Vancouver’s hospitality industry has lost an incredible and much-valued member of the community this week. Chef Tina Fineza passed away on Jan. 7 after a year-and-a-half-long battle with breast cancer. Tina was a true “chef’s chef.” While many chefs are lauded by the public for the press they receive, Tina was also admired by other chefs for the incredible flavours she produced and her significant mentoring of the next generation of cooks. Her thoughtful critique and work ethic made her a much-loved instructor at the Art Institute of Vancouver’s culinary school.
Tina’s early professional years were filled with stints working under luminaries such as Rob Feenie and Frank Pabst at Lumière, and Michael Noble at Diva at the Met, and doing a stage with the legendary Charlie Trotter in Chicago. In 1999, Tina went on to work as chef de cuisine at Bin 942 for five years, crafting award-winning modern tapas. In 2006, she opened The Flying Tiger as executive chef, creating the city’s first modern Asian street food menu.
It was her consultancy work over the last decade with her business and life partner, Annette Rawlinson, however, that had the biggest impact on our local restaurant scene. Tina’s work creating recipes and launching new restaurant menus led to long-standing successes like Les Faux Bourgeois, Habit, Commune Café, Terra Breads, East of Main, Boca Latin Foods and La Mezcaleria. She also helped launch Vancouver’s first authentic taqueria (La Taqueria) and re-vamped the menu for Roaming Dragon, the city’s first food truck. Most recently, Tina worked with Earls as a product development chef and part of their Chefs’ Collective team.
On a personal note, I first met Tina in 2009 at The Flying Tiger. Her enthusiasm for her work, her constant and infectious smile, and her open and generous nature made her unforgettable to everyone she met, including me. Tina will be remembered not only for her numerous and important contributions to the industry, but, more importantly, for the many lives she brightened along the way.
Forza Tina.
A celebration of life will be held on Feb. 7 for invited friends, family and industry colleagues. A scholarship in Tina’s name will also be set up for women interested in pursuing a hospitality, food or beverage career through Les Dames d’Escoffier BC Chapter. In lieu of flowers, donations are gladly accepted for either a Les Dames’ Service Excellence Culinary Scholarship or the BC Hospitality Foundation.
