inspired by excellence, driven by passion
chef alex chen
about chef alex
Tireless dedication to both craft and time-honoured family traditions. A true taste for high-pressure culinary competitions. These are just some of the ingredients that have helped write a recipe for success for Alex Chen.
Alex carries with him an impressive pedigree of culinary success, from his time at the helm of the world-renowned Beverly Hills Hotel and Polo Lounge, to his roles at the Four Seasons Hotel Toronto and the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago. While Alex boasts more than a decade of experience at some of the most acclaimed and revered hotel properties across North America, Boulevard marks the first occasion that he has shepherded the opening of a restaurant from inception through construction to rollout. He has since opened another, Wild Blue, the most anticipated Whistler restaurant, in August 2022.
Vancouver is where he got his first taste of – and respect for – the restaurant industry while working as a dishwasher and busboy after emigrating with his family from Malaysia at the age of 13. It is where he developed his affinity for the unique bounty of fresh produce, protein and seafood available year-round from local farms, fields and fisheries. It is where he apprenticed under renowned chefs and culinary pioneers such as Robert Sulatycky and Bruno Marti.
A classically trained chef with a true taste for high-pressure culinary competitions, Alex led Team Canada to a top-10 finish at the 2013 Bocuse d’Or in Lyon, France, went on to claim top spots in both the 2015 and ’17 editions of the annual Gold Medal Plates regional championships in Victoria, BC, as well as the gold medal at the national 2018 Canadian Culinary Championships.
Also in 2018, Alex was awarded ‘Chef of the Year’ honours at the Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards and also received the Foodservice and Hospitality and Hotelier 31st Annual Pinnacle Awards - Chef of Year for 2019.
He also became the first challenger to beat an Iron Chef when he defeated Hugh Acheson on the inaugural season of The Food Network Canada’s Iron Chef Canada TV series. Alex is also a chef and judge on the Food Network Canada cooking competition series, Wall of Chefs, which premiered in February 2020.
In 2022, Alex steered Boulevard to claim the distinguished No. 9 spot on the renowned Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list and secured a spot on the esteemed World’s 50 Best Discovery list as well. In 2023, following Wild Blue's remarkable one-year anniversary, it proudly achieved the outstanding 2nd position on Air Canada’s EnRoute Magazine Best New Restaurant list. Additionally, in the same year, Boulevard earned a coveted place on the Michelin Recommended list, marking another milestone in its culinary journey.
Vancouver is also where he and his wife, Elizabeth, raise their two young children and try to instill in them the same respect for cultural touchstones and time-honoured traditions – for instance, the abundance of love and care that go into preparing and serving food for family and loved ones – that was fostered in Alex as a young child in his mother’s kitchen.
“Home is where I often create my best work. When you are cooking for friends, family or loved ones in your own kitchen, that is when you put in the most energy, because there is no pressure or any time constraint – you just infuse the best flavour into that dish, present it at the right moment and show that it all comes from a moment of purity and love,” says Alex.