Yan Dining Room chef Eva Chin is cooking an exclusive dinner in Burlington this week

This Sunday, Yan Dining Room’s Eva Chin will be popping up in Burlington to partner with Nick Lin and Stephen Baidacoff, the chefs of No. 8 Restaurant, on an eight-course tasting menu that’s equal parts Italian and Chinese. It’s the second iteration of an ongoing culinary collaboration between the chefs.

“While bringing some of the Yan Dining Room philosophy to No.8, we’re excited to add our own twist to this series,” Baidacoff says. “The previous collaboration explored the historical and culinary connections between Italian and Chinese cultures. This time, the focus is on celebrating the journey of chefs Lin and Chin and how they have grown into their own since coming to Canada. The eight-course menu (which was planned over dim sum at Chin’s request) is a playful and expressive reflection of their shared roots and culinary vision.”

“Guests can expect a very playful multi-coursed menu that is driven by individual and shared plates,” Chin says. “Instead of doing courses of our own, most of the menu blends our cooking styles.”

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Lin boasts an impressive resume that spans the globe: the Bocuse d’Or candidate for Team China in 2023 previously served as head chef at the two-Michelin-starred restaurant Taian Table and one-Michelin-starred Stiller in Guangzhou before taking the helm at No. 8. Baidacoff, meanwhile, has worked in some of the world’s most celebrated kitchens, including the three-Michelin-starred Eleven Madison Park in New York City and the iconic Noma in Copenhagen.

“I first met Eva about 15 or 16 years ago in Guangzhou, where she was a regular at the restaurant I worked at. We both moved to Canada around the same time, but she ended up on the west coast. We reconnected last year,” says Lin. “We share a similar approach to food and a passion for regional Chinese cuisine, which led to this chapter of the Yan Dining collaboration. Her dedication to making people more familiar with regional Chinese food is something I truly admire and fully support.”

Baidacoff echoes Lin’s admiration of Chin. “Eva has become my personal encyclopedia of Chinese regional cuisine,” he says. “Every meal we share is a deep dive into the unique flavors and traditions of individual regions—always eye-opening and rich with insight. In the kitchen, we clicked right away. We work the same way, lead with a similar approach, and even share the same sense of humour. I’m thrilled to have her coming to Burlington to showcase her cuisine alongside Chef Nick.”

The collaboration is a long time coming for Chin, who says that Lin renewed her sense of purpose. “After working and travelling in Europe, I felt a loss of cultural identity so I moved to China to live and work and learn from the source,” Chin says. His passion left an impression on her. “At such a young age, he was determined. Meeting Nick and eating at the restaurant he was working at in Guangzhou, I was revived and inspired. We both moved to Canada around the same time but settled on opposite coasts. To reconnect again in the city we both now call home—inspired by the very same cuisine that defines us—is a very meaningful opportunity for me.”

The eight-course tasting menu event will be held on June 8 at 446 Pearl St. in Burlington. Tickets are $140 per person.