Posted on Aug 17, 2010 under Archives, Chefs, Interviews |
Chef Ernst Dorfler and Gerry Sayers, owners of Five Sails Restaurant, Vancouver
On my last trip to Vancouver, I visited the Five Sails restaurant at the top of the Pan Pacific Hotel. The restaurant has amazing views and equally amazing food, which I got to sample in a fabulous tasting menu. I also got to sit down with owner and Chef Ernst Dorfler to talk a bit about his food. Our interview is below.
Chef Ernst Dorflers’ diverse career began when he left his home in Sirnitz, Austria at the age of fifteen to become an apprentice at the Four Star Trattlerhof Hotel in Bad Kleinkirchheim. Armed with formal French and Swiss training Ernst left to see the world, enriching his cultural and gastronomic experience in Germany, Switzerland, South Africa and Canada.
Dorfler’s Canadian culinary adventures have taken him from the East to the West Coast. He commenced his Canadian “tour” at the Quebec Hilton in Quebec City, followed by the Westin Hotel, Waldens Restaurant and the Four Seasons Hotel in Edmonton and eventually bringing him to Vancouver in 1988 as Executive Chef of the Five Diamond, Pan Pacific Hotel.
From 1981 to 1992 Ernst competed in the culinary arts locally, nationally and internationally achieving over 30 gold medals. He has been proud to represent Canada at seven international culinary events and was a member of the acclaimed Canadian Culinary Olympic Championship Team in 1992, achieving the highest honor of gold medal for best overall team/country at the World Culinary Olympics in Frankfurt, Germany.
Chef Dorfler has continued to win praise and accolades from Vancouverites and visitors to the Five Sails Restaurant and the Pan Pacific Vancouver – both of which have been consistently recognized with the AAA Five Diamond designation since 1990.
Posted on Jul 26, 2010 under Archives, Chefs, Interviews |
I sat down with Chef Lenger for a short chat before sampling a great tasting menu at Switch restaurant, located at Encore Las Vegas.
René Lenger is the executive chef of Switch at Encore, the new signature resort in the Wynn collection, where he serves modern seafood and steakhouse fare with an emphasis on the finest market ingredients. Lenger joined Wynn Resorts in 2005 as executive chef of The Country Club, A New American Steakhouse.
“At Switch, I hope to provide my guests with a truly unique dining experience,” says Lenger. “The seasonally-inspired cuisine combined with the restaurant’s theatrics offers an event that’s in a class of its own. There’s nothing like Switch in Las Vegas.”
Previously, Lenger spent seven years working alongside David Walzog, (former executive chef of The Country Club, now executive chef of SW Steakhouse, also at Wynn Las Vegas) at Strip House, Michael Jordan’s and Monkey Bar, where they were both key members of the Glazier Group, a prominent restaurant company based in New
York. Born in Vienna, Austria, Lenger grew up in a home where food played a major role. The chef’s father was a professor at the esteemed Culinary Institute of Vienna and taught Lenger at an early age how to make Austrian specialties such as taffelspitz and gulasch. By the time Lenger graduated from high school, he was hooked on cooking and applied
to the Culinary Institute of Vienna where he graduated at the top of his class.
Upon graduation Lenger trained at Zu den drei Husaren under three-toque chef Ewald
Plachutta. While working under Plachutta, he would set off daily for the market, choosing
items for that evening’s menu.
By the early 90’s, Lenger seized the opportunity to come to New York to work at the
Rhiga Royal Hotel. To build upon his already impressive culinary background, he
decided to master pastry arts and accepted a position as assistant pastry chef at the
hotel. Lenger returned to Vienna in 1993 where he worked at another three-toque
restaurant, Altwienerhof, and then became an executive chef at Da’ Marcello. By 1996,
the chef was ready to move to the U.S. and was hired as executive chef at Theodore
Restaurant, a critically acclaimed Austrian-American brasserie in New York’s flatiron
district.
In 1999 Lenger was introduced to restaurateur Peter Glazier of The Glazier Group and
was immediately asked to helm the kitchen at the Glazier Group’s Strip House
restaurant in New York City (in addition, he later helmed the kitchens of Strip House
Houston and Palm Beach Gardens). Under Lenger’s supervision, Forbes magazine named Strip House as one of the “Forbes
2003 All-Star Eateries in New York.” In addition, Time Out New York’s Eating and
Drinking Guide 2001 nominated Strip House as one of the year’s “Best New
Steakhouses.” Lenger is also a published author in Austria and has written several
books on culinary arts used at many schools throughout Eastern Europe.
Lenger incorporates his love for quality products at Switch, where he brings his
trademark flair to this dynamic dining destination.
Posted on Jul 20, 2010 under Chefs |
I interviewed Chef Rene Lenger at Switch restaurant in Las Vegas and he demonstrated how to cook a perfect steak. Here’s the video.
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Posted on Jun 30, 2010 under Archives, Chefs, Interviews |
Chef Frank Pabst
Widely recognized for his creative impetus and leadership in responsible seafood practices, Chef Frank Pabst leads Vancouver’s Blue Water Cafe’s brigade of expert chefs in what has been called “one of North America’s finest seafood restaurants.”
With tenures in Michelin-starred restaurants throughout Germany and France, including La Becasse (Aachen), the Hotel Negresco (Cannes) and Restaurant de Bacon (Antibes), Pabst was schooled in the rigorous classical technique that provides the foundation for his diverse cooking style today.
Directing the kitchens at Blue Water Cafe since 2003, Pabst has consistently demonstrated excellence, both in the procurement of impeccably fresh, sustainable seafood—Blue Water Cafe is a founding member of the Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Wise program—and in the execution of its cookery, showcasing his trademark “complexity without complication.”
My dad and I visited Blue Water Cafe for a tasting menu and we sat down with Chef Pabst to talk a bit about Blue Water Cafe and his philosophy on food.
