14 — Friday, April 9, 1699 — North Shore News NORTH SHORE NEWS ENTERTAINMENT & STYLE GUIDE staurateur ne fest Les Dames d’Escoffier to host festival tastings ® The Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival — Women in Wine: Les Dames d’Escoffier, Monday. April 12, Hotel Vancouver, 6 to 9 p.m. Deana Lancaster News Reporter deana@nsnews.com WHEN Janet McGuire opened the Beach Side Cafe almost 12 years ago she could count on one hand the number of women who owned restaurants in Vancouver. She still can. Perhaps because a career in the restaurant industry often means working nights and long “ours, chefs, restaurateurs, hoteliers, vintners, wine merchants and others in the business have traditionally been male. “I really never think about it. I guess it helped that at the beginning I had a male part- ner — I really drove getting into the restau- rant but I think he made it easier with the bank and that sort of thing.” In 1989 she became the sole proprietor of the Ambleside restaurant and she hasn’t looked back. The cosy eatery with the sparkling ocean view has a recent history littered with awards. For the fifth year in a row, it nabbed the Vancouver Magasine award for Best Restaurant on the North Shore, The Vancouver Stun named it Best West Vancouver, the restau- rant’s wine list has repeatedly garnered a silver award from the Playhouse International Wine List competition, and McGuire herself was named Restaurateur of the Year in 1996 by the B.C. Restaurant Association. She didn’t do it all alone, however. The menu has been developed and guided by exec- utive chef Carol Chow since 199] and the wine list is under the talented and well-trained palate of sommelier Mark Davidson. But the forces behind the Beach Side Cafe also get help and support en another source. Both McGuire and Chow are members of the British Columbia Chapter of Les Dames d’Escottier — an organization of professional women in food, wine, hospitality and related industries. “It’s a very forward moving organization, and it gives us the opportunity to get together with other women who have a common love of food or wine.” There are 32 members in the B.C. chapter — the sole branch in Canada — and member- ship is by invitation only to women who have distinguished themselves within at feast five years of experience in their field. They’re a busy bunch. As well as providing support, information, and networking oppor- tunities to its members, the organization held its Rrst community outreach event last sum- mer, a barbecue for clients of Triage Emergency Services and Care Society, an emergency shelter in the downtown castside. Les Dames also awards scholarships each year to women who desire education in fields related to food and wine — since 1995 would- be chefs, winemakers, hoteliers, food writers and others have been able to further their careers thanks to the scholarships. On Monday, the local chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier is going even further to draw artention co all that women have accom- plished in the province's culinary landscape. For the first time, top women winemakers, winery owners and chefs are to host an array of tastings and mini seminars at Women in Wine, one of the special events lined up for next week’s Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival. The Roof at Hotel Vancouver will play host to the event, where guests can wander from station to station, nibbling, sipping and chat- ting with members of Les Dames and other industry superstars. Tickets to the event are $75, and available through Ticketmaster. The proceeds will benefit The Vancouver Playhouse as well as Les Dames d’Escoffier educational bursaries and outreach programs. To find out about other events taking place at the wine festival, call873-3311 fora brochure, or visit the Web site at . r X-Fi Truth in script fe Michael Becker News Editer wmichael@nsnews.com THE truth isn’t out there — it’s in the script. West Vancouver resident Jim Guttridge, 34, and Ken Hawryliw, 39, of Vancouver are the co-writers of an X-Files episode airing on Sunday, April 11. The episode Trevor pits agents Muider and Scully against an unstoppable criminal who goes about committing some nasty business. X-Files co-executive producer Vince Gilligan calls the episode one of the strongest of the season. Guutridge, who splits his time between Los Angeles and West Vancouver, is a Grammy-nominated composer. Along with Daryl Bennett and Ari Wise, he runs a music and audio business, Ferocious Fish Interactive. The company was started in Guttridge’s West Vancouver basement in 1988. Originally from Edmonton and now based in Vancouver, Hawryliw spent five years as the property master for The X-Files. Hawryliw works the props for Chris Carter’s other series Millennium and is preparing a book about the props and sets HEWS photo Mike Wotafleid JANET McGuire of the Beach Side Cafe will be one of “Les Dames” dishing at the Women in Wine event at the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festivai. les writing team used in The X-Files. The challenge of getting a script accepted and then turned into an X-Files episode is a daunting task, even with an insider like Hawryliw on side. Says Guttridge, “Ken had built up a relationship by working on the show for five years. We worked hard on the seript and got it through the channels, It went through ail of the executive pro- ducers and it wasn’t until Gillian Anderson read it, she champi- oned it to Chris for us. Things started to take off there.” The X-Files episode showing on Sunday is not part of the so- See Former Page 3