Some of the many memorable moments...
BRIAN ENNIS, General Manager/Director, Listel Whistler Hotel Building the wine cellar, 2000 I came into work one morning and parked in my underground stall. I could hear the restaurant chairs being dragged overhead. I thought, “Why don’t we just cut a hole in the ceiling, block up the posts and make a wine cellar?” BRIAN STOREN, Sommelier Stocking the wine cellar, 2000 We needed to stock the new cellar so I bought a vertical of Château Mouton-Rothschild from various collectors on Vancouver Island. There were bottles going back to 1945 and the collection was worth about $50,000. I was driving up the highway with all of it in the back of my truck. About halfway to Whistler, I thought to myself, “Are you crazy? You have no insurance.” RONNI ANDERSON, Server Decompressing after the inaugural Big Guns Winemakers Dinner, 2002 It was the end of Cornucopia. We did Masquerave the first night, then came back the next morning to set up for Big Guns, an elaborate multi-course menu, which paired with the icons of the Old World versus the New World. It was about 4:00 am, and we were all totally exhausted. We were sitting on the floor, eating Rosa’s Misty Mountain Pizza and draining the remainder of a double magnum 1991 Special Selection Caymus. Good friends, great wine … and oh my God, were we hungry. MELISSA CRAIG, Executive Chef Auditioning for the job, 2003 André asked me to prepare a six-course menu for three consecutive days – a different one each day. He was testing me. I had never worked with truffles before. I had never tried caviar. I didn’t like champagne. That all changed very quickly. ANDY CRIMP, General Manager Being surprised by unassuming big spenders, 2003 It was the middle of summer. I was serving three polite, proper middle-age Japanese ladies who were the only people in the restaurant. They ordered a burger, two lobster fest dinners, and the $13,000 bottle of 1945 Château Mouton-Rothschild. I freaked out. It was the cornerstone of the cellar. André came in to open the bottle and serve it. The women each had a glass and then gave the rest to him. That was very indicative of what can happen at the Bearfoot. STEVEN WRIGHT, General Manager Wrangling tigers, 2005 We were preparing for the big Masquerave, the one with the tented courtyard. It was one of the biggest undertakings of my professional life. We had so many things we could have been doing. Instead, we were pursuing a tiger … a tiger! André wanted one on a chain to greet guests at the entrance. He was pretty adamant about it, and if he could have done it, he would have. But then the SPCA got involved. It’s so funny that André pushes the envelope in ways that most other people wouldn’t even think of. ANDRÉ SAINT-JACQUES, Founder Winning the Gold Medal Plates, 2008 When they announced the winner, I jumped on the table. Mel was shocked. I knew that her last dish – the umami factor of the king crab three ways and the pairing of the wine – was flawless. She was very young and shy then, but we always knew that she was very talented, so it was reaffirming. It was one of the top four moments in my life. The other three were when my kids were born. JS DUPUIS, Head Bartender Hosting the Ketel One Ice Room during the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, 2010 The vodka tasting room was my nemesis for the longest time. We worked so hard to build it. But it created so many good memories during the Olympics. There was the Prince of Monaco, who stayed and drank until the wee hours of the morning. There were all the celebrities, athletes, and parents of the athletes who came to celebrate. And there was the time I locked André and a few friends inside, naked. No, no coats, no shoes. They had nothing on. I don’t know why. They thought it was a good idea. So I locked them in there for about five minutes. Was it after hours? Ha, I wish.