Team

Dino Renaerts - Director of Operations & Executive Chef

A list of Vancouver's talented and most loved chefs would be incomplete without including Dino Renaerts. One of a few who can say he was born and raised in Vancouver, Dino chose to take his culinary training in his home town at the eponymous Dubrulle Culinary School. Followed with continued training and success by completing his apprenticeship working at the infamous William Tell Restaurant where he was introduced to the Culinary Olympics, and finishing 3rd overall in the Province as top Apprentice. After a slight misstep and a broken leg from a skiing accident, Dino shelved his ambition to work in Europe, and instead continued his rise in the kitchens of Bishops, Le Gavroche, Canadian Pacific Hotels & Resorts, West, Hotel Georgia, Diva at the Met, Fraiche & now as the Executive Chef & Director of Operations at PIER 7 restaurant + bar.

Devoted to his province and his craft for the past 24 years, Renaerts is actively involved in British Columbia's culinary scene. He has served on several hospitality boards, including the BC Hospitality Foundation, Chefs Table Society and was president of the BC Chefs Association from 2005-2009. Dino also represented Canada in Indonesia and Hong Kong to promote Canadian Seafood in 2004 and 2006.

Not one to rest on his laurels, Dino found time to attend the Sommelier program with the International Sommelier Guild in 1998. He graduated top of his class in 1999 and became the first chef in Canada to be a certified Sommelier. In 2001 Dino was invited to the Sommelier Summit in Sonoma, California, and replaced Charlie Trotter as the chef speaker on a prestigious panel including Larry Stone. Traveling to wine country at home and abroad for the past 15 years and working closely in a collaborative approach with his colleagues on his wine & food programs has been a passionate endeavor.

The gregarious chef and director of operations of PIER 7 restaurant + bar is looking forward to enriching an already fantastic dining scene in lower Lonsdale, bringing a fun and well-honed brand of food and wine to the North Shore.