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Sincerely,
Paul Kamon

I’ve heard a lot of local news over the last few days while up here in Tofino. Many of the restaurants were understandably abuzz about Mia Stainsby’s “Tough City” foodie feature in the Vancouver Sun, in particular what she’d written about the Pointe Restaurant here at the Wick:

After chef Andrew Springett left, I’d heard the food lost its lustre. It’s true. Although it stands the test of high quality ingredients, our lunch was disappointing. A grilled salmon atop a spinach salad, turned into a yucky mess; the salad with chunks of boiled egg, bacon, onions, and goat feta was a weighty mush.

Ouch. It turns out that executive chef Tim Cuff (Springett’s replacement) was either fired or he resigned the very next day (for what it’s worth, my food was excellent tonight).

But what’s really struck me has been the amount of local animosity that’s been brewing concerning the Cactus Club’s long rumoured involvement with Shelter…(read on MacDuff)

While it’s true that Richard Jaffray, the Head Cactus, is a “silent” investor at Shelter (which many locals now mockingly refer to as “The Shelter Club”), it’s never really been confirmed that he was doing anything other dropping some coin in a place he likes to frequent.

But for local optics here, being “silent” might be prudent. I never knew this until this weekend, but it seems a lot of Tofitians cling to an urban myth that tells of Tofino not allowing chains of any kind by law (er… but what about Best Western, Esso, Days Inn?), so they see the Cactus Club’s allegedly quiet and totally unpublicised swallow of Shelter as a shady nugget of poison bullshit (”It’s going to be hard to compete” being the standard pooh pooh). If Jaffray let his full involvement be known (if indeed he was actively involved), it wouldn’t go down so well with those here who believe that that would constitute a game misconduct.

On past trips, the pooh pooh-ers haven’t had any proof that the Cactus Club was pimping Shelter. It was just a rumour. On this trip, however, I got an earful of specifics, the most hilarious one being that Shelter employees were being paid with Cactus Club paychecks.

Regular readers might remember that UD first got wind of some of these early whisperings last year. We even posted about it:

The most persistent snatch has [The Cactus Club] taking Tofino’s Shelter brand for a ride across Vancouver, perhaps with a first stop around the central shore of Coal Harbour.

But I didn’t really believe it:

There may also be little room at the Inn by the time said hybrid hypothetically arrives (if it is to arrive at all, hypothetically or not). Unless you’re the Voya or your name starts with David or ends with Feenie, there isn’t room left in the pool for much of a splash. 

It turns out I should have believed it, as it’s true. According to this Business in Vancouver interview with the company’s COO, Andrew Latchford, Shelter is indeed heading our way:

[Latchford] has been instrumental in rolling out Cactus Club’s latest concept, Shelter, originally based in Tofino. Latchford said development of new restaurant concepts, including a more premium, upscale dining experience, would play an ongoing role in the chain’s growth strategy. “If we are involved with it, we would like it to be seen in that light.”

Ah, hence the Food Concept Architect!

I think I get it now. 

But why so hush hush about bringing the Shelter brand here and milking it dry expanding on it? Is it really so as not to piss off the Tofitians? 

What do you think?

Well, that was a strange journey, and I’m not even home yet. There were - in no particular order -  snowstorms, hailstorms, biblical rains, plenty shivering, great food, automotive disasters, and a lots - LOTS - of help when it was needed, and it was needed a lot.

I’ll put together a full post in the coming days, but right now I’m recovering from an hour long emergency jacuzzi at the Wickaninnish and I’d like to enjoy the smell of soap and the feel of warmth for a spell. I’ve missed both over the last four days, freezing my ass off in a tin can by the beach.

I won’t be able to get back to Vancouver until the morrow and it will be by plane or bus. Sniff.

I’m off solo camping in Tofino for the next four days. I’ll check out the new Sobo and post upon my return. I’ll be reporting from my campsite on CFUN this Monday at 8am.

The Stone Roses | Shoot You Down (Soul Hooligans Remix) 

Awesome, from The Department of Ya Think?

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A Superior Court judge on Thursday ordered Starbucks to pay its California baristas more than $100 million in back tips and interest that the coffee chain paid to shift supervisors.

San Diego Superior Court Judge Patricia Cowett also issued an injunction that prevents Starbucks’ shift supervisors from sharing in future tips, saying state law prohibits managers and supervisors from sharing in employee gratuities.

Hey, I forget. Is it kosher for managers to skim tips from servers under BC law? Hmm….

Seriously, not that I was ever a big fan or anything, but what the f@ck happened to English Bay’s Balthazar?

Breaking: Seattle has banned city purchases of bottled water. Vancouver’s been considering it for a couple of years now, but as far as I know the idea hasn’t yet come to full fruition (sigh).

[Mayor Nickels] signed an executive order, which says that producing bottles for U.S. consumers required more than 17 million barrels of oil, not including the fuel required to transport the bottles. Only one of 10 bottles is recycled, according to the city’s announcement [...]

“It is to really highlight the fact that Seattle has one of the best municipal water supplies in the country,” said Marty McOmber, the mayor’s spokesman. “When you look at the cost of bottled water, both in terms of financial costs and costs on the environment, it’s a pretty clear choice that using city water is a much better choice.”

Have any of our more eco-friendly restaurants put their trust exclusively in their taps yet? I know the profitability and cachet of “sparkling or still” might make some balk, but wouldn’t it be nice to see some restaurateurs take the lead if the city won’t?

DINNER BY CANDLELIGHT
C Restaurant, Raincity Grill and Nu Restaurant + Lounge Observe Earth Hour

Vancouver, BC… In honour of Earth Hour, Vancouver restaurateur Harry Kambolis will be shutting off the lights at his three restaurants on Saturday, March 29th. In keeping with their philosophy of Ethical Luxury, C Restaurant, Raincity Grill and Nu Restaurant + Lounge will flick the switch and serve by candlelight between 8:00pm and 9:00pm. Enjoy this first annual event, this year unique to Vancouver, while dining in the warm glow of a softly lit room. Candle light sponsored by Puddifoot – suppliers of fine china and tableware. For more information, or to make your reservation please contact C Restaurant at 604-661-1164; Raincity Grill at 604-685-7337; Nu Restaurant + Lounge at 604-646-4668 or visit www.kambolis.com.

Earth Hour began last year in Sydney, Australia, during which more than 2 million residents and businesses turned off their lights for one hour, reducing Sydney’s energy consumption by 10% for that hour (the equivalent effect of taking 48,000 cars off the road for a year). This simple, yet powerful act has captured the hearts and minds of people all over the world. As a result, at 8:00pm on March 29, 2008 millions of people in some of the world’s major cities (including Vancouver) will unite and switch off for Earth Hour. For more information on Earth Hour, visit www.earthhour.org.

All three restaurants boast a waterfront view, chefs dedicated to locally sourced food and a front of house team that provides exceptional service. Check out one website at www.kambolis.com or individual sites at www.crestaurant.com, www.whatisnu.com and www.raincitygrill.com.

Media Contact:
Alexander Ink Public Relations
(t) 604.331.0907 | (e) info@alexanderink.com

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EASTER BRUNCH AT METRO

Metro Restaurant is pleased to announce the launch of its much anticipated Sunday Brunch @ Metro. Chef Fowke has worked tirelessly on this new menu and is excited to be bringing yet another aspect of food and service to this already successful dining room.

The inaugural brunch will take place on Easter Sunday, March 23rd with seating times of 10:30, 12:00, 1:30, and 3:00pm. The brunch will be a plentiful buffet set along the sleek and stylish bar, wrapping its way past the open kitchen for the guests to see Chef Fowke leading his brigade. General Manager Mike Mitchell says: “This is another opportunity for us as a restaurant team to showcase to Vancouver and its visitors all that BC’s fields, farms, and waters have to offer. I am excited to be leading our service team into brunches at Metro and what better day to launch this program than Easter Sunday.” Metro will be open for regular business hours over the Easter weekend and is accepting reservations by phone at 604.662.3463 or on-line through www.metrodining.ca

Hours of Operation for Easter Weekend:
Good Friday, March 21st, 11:30am to midnight
Saturday, March 22nd, 4:00pm to midnight
Easter Sunday, March 23rd, Brunch from 10:30 to 4:00 and Dinner from 4:00 until late
Easter Monday, March 24th, 11:30am to midnight

Metro Restaurant
200 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC
604.662.3463
www.metrodining.ca

A year ago I was researching a story on John Bishop for the 2007 Van Mag awards issue. I talked about his reach as a chef, interviewed many of the people who’d gone through his restaurant over two decades (Allemeier, Vij, Durbach, Van Geest, Feenie, the list is endless), and googled the crap out of him. One thing that consistently came up was a film that he participated in called Deconstructing Supper, a documentary on genetically modified foods. I tried finding a copy to no avail, but as you can see above there is a lengthy excerpt now available on You Tube. These days it feels like an inordinate amount of time and attention is being paid to celebrity chefs, and it’s got me thinking what goes into the making of one. A constant stream of press releases is a good start. Making yourself available to the media and building on those relationships is key. Cooking great food helps, but seems no longer necessary. What Bishop does is entirely different, as this documentary (among a great many other things) shows.

It’s great stuff.