Meeru Dhalwala was born in India and moved to Washington DC with her parents at a young age. In February 1995, she moved to Vancouver, BC and has since been cooking and running the kitchens and menus at Vij’s and Rangoli restaurants. Vij’s has been hailed by the New York Times as “easily among the finest Indian restaurants in the world.” (Rangoli closed after 17 years in May 2020 due to the Covid 19 pandemic). Meeru is a self-taught creative chef who erased traditional boundaries within Indian cooking. She holds a Master of Science in development economics from Bath University, UK, and brings her passion for humanity into her business and cooking practices. She is one of Vancouver’s most prominent promoters of women in business, climate change and sustainability, and healthy-elegant cooking.

Meeru also wrote the three award-winning Vij’s cookbooks. In 2021, Meeru finally started her passion project, which was to create a community business built from her learned ethics in the food industry: My Bambiri (baby) Foods. Her recipes are original. My Bambiri sources from small BC organic farmers and sells on income-based pricing: three price options based on a family’s specific finances. She has also partnered with Quest Food Exchange and Food Stash Foundation to sell My Bambiri at their markets for low-income families who face many economic and social barriers.

On October 2, 2022, Meeru relaunches her annual international food fair called “Joy of Feeding” that is held at the UBC Farm Centre for Sustainable Food Systems. Joy of Feeding is a celebration of home cooking from around the world (with a local beer/wine garden) and brings in over 500 guests ranging from toddlers to grandparents. 

For her community work, Meeru has received honorary doctorates from both University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University. 

While I shopped at Klippers Organics at the farmers market, I didn’t meet Kevin until I joined the board of Vancouver Farmers Markets in January 2011.  Before January, I viewed farmers markets as a utopian combination of farmers, their produce and the city.  I thought it was going to be so easy and fun to be on this board. While I remember Kevin’s cute little smile, he was concerned about my sudden arrival on the board, as the chair at the time asked me to come on board without any prior vote.  The vote was to come 6 months later at the AGM.   I respected that Kevin was bold and honest enough to share his concerns directly in conversation with me—I was another non-farmer on the board with little experience of the markets.   We became kindred board spirits immediately.  Through Kevin I learned that each farm within the market is a tiny to small business whose livelihoods are dependent on the rules and by-laws of the Farmers Markets.  He and I developed the board governance rules and somehow we would manage to joke and laugh in between our shared frustrations.  We just got along and enjoyed one another.  Soon, I met Annamarie, whose smile I remember as much as Kevins—hers is big and gorgeous.   Vij’s started buying from Klippers and Kevin/Annamarie have been incredibly supportive of our ups and downs.  At one point in our 27+ years of Vij’s, we over-expanded and lost a lot of money.  I don’t run the finances of Vij’s, but Kevin dealt with me and my head chef. I will never forget the kind and respectful email I received from Kevin saying that Klippers had not been paid for almost 6 months! 

One of my highlights was when Kevin and Annamarie asked me to be judge for Canadian Outstanding Young Farmer Annual Awards. Wow!  My first year as a judge was during winter in Penticton and I was introduced to the world of Canadian farming and hospitality.  That's when I realized that not only are Kevin and Annamarie such a dynamite farming, business team but also a couple that epitomizes “food and farm glamour”.  

Chef Paul Benallick (Hollyburn, Black + Blue, Cluny) is a multi-disciplinary chef from Toronto. He has spent many years honing his craft in restaurants, hotels, bistros and culinary colleges across Canada. However, it was not until he owned his own restaurant in the UK that he understood what it is truly about—love. The love for food, raw product, and most importantly, people. I believe that the heart of cooking is to make people happy. Once I realized that, everything fell into place. The years in the kitchen sweating, burning, cutting, and missing so many family engagements that eventually people stopped inviting me became worth it. The joy of finding tomatoes at their peak and serving them simply—seeing people, guests and staff, have joy in that tomato—That is what cooking is about to me!

I first met Kevin and Annamarie when I moved to Vancouver over 5 years ago while working at Black and Blue. I fell in love with their food from the farm right away. Everything we used to get was always outstanding. He never had to convince me that the Walla Walla’s would make better everything and be well worth it! I have kept working with them when I moved to Hollyburn Country Club. We have been able to introduce outstanding product to our members who travel all over the world. It took a little education to show people that their apples are the best and now we go through cases and cases a week. But the icing on the cake for me, the biggest reason why I keep going back to Kevin and Annamarie is that they are just about the nicest people in the industry. They always have a big smile on!

Jesse Jobin and Percy Ochosa worked at such luminary restaurants such as Bearfoot Bistro, Cin Cin and Parkside to name a few before meeting on the opening team for Hawksworth where they cooked for over two years. Jesse then headed off to helm restaurants such as Heirloom and Peckinpah. Percy went off to  Noma and Saison in San Francisco to further expand his culinary vision.  They joined up again to open Sprezzatura before the pandemic. 

In 2021 after deciding to stay in the industry but wanting to do their own vision of how a kitchen should be run they took the reins at La Buca. Here they co-chef a two person kitchen where everything is made in house and  partnering with local farms and sourcing as much from Canada or North america as possible. In their search for excellent farms to support and champion they joined the Klippers family.  Using the excellent bounty of produce from Klippers they apply the Italian ethos of choose the best ingredients locally and let them shine. Creating free rolling menus just based on what shows up on the fresh sheet and finding inspiration in cooking seasonally they look forward to Braydon's deliveries.

Bio coming soon...

Head Chef and part-owner at Row Fourteen at Klippers. See here for Jacob's bio.

Born and raised in Vancouver, Gizelle’s rich exposure to diverse food cultures began at home. Her mom is of Chinese ancestry but born in Peru, and her father is from Quebec. Gizelle’s wanderlust came naturally and she has been travelling the world and discovering its culinary bounty since she was in university studying to be a teacher. It was while on exchange in France, in 2009, after tasting a homemade macaron from one of her English students, that she was inspired to pursue pastry.

Achieving an impressive resume in a short time, Gizelle has worked alongside renowned chefs at some of the most established pâtisseries, restaurants and chocolate shops in the world including Thierry in Vancouver, Canada, Rosetta Ristorante and Pana Organic in Melbourne, Australia. When Gizelle is not developing chocolates and confections for East Van Roasters, she is designing incredible cakes and pastries for her own brand, Hazl and has spent the last two summers as the resident pastry chef for Row Fourteen and Klippers Marketplace and Cafe. 

Born and raised in a small town in Ontario, Brian Luptak would spend over a decade cooking his way across the country. Working at prestigious destinations such as the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise and the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotels, Brian honed his techniques in both the realms of high-end restaurants and large scaled catered events and banquets. Eventually, Luptak landed in Vancouver working at the Pan Pacific Hotel as the restaurant Chef. Brian’s most recent culinary endeavor was spending 5 years at the helm of The Acorn Restaurant, earning awards and accolades for his detailed and dedicated art of vegetable forward cuisine. While combining the structure and discipline of larger institutions with the freedom of creativity and experimentation afforded by The Acorn, Luptak raised the bar for The Acorn’s innovative dishes. With his exceptional palate and discerning eye for detail and presentation, the Acorn would be given the title of Best Vegan Friendly Restaurant in the world. At the heart of his tutelage is his knowledge of local wild crafted foods and a passion for inspiring the future of our industry in a more ethical and sustainable way of thinking. Brian most recently co-authored the release of The Acorn Cookbook which he showcases the beautiful abundance of wild and sustainable foods the Pacific Northwest has to offer. 

Kevin and Annamarie of Klippers Organics have been such a driving force behind so many incredible dishes at the Acorn, and it is in this relationship and through their passion that we strive for do their vegetables justice.

Tristan Bunkowski is the Executive Chef at Serendipity Winery & Bistro. He was born and raised in Vancouver, but has traveled and cooked all over the world in highly regarded restaurants. 

Tristan takes Serendipity’s ‘food forward’ approach to winemaking to the next level, devoting his practice to creating dishes that pair perfectly with each of the wines as well as being as farm to table focused as possible. 

Tristan first learned about Klippers Organic after weekly shopping at the local Vancouvers farmers markets and adoring Klippers wide and delicious variety of produce. After taking over the Bistro at Serendipity with ideals to be as farm to table focussed as possible he had to continue with using the best organic produce Klippers had to offer. Adapting to there ever changing seasonal and weekly fresh sheets. Showcasing the best the Okanagan has to offer. I’m beyond fortunate to work with Kevin and Annie-Marie, they make my job an absolute pleasure. With never ending amazing produce to expand into new menus and ideas. But most of all to help create exceptional dishes and a memorable experience for all our guests. 

After meeting Kevin and Annamarie almost six years ago, Devon and Lucas have had the pleasure and privilege of using Klippers Organics produce on a weekly basis, even throughout the winter. After meeting each other in 2018 at the Acorn restaurant, Devon and Luke have become the best of friends and coworkers. Working together to create consistently changing menus and focusing on creating the most local-inspired menu in the city, Klippers has been right by their side the entire way. From cooking in Kevin and Annamarie’s home kitchen to cooking alongside Chef Derek and Jacob at Row14, every event together has been a highlight in their careers.

Bio coming soon...

Sous Chef at Row Fourteen at Klippers. See here for Jacob's bio.