Kootenay Kitchen Confidential

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Posted: October 12, 2014

Taste Life

By Danielle Cardozo

Chef Ronnie Belkin, St. Eugene Mission Resort

Residents of the Kootenays know that St. Eugene Mission Resort has an incredible history, where a Nation turned a place of cultural tragedy into a destination of economic success. Now the resort has an Executive Chef to match.

I had the opportunity to sit down with Executive Chef Ronny Belkin, to talk about the importance of a strong team and local sourcing.

How did you get into the industry? I was in high school trying to figure out what I was going to do next. My friend was having a potluck dinner. I brought a dish that everyone liked, and thought why not try cooking? I took a tour of George Brown Culinary School in Toronto. I applied and eventually completed their two year culinary management program.

It’s clear from your menu, that you have really found your culinary style. When did you figure out your culinary style? It has been while I have been with St. Eugene. I came about six years ago. We had a native culinary cooking team come into do a menu as guest chefs. That’s when I decided what I wanted to cook. I wanted to cook local, seasonal, Canadian food; game meat and fish that you would naturally find here.

So if cooking local food is important to you, how important is local sourcing to you and your kitchen? It is very important to us. If we can make it work, we use local. We use the Kimberley Bakery for all of our dining room breads and some of our desserts. A lot of our charcuterie meats, including our elk sausage comes from Gwinners in Meadowbrook. We use cheese from Kootenay Meadows when we can.

Since you believe in local sourcing, how to do you feel about the movement of Farm to Table? We try to butcher as much in house as we can. We consider our kitchen a learning kitchen. We’ll order primal cuts and whole birds, and break them down in our own kitchen. It’s important that we know where our products come from and how they are handled. We’ll bring in fresh/live fish and seafood whenever we can.

I notice that you say “we” a lot. You are obviously referring to others in the kitchen. Would you say you have a cohesive team? Yes, we have a great core of people who want to be here and love cooking. It’s great to have a team that I can inspire, and a team that inspires me.

You said you came to St. Eugene six years ago? Is it the same team now that was here six years ago? Yes, some of our team has been here that long, but some are new.

I just read an article with Chef Dustin Schafer of Sky 360, the restaurant in the Calgary Tower, who said, “It’s the fact that if you don’t hire someone on the spot, they can literally just walk down the street. Everyone is looking for cooks. If you aren’t liking your job at one place nowadays, you can basically say f—k you, and walk down the street. It’s an employee’s world right now.” Is this true in this area? It could be. I really haven’t received very many resumes this summer. Not as many as I would have liked. Luckily, no one is leaving here. There are a lot of jobs available. It was scary for a little while there. It took a good part of the summer to get fully staffed. Being able to really let our team cook and not have too many restrictions has helped motivated our team to stay. We have a clientele whose willing to try new things, so we’re lucky to be able to play around a bit. That motivates the team to stay.

If your team had to describe you in three words, how would they describe you? Kind. Knowledgeable. Fair.

I can agree that Chef Belkin is definitely knowledgeable when it comes to local cuisine. I will also say that he is one of the most kind and humble chefs I have had the opportunity to sit down with.

Brome Lake Duck Club Sandwich, Fischer Peak Lounge, St. Eugene Mission Resort

I ask you not to let the Ramsays of the world fool you. The best chefs truly are the humble ones. He has the type of attitude that is going to take him far in this industry. My conversation with Chef Belkin continued beyond this interview here.

I learned that his new fall menu will debut on October 24, and I must say I am particularly excited for diners!

The menu will feature a Brome Lake Duck Club Sandwich with truffle mayo and house smoked bacon in the Fisher Peak Lounge; and the Braised Bison Ribs (which of course featured a Canadian sourced birch syrup sauce) on the Purcell Grill menu. So I’ve made my lunch reservation for October 17, so I hope to see you all there!

Bon Appetite!

Danielle

XOXO

– Danielle Cardozo is a mom of three, entrepreneur, and shameless idealist. Whether it be creating it, sharing it, or writing about it; the culinary world is her ultimate passion. Danielle placed eighth on the first ever season of CTV’s MasterChef Canada, and has continued blazing her trail in the culinary world since. Danielle contributes her success to hard work and being stubborn, as she’s never believed anyone who has told her she can’t do something.