Building delays can’t sour chef Ly
It’s all prime rib and lobster tails as local function bookings surpass pre-recession levels
Last night, Hotel Arts’ executive chef Duncan Ly cooked dinner for 850 people. This morning, he served breakfast for 1,000. And that wasn’t even at the hotel. Both events were big corporate affairs held at the Glenbow Museum and the Epcor Centre a few blocks away. And while those parties were in full flare, Hotel Arts banquet rooms and Raw Bar restaurant were also filled to capacity with Christmas revellers.
Of course Ly didn’t do all the work himself. A couple dozen of his white-clad brethren assisted him in Hotel Arts’ two kitchens, prepping all the food. Many of those were SAIT culinary students picking up some muchneeded Christmas bucks. On the customer side, dozens of blackvested servers buzzed the food out to the clients, cleared tables and poured responsible beverages. Many of these staffers were plucked from Hotel Arts’ on-call list, supplemented this year by many servers who normally work Flames games both at the Saddledome and at local restaurants and bars.
Such is Christmas in the hotel business. Since the middle of November, chef Ly and his cohorts have been cooking up prime ribs and lobster tails for a multitude of seasonal events.
Some nights, the chefs and banquet co-ordinators don’t head home until 4 a.m.
Most other local hotel chefs and banquet staff have been clocking similar hours as local function bookings are now above prerecession levels.
At Hotel Arts, there’ll be no respite any time soon. From Christmas Eve through Boxing Day, they’ll offer a four-course Christmas dinner for $45 (including a choice of roast turkey or prime rib) in addition to serving breakfast and lunch to a full house of hotel guests.
But it would all be easier if chef Ly had his new kitchen up and running. He currently has a goodsized and well-equipped banquet kitchen and a smaller Raw Bar kitchen for chefs Jinhee Lee and Craig Boje to work in, but his newest kitchen is a few months behind schedule for completion.
Yellow Door (115 12th Avenue S.W.), Hotel Arts new all-day restaurant, is now slated to open Jan. 11. Formerly Saint Germain, the space was initially leased to private restaurateurs, but reverted to the hotel when that restaurant closed. Yellow Door will give Hotel Arts much greater flexibility to hold private functions and large events. They had hoped to have it open in time for the Christmas season, but they’re currently installing the kitchen equipment instead of cooking on it.
To create Yellow Door, the room was gutted, including major refits for plumbing, gas and electrical and decades-old traces of asbestos were removed. Saint Germain’s central bar has been retained, but the room has been brightened with lighter floor tiles and an abundance of lights. Designed by Andrea Raimondi of Ingenium Design, the group that also did Olives, Notable and many other projects, Yellow Door will feature antique Belgian shutters over banquettes, a large communal table, and an enhanced street presence. (Look for a big yellow door.)
Yellow Door will also feature a modern bistro menu developed by chef Ly and sous chef Quinn Staple. Bistro classics such as coq au vin, bouillabaisse, cassoulet and lobster bisque will be updated using local, seasonal ingredients. And all seafood dishes will adhere to the Ocean Wise program of sustainable seafood. It will also be the hotel’s go-to spot for breakfast and lunch, with a creative breakfast that includes corned beef hash and braised pork belly with poached eggs.
Meanwhile, Raw Bar will focus on its Pacific Rim cuisine and its cocktail menu, to be taken to the next level with the return of Calgary’s Cocktail Queen, Christina Mah. Preparing dessert for both restaurants will be Karine Moulin in a new pastry kitchen in Yellow Door.
Maybe in February, after opening Yellow Door and hosting the Calgary Cocktail Competition (Jan. 29), Ly will be able to shorten his 14- to 16-hour days. But until then, it’s full steam ahead.
There’s New Year’s Eve to think about, which this year includes a 300-person wedding. At least that one is in the hotel and not off-site.