Brad finally became a member of the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, an international association of gastronomy earlier this year. The association, which has 21,000 members in over 75 countries, brings together enthusiasts, amateurs and professionals, who share the same appreciation of the pleasures of the table.
The Hardware Grill circa 1996, Toti illustration.
Although Brad is no longer working in a professional kitchen, he thought what better way to stay connected to the industry then to become a member of the Chaîne.
Our first event as members was a gorgeous dinner in the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald’s ballroom hosted by executive chef John Lance. We were seated next to Hans Voegeli and his partner Nathalie Mulder of Breakthru Beverage Group. Hans had been at the helm of many of the great Edmonton dining rooms, his most recent, La Ronde in the Chateau Lacombe. It didn’t take long for the four of us to start talking about our former restaurant colleagues and what they are doing now.
In Edmonton the restaurant industry is small; professional servers, chefs and hosts have all crossed paths at one time or another. The next week we continued the conversation over dinner at Normand’s Bistro, owned by former colleague Normand Campbell, a brilliant host who opened the doors to his namesake restaurant 36 years ago. Before that Norm had worked his way through almost every restaurant mentioned.
If you haven’t been in Edmonton for at least 30 years, reminiscing over the old restaurants of the day wouldn’t have been of much interest, but for us, talking about the splendid restaurants, charming maître d’s and temperamental chefs made for great conversation. Between the four of us we had plenty of stories.
We had to start with La Suisse because that was where we got to know Peter Johner, who then opened Boccalino, the amazing Swiss Italian restaurant on Jasper Avenue. Then, Packrat Louie, where we all fell in love with the wood- fired lemon pizza. He is now living in the Okanagan making handmade chocolates and are they ever delicious.
You can’t talk about that time without mentioning Hans Kuhnel and Your Choice Restaurant Group, the most special being Walden’s, where so many servers learned their chops. The maze of tables hidden discreetly behind the foliage made it the perfect setting for more than just business deals.
The Carvery at the Westin was beyond compare. Brian Welsh was the consummate host and it was roses and matchbooks embossed with your name in gold. Those were the days!
The Harvest Room at the Hotel Macdonald is very special to me as I was the first maître d’ when it reopened in 1991. Many an engagement and special occasion were celebrated in that beautiful room, the soaring ceilings and chandeliers were something to behold. When I moved on, my successor was none other than Brian Welsh. I left the room in good hands.
Claude Buzon was another one of the greats. I was under his tutelage (in 1984) working in the basement of La Boheme. He trained me to make croissants and puff pastry, Napoleons, all the French pastries and desserts. He later went on to open Claude’s, with Patrick Saurette as maître d’ and Sunny Sung as chef. (Brad and I had our wedding reception at Claude’s in 1991).
Claude went on to relocate the restaurant to the Convention Centre, where Philip’s Dining Room had previously been, and where Brad and I met. I was the general manager and Brad my assistant (oops). Patrick went on to open The Marc with his lovely wife Doris after a long tenure at one of the city’s favourite’s, Il Portico, and Sunny went on to work with the Sorrentino’s group. Claude now owns Chef’s Hat Inc., Patrick and Doris have recently retired, and Sunny is the executive chef at La Ronde.
Of course there was the Hardware Grill, opened in 1996 by Larry and Melinda Stewart and Brad and me. We bowed out in 1999 selling our shares back to the Stewarts. This was a remarkable restaurant that made an indelible mark on Edmonton for 23 years.
So many good restaurants back then— Chef ’s Table, the Unheardof, Philip’s— where the Smos and others like us cut our teeth. These were dining rooms that made an evening out feel special. From the moment you entered you were greeted by name, your coats were taken and hidden away. Dim lighting and white tablecloth-draped tables spaced appropriately from one another were the norm. Tables were crumbed and there was such a thing as a fish fork.
Of course, there were also places we all knew and loved like Bistro Praha, that has survived all these years and still serves, in my opinion, the best steak tartare in the city.