There is a belief that runs through everything Chef Sharon 'Mama' Chan and Chef Will Lew create together — in the dishes they cook, the communities they serve, and the tables they set.

That cooking is never really about the food. It's about the people around it.

It's a philosophy Sharon has carried since childhood, standing on a little chair beside her grandmother in the kitchen, learning to chop and fold and season before she knew what any of it was called. And it's one Will traces back to his grandfather cooking in Vancouver's Chinatown in the 1960s — a man who taught him, without ever saying so directly, that a meal is an act of giving.

That belief is at the heart of Made to Gather, Trail Appliances' newest content series featuring Chef Sharon Chan and Chef Will Lew, filmed in the Fisher & Paykel display kitchen at our Cloverdale showroom.

Two Chefs, One Philosophy

Chef Sharon Chan — known warmly as MAMA — is the founder of MAMAintheKitchen, a line of handcrafted chili oils, sauces, and frozen foods inspired by the nostalgic flavours of Hong Kong home cooking. Born in Toronto, raised in Hong Kong, and now based in Vancouver, Sharon's cooking is rooted in a belief she has carried since childhood: that flavour and taste are like memories, and memories are like family love.

"Mama is not only me," she says. "It represents my mom, my grandma, and my aunt. My grandma used to let me stand on a little chair beside her and prep — start chopping, making traditional Chinese dishes with my family. That's why I love being in the kitchen."

Chef Will Lew's path to the kitchen was anything but conventional. Vancouver-born and Chinatown-raised, he earned a UBC degree in Animal Biology, performed as a violinist across the city, and stumbled into his culinary calling through a dishwashing shift in Yaletown that turned into two years of learning everything from the ground up. He went on to make history at the Fairmont Pacific Rim's RawBar — transforming it into North America's first fully Ocean Wise sushi restaurant — before serving as Executive Chef at Ocean Wise Conservation Association and eventually opening a Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant in Vancouver.

Today, as Director of Food and Beverage at Pacific Reach, he oversees landmark properties across North America. But his most meaningful work, he'll tell you, happens closer to home.

"I never really understood the value of my own culture's food until I went through years of Western culinary training," Will reflects. "And then, working with Chef Sharon, it brought me back. It brought me back to recognizing and being extremely proud of my heritage — being Chinese Canadian."

The Kitchen That Made It All Possible

The Fisher & Paykel display kitchen at the Trail Appliances Cloverdale Showroom was designed by the award-winning local studio Sarah Gallop Design Inc, to inspire possibilities for renovations or new builds. Open by design, intuitive by nature, and built around the way people actually cook and host — it's the kind of space that makes you want to do both.

For two chefs who have worked in some of Vancouver's most demanding professional kitchens, the impression was immediate.

"Some of the best kitchens I've worked in are the ones where you don't need to move too much," Will says. "You stand in one place, spin in a circle, and everything is within reach. This kitchen is like a stage. We don't need to walk away from anything — dishwasher, fridge, induction, oven."

Sharon agrees, pointing to something that matters deeply to both chefs: the ability to stay present with guests while cooking.

"I love how the induction, the sink, and the dishwasher are all in the centre. When I'm prepping, cooking, cleaning — I'm always facing our guests. Our backs are never to anyone." Sharon says.

The Fisher & Paykel induction cooktop, in particular, earned its place quickly. For Chinese cooking — where wok hei, timing, and heat response are everything — induction's instant, precise heat delivery changes the game.

"The key thing is wok hei," Will explains. "When we stir-fry, when we sauté the sablefish, we can feel the strength and stability of the heat from the induction. What you want is what you get. And it's exact and instant."

Sharon adds: "With a gas burner, the flame can be unpredictable. With Fisher & Paykel induction, it's stable. I felt that difference immediately."

The oven delivered equally. For dishes like the Maple Honey BBQ Char Siu — which relies on consistent, even heat throughout a long roast before a precise high-heat finish — the ability to set the temperature and trust it completely is not a luxury. It's the difference between a good result and a great one.

Cooking With Culture and Community in Mind

What sets Chef Sharon and Will apart isn't just their credentials. It's what they do with them.

The two chefs met through the Chinatown Foundation's Light Up Chinatown initiative — cooking together to raise money for Vancouver's Chinatown revitalization. Since then, they have collaborated on charitable dinners for the Chinese Canadian Museum, the Richmond Hospital Foundation, and the Dr. Peter Centre. Their most ambitious project to date is transforming patient menus at Richmond Hospital, bringing culturally authentic, comforting food to people in recovery — rooted in the belief that food is not just nutrition, but memory, culture, and healing.

"We're so lucky to be commissioned to change the recipes and food at Richmond Hospital through a Chinese lens," Will says. "Giving the food more diversity. More emotional and cultural healing. That's what we want to do."

Sharon frames it simply: "Mama in the Kitchen is a place where I can share my love — through food, through my experience. Everything I cook, and do, and create is for a purpose."

A Culinary Soulmate, and a Kitchen Worth Visiting

When asked about their working dynamic, Will doesn't hesitate.

"Chef Sharon is my culinary soulmate. Everything we think about, we create — it's synchronized. We don't have to say much. It's all just there." Says Will.

That synchronicity was on full display in the Fisher & Paykel kitchen at Trail Appliances Cloverdale — a space both chefs say they would cook in every day if they could.

"This is our dream kitchen," Will says. "I wish everyone had this much space — but more than that, this much intuition in how the kitchen is designed. Once you see it, everyone wants to be a chef. Everyone wants to cook together."

Come and see it for yourself at the Trail Appliances Cloverdale Showroom