Roger Ma

The Path

Line cooking at Fifty Two 80 Bistro at Four Seasons Whistler Resort in Whistler (2004–2005) was the first step in Roger Ma’s recorded path, before a full-time chef role at Daniel in New York City (2005–2012). He later helped open Café Boulud and d|bar at the Four Seasons at Four Seasons in Toronto, and later helped open Maison Boulud at the Ritz Carlton at Ritz Carlton in Montreal. Today, Roger is Executive Chef of Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar (since 2014).

The Work Today

Since 2014, Ma has served as Executive Chef of Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar. At Boulevard, the kitchen is framed around technical grounding and diversity, with Roger Ma saying: "Diversity is important in our kitchen, as well as having a solid technical foundation, I feel we try and interpret Vancouver into every dish we create at Boulevard." Read plainly, the work is about maintaining discipline in the kitchen while letting the city inform the plate. Ma also treats the menu as something that keeps moving: "The cuisine at Boulevard will continue to evolve." That is less a slogan than a working position for a restaurant in Vancouver—keep the standards in place, keep developing the food.

In Their Words “It’s been a long journey with a lot of blood, sweat, and tears – the restaurant business is not an easy one, but I believe that we are on the right track for Boulevard to be everlasting.” “Diversity is important in our kitchen, as well as having a solid technical foundation, I feel we try and interpret Vancouver into every dish we create at Boulevard.”

Acclaim

Roger's honors include Chef of the Year and Canadian Culinary Championship, National Champion.