Feenie ready to surprise with restaurant return
After the spectacular 2007 loss of the restaurant he founded in 1995 as a 29-yearold, Rob Feenie is ready to open another.
Anyone who had been dazzled by the food at the gonebut-not-forgotten Lumiere restaurant and its casual sidekick, Feenie’s, will remember his dramatic ousting by a business partner. He says he’s over it. Past it. He tries not to talk about it.
Lumiere had redefined fine dining in Vancouver and was unparalleled in its, well, breathtaking esthetics and controlled flavours. It later closed, in 2011, even with heavy New York hitter Daniel Boulud involved.
On the cusp of jump-starting another go at running his own show, it was time to catch up with Feenie.
In the blur of passing years, he has been the “food concepts architect” at the Cactus Club chain where he and his team hoisted the food to the top of Vancouver’s competitive casual fine dining scene. It was hard to leave what became his “family,” he said, but leave he did, in June. From a macro-perspective, there were silver linings to his earlier crash and burn. The 2008 recession struck shortly after he left, sabotaging expense account diners and destination food experiences. He has gained respect for the business end of things. And he’s matured.
“The few years I intended to be at Cactus Club turned into 15,” he says. “Working in a 4,000-employee company, I learned real fast.”
Not just about business, but seemingly about humility and perspective.
“I learned it’s important to be humble, hungry and smart and to recognize and respect your people. You can’t get anywhere without them. I was demanding, and I’m still demanding, but want to make sure I’m treating people with the utmost respect in a fun environment they enjoy and don’t feel they’re constantly watched,” he says. “I know perfect isn’t possible. But excellence is.”
His new restaurant opens sometime next year, but he doesn’t have a name for it yet.
“It’ll be some part of my name. Feenie’s 1.0? Rob Feenie’s?” he asks rhetorically.
And he doesn’t know where it will land.
“It’s the million-dollar question. Most people prefer the West Side. It could also be out here where I live in White Rock. The city’s so diverse these days, it could be anywhere.”
Wherever, the dining room will have the clean, spare lines of Lumiere. The food will have similar simple, clean, bright flavours with French, Japanese, Italian, Southeast Asian influences.
“I’ll do some different things, and some familiar to people, and I’ll listen to what customers want, but my philosophy hasn’t changed. I don’t want to give away my concept yet. I still want people to be surprised.”
From Instagram posts of dishes he has been testing, it looks to be the ethereal food of Lumiere, but more casual. They have included branzino filet with chanterelles, cauliflower purée and sauce verde, rack of Chilliwack lamb with compressed potato fondant, spinach mousse, cippolini onions and lamb jus, and green pea and mascarpone ravioli with grilled scallops, and truffle beurre blanc.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time. I know putting in long hours is tough on relationships,” he says.
After two marriages, he is now in a relationship with Amber Raynier, a “foodie.”
“You don’t have to work 14, 15 hours. You gotta have balance and take care of yourself and your mental health. I need people feeling good,” he says.
He also learned to listen. At an operation like Cactus Club, “there are a lot more opinions — and that shapes you into a better chef.”
Plus, these are jittery times for restaurants, what with employee scarcity, supply chain muck-ups, inflation, and a bear market putting brakes on destination dining. And of course, there have been some pretty hot chefs cooking amazing food since his time at Lumiere. That would include J.C. Poirier, who once cooked for Feenie.
To avoid the mistakes of the past, Feenie has trusted advisers who have his back, including Bob Matheson, a partner at the accounting firm DMCL and a restaurant industry veteran, and Jim Stewart, former VP and now adviser at Cactus Club who happens to be the son of former Vancouver police chief Bob Stewart.
He has being super careful about investors, whether a group or individuals.
“After the David Sidoo scenario, I want to make sure it’s a good choice. I want to have people supporting me,” he says of his disastrous earlier partnership.
“Right now, I’m looking for a good general manager for the front and a solid co-chef to work with me. There’s nothing easy about the restaurant business now.”
His kids, Devon, 18, Jordan, 17, and Brooklyn, 14, are definitely a support troop. Devon is currently a line cook at Cactus Club.
“They all cook and are pretty savvy with food,” he says. “They want to be involved in some way. They’d love it. None of them really got a chance to be involved before and I think they’re more excited than I am,” he says, adding they are rooting for a Michelin star. Or, two, depending on where he takes it.
“If that happens for me, I’ll be forever grateful. I’ve dreamt of being a part of it, but I’ll be the first to congratulate anyone else. I’m excited that Canada’s getting recognition. It showcases talent and it’s a good thing for all of us.”
Feenie is grateful the passion hasn’t waned and seems to have a deep well of drive. He spent his life as a kid chasing a dream to be a professional hockey player.
“I played with (former Vancouver Canuck) Cliff Ronning in Burnaby. I tried and tried and tried and couldn’t do it,” he says.
Then he swivelled to cooking, thanks to an alchemy wrought of his mom’s cooking, his aunt’s cherry orchard, childhood memories of food from a neighbour’s Japanese kitchen, and a trip to Sweden as a 16 year old.
“I love the cooking part, but what I love more is the satisfaction of making people happy,” he summarizes.
There is no shortage of people waiting for those moments of “happy”, judging by the numbers of strangers who approach him when he’s out, excited to support his next adventure.