Food to feed the soul
Red Wagon’s Brad Miller discovered French cuisine in Bermuda
Chef Brad Miller is the owner and creative force behind Vancouver’s The Red Wagon and Bistro Wagon Rouge.
Q What motivates and inspires you as a chef?
A My family and my entrepreneurial spirit. I started cooking at a very young age with my grandmother. I baked bread with her as young as 5. I would knead the dough and use a tin can to cut rolls out for dinnertime. Around the age of 12, I would often make dinner. My mom raised me on her own so I was pretty motivated to have dinner ready for her when she got home.
A lot of people in my family are entrepreneurs so I was naturally interested in opening a business.
My mom was a hairstylist and when we would drive by salons that were for sale, she would point them out to me excited about the possibility. She talked to me about that dream but it never came into fruition. I do have three uncles that were entrepreneurs — one owned a Texaco Station, and my grandparents were farmers.
When I was a kid I would plant rows of corn on their land and when the corn matured I would sell them back to my grandfather.
The idea of making money was always around me.
How would you describe the type of food you like to cook?
The food I cook is simple and soulful. I feel like there is something behind each dish that I cook for our guests. I have done the finicky and fancy stuff in my past but the food I serve now is more approachable.
At Wagon Rouge and The Red Wagon we want to nurture your body as well as your soul through memory of food. Both restaurants offer nostalgic dishes that aim to connect. Well-executed comfort dishes like trout amandine at Wagon Rouge and grilled cheese and tomato soup at The Red Wagon provide that connection.
What might diners not know about you?
I was actually cooking in Bermuda when I discovered my love of French food. I worked for a French chef cooking for the guests of a cottage colony and that was where I fell in love with French cuisine. This experience inspired and funded my following year in France. I ended up in Paris and attended Grégoire-Ferrandi, one of France’s leading professional culinary training schools and later picked lettuce at three-star Michelin Le Grand Vefour.
Describe a couple of your most recent creations.
The DLT is one of my favourite things. It has duck confit, tomato chutney and iceberg lettuce on ciabatta. It appears as a special from time-to-time at The Red Wagon. Beef Cheek Bourguignon is a classic and it is on heavy rotation at Wagon Rouge, made with beef cheeks. I remember the first time I had cheeks, I was in school in Paris and it was over the top good.