A New Pop Up Culinary Concept Hits Vancouver: Dinner By Bayan

From what will delight your taste buds to where and how the evening will unfold, a dinner with surprises is always a dinner worth remembering.

Dinner by Bayan is a pop-up culinary experience with a limited number of diners who can purchase a ticket for a seating…but won’t find out where and what they’re eating until just three days before the actual event.

The key message preluding the dinner? Get fed.

Makes sense to us.

There’s one type of cuisine and a single menu for the evening, meticulously prepared by the Dinner by Bayan team.

And when we found out the waitlist was months long, we knew we had to reach out to The Dinner by Bayan team to learn a little more about what was causing all the (appetite) rage:

Tell us a little about your culinary background.
I went to Northwest Culinary Academy of Vancouver where I took the Professional Culinary Program. After graduation, I headed to Toronto, spending five years training with Susur Lee (Lee, Bent restaurants). After staging with Momofuku and a couple mom and pop shops in Yokohama, Japan, I decided to return home to Vancouver.

Where did the Dinner by Bayan concept come from?
It was during my time while working at Lee, where I was inspired to further explore various culinary techniques and experiences. I thought that the concept of molecular gastronomy would be warmly received, as it is a unique and innovative culinary concept in Canada.

What made you actually start Dinner by Bayan?
Fine dining was the route I wanted to take. I decided the best thing to do was start testing out the concepts and ideas I had – in the pop-up format – regarding molecular gastronomy. I was truly inspired to do this on my own, so that I could have complete creative and artistic influence on the vision I had. There are many menus today that are focused on the novelty of certain techniques but that are failing to deliver any substance. We have found the balance between creativity and passion.

How does the Dinner by Bayan experience differ from others?
There are two elements that set us apart from the rest. One being, that we offer the most expansive tasting menu in the city. And secondly, we showcase unique techniques and cuisines using only local and sustainable ingredients.

Why tie in the element of a surprise location to the Dinner by Bayan experience?
The element of surprise is key for the initial experience for the guest as it builds mystery and anticipation for an event that will showcase food and techniques that are new to the west coast. 

There was a waitlist two months ago. What’s on the radar for 2015?
We are looking forward to adding a few more pop-up dates a month, which will accommodate more seats. Closer to the summer, we are excited to take this concept across the country to Winnipeg, Toronto, and a few other cities. So, look out for the cities and dates.

A sold out seating is happening tonight, so you might see a few photos surface on Instagram. Warning: FOMO happens almost immediately and we guarantee you will be signing up for one of the next seatings on January 26th and February 2nd.

This is a waitlist you won’t mind, um, waiting for….


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