EXECUTIVE CHEF

ROGER MA

Born and raised in Vancouver, Roger began his career as a cook by helping launch Fifty Two 80 Bistro at Four Seasons Whistler Resort in 2004. After spending almost two years at the property, Roger felt the need to move to New York City to hone his craft in one of the most renowned kitchens in America. In the fall of 2005, Roger spent two weeks staging in Boulud’s kitchen and after was offered a full time position.

From 2006-2012, Ma rose through the ranks at Chef Daniel Boulud’s two Michelin star flagship restaurant, Daniel in New York City. Roger worked every station in the restaurant and embraced the contemporary French cuisine of Daniel, in 2011 he took the role of corporate sous chef in Boulud’s Dinex Group and later helped open Café Boulud and dBar at the Four Seasons Toronto as well as Maison Boulud at the Ritz Carlton in Montreal. In 2014, Roger returned to his hometown of Vancouver to help open Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar.

Ma is no stranger to accolades, having claimed the top prize at the 2015 Vancouver Aquarium Ocean Wise Chowder Chowdown. In 2016, he earned a podium finish at the Bocuse d’Or national finals and won the Chefs Table Society annual Curry Cup. As Executive Chef, Ma lead the Boulevard team to a gold-medal win in the Best Seafood category at the 2018 edition of the Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards and restaurant of the year in 2020. In 2019 he claimed the BC Regional Championship at the 14th annual Gold Medal Plates BC. In 2020 Ma was named the Georgia Straight Golden Plates Chef of the Year and was also crowned the National Champion at the Canadian Culinary Championships. In 2022 under Rogers leadership, Boulevard was ranked number 9 on the prestigious Canada’s top 100 restaurant list.

Roger enjoys learning about different cultures and cuisines which inspires him and distills these ideas into the menu. ‘Diversity is important in our kitchen, as well as having a solid technical foundation, I feel we try and interpret Vancouver into every dish we create at Boulevard’. ‘The cuisine at Boulevard will continue to evolve’ says Ma who credits his talented kitchen team for its success. ‘We have one of the best teams in the city and we wouldn’t be able to do what we do without them’.

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