Former B.C. chef wants to taste food from around the world with recent $675K lotto win

B.C. lottery winner Steven Bartkowski is seen in a photo provided by BCLC.

Vancouver -

A B.C. man who recently won the grand prize on a scratch ticket is hoping to use some of his winnings to go on a culinary adventure.

Steven Bartkowski was sitting in his kitchen when he scratched his Set for Life ticket and discovered he'd won $675,000. The former chef said he couldn't wait to tell his friends and family.

"I was most excited to tell my friend and he was overwhelmed and happy for me," Bartkowski said in a news release. "I phoned my family as well and they were shocked and happy."

Bartkowski lives in Keremeos, B.C., a village in the Okanagan-Similkameen with a population of about 1,500. He bought his ticket at the local Pharmasave and plans to use some of his winnings to buy a home and "relax a little bit," but he also wants to travel. 

"I’d love to travel to Hawaii, Fiji, and Costa Rica," he said. "While I’m at these places, I want to enjoy all different types of good food!"

So far this year, more than $8 million in Set for Life prizes has been redeemed in B.C.

According to BCLC, the odds of winning the grand prize on a Set for Life ticket – a lump sum of $675,000, or $1,000 a week for 25 years – are approximately one in 508,000.