Meet Eric

Eric Pateman is one of the world’s leading strategists in the culinary tourism, aviation and commercial guest experience space, and the only expert on the planet who unites a background as a chef with an MBA in Finance and international experience in over 100 countries.

Eric was recently engaged by Vancouver International Airport (YVR) as their Chief Experience Officer (CXO), overseeing the culinary program as well as retail, lounges, duty free and overall guest experience including all service teams.

He is looking forward to shaping the future of YVR and crafting one of the best airport guest service experiences on the planet in the years to come, with world-class customer service, an incredible food and retail program and a stress-free experience from parking to your gate.

Eric started cooking in restaurants at the age of 12, started his first entrepreneurial endeavour (a catering company) at age 17, and hasn’t stopped innovating since. With a long list of successful restaurants, retail shops, festivals, culinary travel programs and more to his name, Eric is a well-regarded figurehead in Canada and the rest of the world when it comes to culinary tourism.

Eric’s award-winning enterprises include ESP Culinary Consulting, where he shared his culinary, marketing and branding expertise with global brands and international organizations as well as Edible Canada, which encompassed a bistro and retail shop as well as a culinary travel division that took guests across the Arctic on a private 737, and on a luxury coach through the American South on a legendary bourbon and blues tour. The artisanal Amola brand of sea salts under his Sea to Sky Seasonings company is found on shelves in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom.

With over 25 years of experience as a chef in Canada and abroad, Eric has prepared food and designed menus for well–respected restaurants, celebrities and the world’s elite around the globe. He founded the award–winning Edible Canada bistro on Granville Island in Vancouver, which brought the bounty of Canada’s fields, farms, forests and waters to the plates of local diners and international visitors alike. He is regularly found as a guest chef at charity events.

An acknowledged aficionado with his finger on the pulse of Canada’s restaurant scene, Eric serves as a judge annually for enRoute Canada’s best new restaurants, as well for the Canada’s 100 Best restaurant awards.

He is the nation’s leading ambassador for Canadian cuisine and an advocate for hundreds of small artisan food companies, farmers, fishers and foragers, bringing together chefs and influencers from all aspects of the culinary world. For many years, his busy consulting practice kept him travelling around the world, working for both public and private sector clients to define cuisines, build brands and shape the future of food. Now, he’s bringing that expertise to Vancouver International Airport.

He has co-authored or contributed to three books, was the recipient of the Mayor of Vancouver’s Art Award for Culinary Arts, was one of Business in Vancouver’s Top 40 Under 40 Business People and was named one of Western Living Magazine’s Top 40 Foodies Under 40.

Eric is an honorary board member of the Children’s Wish Foundation, a 20+ year member of Big Brothers Canada (with the same “little brother” since the start) and was recently inducted as the first chef Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society for his exceptional work promoting cuisine in all regions of this vast country. He regularly donates his time to cook for charity events both in Canada and around the world, and loves to support initiatives that involve youth and future engagement in the culinary world.

Working with both new and established brands and organizations both in the private and public sectors (hotels, restaurants, resorts, venture capital groups, tourism regions, all levels of government and more), Eric draws on his decades of expertise to help them improve across the board. His guidance on strategic planning, operational development, identification and understanding of their USPs, marketing and branding and effective storytelling allows them to capture more than their fair share of their respective market segments.

Eric is not currently taking on new consulting work, but would be pleased to connect you with someone in his extensive global network who can assist you with your culinary consulting needs.