of Orca whales, shot on September 5^th, 2011 by Wendy Hartley.

This time of year at Sonora is great for wildlife viewing. With the Homalco First Nation opening a brand new interpretive centre in the Orford River Valley, grizzly bear tours this year, will be more spectacular than ever before. Come to our luxury resort this fall season, and experience everything wild – from the majestic orca whale to the awe-inspiring grizzly bear.

Resort News

2011-08-10T14:41:00.000-07:00

The weather at Sonora is really heating up in August - we have had beautiful sunshine for days!

Due to the cooler than normal temperatures in July, bear watching was and still is fantastic. This is because the cooler weather did not allow the local berries to ripen on time, and there are much fewer berries compared to other years. As a result, the bears are still on the beaches eating mussels, barnacles and crabs.

The same cooler temperatures in July meant that the snow has not completely melted from the mountain peaks. Beautiful wildflowers are still visible on the rocky shores, in past years these flowers would have been scorched off by the sun. So, with the white of the snowy peaks, blue green mountains, the turquoise of the inlet waters and the little flecks of colour of the wildlflowers, August promises to be very beautiful.

BIG FISH - June and July Tyees

2011-07-22T14:02:00.000-07:00

The fishing in June and July has been great! See below for the list of recent Tyees:

June
June 4th: 30lbs, Guide: Kaitlin Ross
June 9th: 32lbs, Guide: Bill Matheson
June 18th: 37lbs, Guide: Don Martin
June 22nd: 36lbs, Guide: Tommy Thompson
June 22nd: 33lbs, Guide: Don Martin

July
July 11th: 31.5lbs, Guide: Cam McDonald
July 3rd: 30lbs, Guide: Zane Hrysko
July 4th: 37.3lbs, Guide: Tommy Thompson
July 9th: 30.5lbs, Guide: Sean Dwyer
July 14th: 31.8lbs, Guide: Scott Burneski
July 16th: 32.7lbs, Guide: Cody King

The Ford's share their Sonora experience

2011-06-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

Dear Sean,
Jason and I just returned from our Sonora visit, and I would like to write you to thank you for a marvellous stay.
Each spring, Jason and I try to escape for a few days. We are the parents of four busy, very noisy children; by the time spring rolls around, we desperately need some quiet time. This year, we were looking for a BC wilderness resort that is close to Vancouver, but a world away from our busy urban life. We chose Sonora Resort because it is just forty-five minutes away.From the moment we stepped off the helicopter, we were enveloped by a sense of ease and relaxation. There are no cars, no traffic, no city bustle. All we could hear was the breeze and the ocean. It is amazing to me that such a brief trip can transport us from the busy city to complete seclusion.
A highlight of our trip was a hike to Florence Lake. Since the resort is surrounded by wilderness, we were a little worried about hiking. Your staff suggested we take the resort dogs, Lucky and Stella, on the hike. The dogs bounded ahead of us, making lots of noise as they raced up and down the path, in and out of the forest. They were thoroughly entertaining, and when we got back, they escorted us right to the door.
Another wonderful moment was our afternoon boat cruise. Our guide was Ben, who took us to a sheltered area where he expected we might find a bear. As we approached, he announced there was a “man in a fuzzy black suit” on the shoreline. A black bear was munching on grass very close to the shore. He noticed us coming, and occasionally stopped eating to sniff the air. We were perhaps 30 yards away, and through the binoculars we could see the details on his dark snout and his shoulder muscles moving as he shifted his weight. For nearly half an hour we sipped champagne and gazed at this mesmerizing animal. Please pass on our sincerest thank you to Ben and Travis who took us out that day. Our last night was our most memorable. There was an important hockey game on, so the staff set up the theatre for us. They served us wine and snacks as we cheered on our team. When the game was over, we had a real treat in store. Earlier in the day, we mentioned to Chef Terry how much we love Dungeness crab. He offered to prepare us a special crab dinner. We started with fresh oysters and a delightful asparagus salad. The crab was amazing, served with lobster bisque for dipping. We had many incredible meals at Sonora but this was an incredible treat. Many thanks to the staff for making this such a wonderful night.
Sean, we have nothing but fantastic things to say about our stay at Sonora. Your staff is absolutely stellar, the resort is gorgeous, and the scenery is simply breathtaking. Thank you for a wonderful, wonderful trip.
Angela and Jason Ford

Corporate Fishing Retreats - Sonora Style

2011-06-20T13:59:00.001-07:00

Last week we had our first really big corporate fishing derby of the season with 27 boats fishing for two afternoons. Local fishing guides from all over the area came to take guests out, and everyone set out in hopes of finding the biggest spring salmon. I always love big fishing derbies because all of our guides get a little competitive and everyone is really excited to get out on the water and hopefully find that elusive Tyee. Our dock was packed with boats, keen fishing guides and lots of eager guests.
The boats headed to different areas up beautiful Bute Inlet to enjoy a nice hot summery afternoon of productive fishing. Many of our guests came back with reports of black bear sightings along the shores of the inlet – with the berries ripening a bit late this year, the bears have still been hanging around along the water line, beachcombing for shellfish and anything they can find to eat. After 5 hours of fishing in Bute Inlet, the boats poured back into the resort with bucket loads of salmon each evening. Our brand new digital (and perhaps, a little too-accurate) fish scale became quite controversial as guides weighed in all their salmon – there is now absolutely no way to fudge even an ounce when weighing in fish! The first place salmon weighed in at 32.1 pounds, while second place came in at 29.7 pounds – almost a Tyee!

Two 22.3 pounders tied for third, and plenty of barbeque-size salmon came in as well. This annual derby caught more fish in total than usual, so we believe this is a sign of good fishing to come for the summer season! To find out more about our fishing packages, click here.
Kaitlin Ross
Marine Operations Manager

Eaglemaster Log #2

2011-06-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

The character of each spring here in the Discovery Islands is unique and only reveals itself slowly as the days pass. Changes in distant ocean currents and weather systems are reflected in changes in the growth, presence or absence and behaviour of the many plant and animal species that live around us in these islands.
As I mentioned in my last Eaglemaster Log, this spring has been the latest and slowest growing that I have seen here. As a result, there are many environmental consequences. One of the most striking aspects of this season has been our regular sightings of grizzly bears along the mainland shoreline. The salmon berries, huckleberries, thimbleberries and others that are usually ripe by this time of year, are still hard and green on the bushes, and so the grizzly bears can still be spotted in the mouths of rivers and streams, grazing on sedges and other plants, and snuffling along the beaches, munching on mussels and barnacles and rolling over rocks in search of little crabs.

I love the gentle irony of watching these beautiful grizzlies grazing contentedly - like big furry cows - just a few meters away from us. The reality is that they are far from being the vicious monster that we imagine. The grizzly bears that I see spend most of their time nose down, quietly munching away on some kind of vegetable matter. Come with me and see these real bears in their natural habitat. For more information on our Grizzly Bear tours, read here: http://www.sonoraresort.com/pdf/sonora_bear.pdf

Aaron Nagler

Sonora Wildlife Guide

Phillips River Fly Fishing

2011-06-14T10:21:00.000-07:00

The Phillips River is a beautiful, productive system with little to no fishing pressure, 35 minutes North of Sonora Resort at the end of the Phillips arm. Recent trips to the Phillips River have been producing good fishing along with plenty of wildlife sightings.
This week we took a scouting trip up to the Phillips River to explore and cut new trails to sections of the river that were previously inaccessible to anyone, giving us the opportunity to investigate and fish new exciting locations with our guests.

Dolly Varden and Cutthroat trout are the most prevalent and aggressive species in the system right now, as we have been seeing good numbers and healthy sizes. Rainbow trout and summer run Steelhead are also present and will typically become more active as the season moves on. Higher than normal water levels have been complimenting larger, flashy fly patterns such as intruders, streamers, sculpins and the always effective olive buggers.
Here are few photos from our afternoon of fishing: Recent ecological tours and fishing trips have allowed guests to see elk, deer, grizzly bears and a variety of bird life amongst the spectacular old growth forests. Although it’s still early in the season, both fishing and wildlife sightings have been exceptional and it’s hard to believe that it only looks to get better in the coming weeks. We caught a glimpse of these two grizzles on our way home as we drove the boat out of the river mouth.

Tight lines,
Sean Dwyer
Sonora Resort - Fishing guide

The Sonora patio gets a special guest!

2011-06-10T11:16:00.000-07:00

I have the pleasure of working in the dining room at Sonora Resort, where we get an ocean level view of nature’s beauty which never ceases to amaze me. There are special days like today, when one of our resident bald eagles decided to join us for lunch on the patio. Perched on a branch that was clearly too small for him (can you spot him?) he sat within arms reach of patio tables, watching our guides clean the day’s catch on the dock, waiting for his opportunity for an easy meal. Another amazing day at Sonora... never one the same as the last and I’m reminded why I’ve returned for another season at this beautiful west coast resort.

In the dining room, Chef Pichor is offering guests a delectable spring Chef’s tasting menu. Here are a few of the current dishes:

OLIVE OIL AND VANILLA POACHED CHINOOK SALMON
Marble potatoes, tomato confit, saffron volute

RHUBARB & GRAPE PAVLOVA
Vanilla & lime steamed meringue, basil seeds, elderflower syrup

A Weekend for Wine Lovers

2011-06-06T15:42:00.000-07:00

Saturday, July 9th, is the day for wine lovers at Sonora Resort. Mission Hill Family Estate Winery is coming to Sonora Resort to celebrate its signature Bordeaux-inspired wine, Oculus. Learn how this iconic wine is created in a customized blending seminar by Chris Hoffmeister, General Manager of Mark Anthony Wine Merchants, and Lesley Brown, Sommelier for Mission Hill.

Guests will be given the individual components for the 2009 vintage of Oculus to create a personal Bordeaux-blend. Later in the evening, Mission Hill's finest wines will be paired with Chef Pichor's tasting menu, including the newly released, 95-point rated 2007 Oculus.

To reserve, call 1-888-576-6672 or email us today. Space is limited.

About Oculus:
Oculus is the signature Bordeaux-inspired red wine from Mission Hill Winery. This elegant and complex wine represents the pinnacle of Mission Hill, from viticulture to winemaking. Selected clusters are hand-harvested, hand-sorted and destemmed; they are then gravity filled to small French oak fermenters. After four weeks extended maceration, the free run wine and a small portion of lightly basket pressed wine is aged separately in 100% French oak barrels.

Oculus symbolizes Anthony von Mandl's vision for the Okanagan Valley and Mission Hill Family Estate. Now in its 11th vintage, Oculus 2007 promises to be the greatest Bordeaux-style red blend to date.

Aaron's Weekly Eaglemaster Log #1

2011-06-06T14:18:00.000-07:00

Hello from Sonora Island!

My name is Aaron Nagler, and I am a wildlife guide at Sonora Resort in the Discovery Islands of British Columbia. Each week, I'll be recording the wildlife encounters that guests and I experience aboard Sonora's eco-adventure boat, the Eaglemaster.

Over the past five seasons I have had the privilege of witnessing the natural wonders of this beautiful place from early May through mid October, and I'm looking forward to sharing weekly notes, photographs and video with you through this blog. I hope to share the seasonal flow of the natural world here with you as we move from the snow-capped spring with its wildflowers and bears on the shoreline, to summer whale watching, and finally to our grizzly bear tours in the fall. If you have any questions about the natural events that I will be writing about, please don't hesitate to write me at anagler@sonoraresort.com

In the past few days:

One very unusual (and wonderful) aspect of this spring has been the large number of "transient" or mammal-eating killer whales that have been hunting seals and porpoises in the channels around us. Usually these stealthy predators travel in small groups and are only occasionally sighted in these parts, but this spring we have seen groups of twenty or more, and they've been an almost regular feature on our wildlife viewing excursions. A few ago days ago, we had the very rare opportunity to watch five of these predators chase, catch and devour a Dall's porpoise just a couple of miles from Sonora.

We were drifting in the Eaglemaster, watching the group swim slowly along, seemingly at rest, when a small herd of Dall's porpoise suddenly broke the surface as short distance away, and the chase was on! Unbeknownst to us, the killer whales had actually been quietly stalking their prey all the while. As the chase gathered speed, one of the pursuing orca leapt completely out of the water several times, probably attempting to crush a porpoise - and it must have worked - after the final leap, all was quiet on the surface for a few moments.

A few seconds later, all five orca (one of which was a young calf), broke the surface and began to splash and frolic as they shared the kill, while an enormous flock of gulls gathered to pick up the scraps of their meal. I didn't manage to get a good photo of the actual kill but I did get this shot of the gull and flocking over the whales. This tumbling and splashing continued for close to half an hour before the whales continued on their way.

I don't know why the transient killer whales have been hunting here more frequently and in larger numbers in recent years, but I will be interested to see if they continue the trend this season. Perhaps we are witnessing the beginning of some significant change in their behaviour in this region? I look forward to sharing more with you next week in another instalment of the Eaglemaster Log.

Here are a few more pictures from the week:

A mother black bear and her cub munch barnacles on the shoreline in Bute Inlet.

A mated pair of bald eagles at rest on Sealion rock

Best Regards, Aaron.
Sonora Island B.C.