CityFood Magazine - More on Voya

VOYA REVEALS DETAILS IN ANTICIPATION OF OPENING OCTOBER 18
(Directly from the press release.)

The much-awaited Voya Restaurant and Lounge will open its doors October 18, to coincide with the unveiling of Loden Vancouver by Los Angeles-based Kor Hotel Group. Led by the trio of Executive Chef Marc-André Choquette, General Manager Robert Herman and Mixologist Jay Jones, the intimate 80-seat restaurant and lounge will offer Vancouver an innovative array of inaugural menu items, remarkable décor and the enthusiastic welcome and hospitality of Vancouver's most-energized culinary team.

"This first menu presentation chronicles my culinary curiousity," says Executive Chef Marc-André Choquette. "Vancouver is a multi-cultural haven with people from myriad places around the world so I have designed several dishes with this in mind. Voya is also giving me a chance to salute the standards of famed Kor Hotel Group chefs who have recently welcomed me into their kitchens."

Voya is Loden Vancouver's atmospheric lobby-level dining and drinking destination. San Francisco-based design firm BAMO brings Voya's spaces to life, including a dramatic fireplace with zebra onyx which becomes a focal point in the main restaurant and lounge space. Divided into intimate areas - a lounge with low chairs and tables; a central dramatic bar; a posh dining area flanked by sumptuous banquettes; a private room that calls for special parties, Voya is set to become a major social centre and the heart of the Loden experience.

Voya's design and décor provide a beautiful canvas for Executive Chef Choquette, known locally for his outstanding work as Executive Chef at the Relais Gourmand, award-winning Lumiere restaurant. Local goods that are inventively and passionately prepared are his inspiration in the inaugural menu.

Menu highlights follow:

Mid-day, Voya delights with dishes like pan seared halibut, olive oil crushed potato balsamic braised cippolinni onions, basil. It also dares diners with dishes including sesame crusted frog's legs with pickled cucumber, chili and garlic as a starter.

Evening-time, guests are encouraged to share. Such selections include citrus-soy glazed salmon with pak choy and cashews; stuffed Cornish hen with jus roti; and Atlantic lobster with asparagus and Riesling. Highlights of the main dishes include beef strip loin and oxtail with fingerling potatoes; quail with pumpernickel honey and Indonesian pepper; and sablefish in smoked paprika broth with scallop cappelletti.

Weekend brunch at Voya will feature cheery, healthful selections such as cottage cheese and seasonal fruit with coconut foam and pistachio powder or the Voya smoothie, a cure-all concoction of coconut milk, peanut butter, orange blossom honey, banana and vanilla sorbet. More decadent dishes climax with the Voya omelet of cultivated and wild mushrooms, cave-aged gruyere and a strawberry cherry tomato salad.

Robert Herman, Voya General Manager, works with Choquette to carve out Voya's niche in the globally prominent culinary destination that Vancouver has become. Herman is a Certified Sommelier from the Canadian Sommelier Guild and has held a number of high profile positions in the boutique hospitality industry in Vancouver. Most recently, Herman was the Assistant Wine Director for CinCin Ristorante.

As Mixologist and Head Bartender, Jay Jones, who is one of Canada's premiere cocktail wizards, plans to "embrace the Golden Age of cocktails and bartending, working with classic recipes of character, precise techniques and hand-crafted ingredients." Reflecting the same focus on locally-sourced fruits, vegetables and herbs as the food menu, the Voya Cocktail Program will mirror the changing seasons and tastes of Vancouver and the Pacific Northwest.

Voya Restaurant and Lounge is located at Loden Vancouver, 1177 Melville Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Call 604 639 VOYA or visit voyarestaurant.com for information and reservations.

About Voya:

Voya Restaurant and Lounge at Loden Vancouver provides an experience evocative of the word 'voyage.' Voya's philosophy maintains that food can be a trip unto itself - whisking the diner to new domains through brilliant taste, presentation and texture. Voya's signature dishes include internationally fused selections built around the freshest, British Columbia harvests. Voya is a member of the Green Table and Ocean Wise sustainable programs and uses an on-premise filtered water system.

About Loden Vancouver
Loden Vancouver is poised at the edge of Coal Harbour, downtown Vancouver's premiere neighbourhood. Defined as "modern by nature," the hotel is inspired by the region's dynamic mountains and waterways. Loden uniquely captures the surrounding environment and fuses it with modern design and sophisticated service, rendering it the perfect setting for an urban, waterfront retreat. Loden's 77 guest rooms, centrepiece Voya restaurant and uniquely-appointed holistic wellness amenities have redefined Vancouver's notion of luxury hospitality.