Gurtner right at home on Sonora
For someone whose first ambition was not culinary arts, he can pick a forest floor clean
As someone who loves the outdoors, Sonora Resort on Sonora Island is the perfect locale for executive chef Lukas Gurtner.
A Vancouver Island native and a son of a chef, Gurtner harvests local ingredients for his creations.
Gurtner worked at Laurie Raphael in Montreal before returning to the West Coast to join the team at Sonora as a sous chef under previous executive chef Terry Pichor.
What motivates and inspires you as a chef?
I have been fortunate enough to be surrounded by great food while growing up my whole life. My father, a Swiss chef, was dedicated to the industry for over 40 years. I remember him showing me classical and somewhat forgotten techniques on rainy days; learning how to make vinegar from scratch. Breaking down whole animals on a casual Sunday, then after filling the cold room with cured meats for charcuterie.
My mother also always had something on the go. I can remember her canning pickles, stone fruits, and preserving almost anything you can think of. Waking up in the morning, the smell of dehydrating foraged rosehips, or the abundance of camomile flowers surrounding us. For me, these vivid memories with my mother and father and the lifestyle which was naturally brought into my life is what motivates me and inspires me. To be able to pass this knowledge on to my fellow cooks and upcoming chefs is what pushes me every day. Continuing this progression that was unknowingly brought into my life is something I wouldn’t trade for the world.
How would you describe the type of food you like to cook?
When discussing flavours, textures or the creation of a dish with my cooks, I tell them I want the food to “talk to you” — pushing the mentality that food can be simple, elegant and flavourful when executing strong techniques while respecting the product throughout the process. When using a product, I like to showcase it in several ways, if possible. In a situation of a vegetable: using the root, the vegetable itself, the seed and even, in some cases, the greenery/herb which it produces.
What might diners not know about you?
The culinary industry was not my first ambition, or my first decision in a career path. After high school, I attended and completed my first year in auto mechanics. After completing my first year and having a taste of the day-to-day work life I decided the auto mechanic industry was not for me, and I wanted to become a chef. I’ll never forget my father’s face when I told him. Let’s just say he had a strongly worded opinion, which I respect and understand more fully after the journey I have taken to get to where I am today. I started as a dishwasher for just over a year, and progressed ... throughout the years.
What’s your favourite local product, and how do you use it?
Growing up on Vancouver Island and being nature focused, wild mushrooms are my favourite local ingredient, hands down. Depending on what Mother Nature has in store for us at the time, mid-September to October is such a beautiful time to forage for mushrooms on the island. The forest is damp, heavy and full of smells which you cannot replicate. I could explore the forest floor for hours, finding chanterelles, yellowfoot, hedgehogs, pine mushrooms and, my favourite, the cauliflower mushroom. When these mushrooms are in their prime, a quick sauté with some garlic and fresh thyme, placed overtop fresh sourdough bread with a nice grassy olive oil and some cheeky Parmesan — game over!