Industry Award - Back of House

Karen Barnaby

Executive Chef of the Fish House in Stanley Park, cookbook author (most recently The Passionate Cook and The Low-Carb Gourmet which both won Gourmand awards in 2004) and Vancouver Sun food columnist, Karen also manages to squeeze in some volunteer time to worthwhile causes such as the Helping Hands Cookbook, written to support Vancouver's Community Kitchens; sits on the board of the Greater Vancouver Food Bank; and is a member and past president of Les Dames d'Escoffier Vancouver Chapter.

Karen has been cooking professionally for 29 years. Her grandmothers and mother were her early culinary influences. In 1978, she "accidentally" found a job as a dessert baker and never looked back.

She takes her career seriously, and is a mentor and role model to many young people entering the industry. Her sense of humour and humble attitude are a breath of fresh air, and a pleasure to those she works with.

She confesses that her professional training has been self-taught, on the job and by the seat of her pants. Her philosophy is "keep it simple, keep it tasty, and keep thinking outside of the box".