44 Feature - Whistler Blackcomb

44 Feature
BY CINDY FILIPENKO
44 | November 26, 2015 | www.piquenewsmagazine.com
Feature STO R Y
YOUR HOME,
YOUR WHISTLER,
YOUR WAY
THE ICONIC RENDEZVOUS
HAS RECEIVED MORE THAN
A FACELIFT FOR THIS SEASON
HAPPY U.S. THANKSGIVING!
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2 Bedroom · 2 Bath
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7 Highpointe
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$449,000
WOLFGANG STERR PHOTO COURTESY OF WHISTLER BLACKCOMB
W
hen Whistler Blackcomb’s executive
chef Wolfgang Sterr came to work
for the Fairmont Chateau Whistler in
1994, he found the idea of eating on
the mountain unappetizing at best.
“When I first came here, when the two mountains
were still separate, I just wouldn’t eat on the mountain,”
says the affable German chef. “Things have changed
drastically in the last five years.”
Coincidentally, that’s the same amount of time Sterr
has held the top job in WB’s food operations.
After his first stint in Whistler in the mid ’90s, Sterr
moved to the Niagara-region of Ontario and for the next 14
years he operated his own farm-to-table eatery. Returning to
Whistler in 2010, he knew he could improve the quality of
slopeside food whether it was a grab’n’go sandwich, a quick
lunch at one of the mountain lodges or full-service dining.
He took the reigns at WB with a vision of creating
an on-mountain dining experience like no other ski
resort. This winter, that vision comes closer to fulfillment
with the opening of the newly renovated Rendezvous
Lodge which includes Christine’s, one of the two finedining establishments in the WB family of food service
providers. Adding to Sterr’s excitement is the hiring of
Chef Steve Ramey. The former sous chef at the nationally
recognized Hawksworth in the Hotel Georgia will be
taking over Christine’s. The prospect of offering food on
the mountain that meets or exceeds the quality Vancouver
dining experience is one that Sterr relishes. And while he
definitely enjoys working with a chef who’s helped open
three renowned Vancouver eateries, and is developing a
new take on Christine’s, Sterr is also pretty pleased with
the reinvention of the Rendezvous and believes guests
will be, too.
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www.piquenewsmagazine.com | November 26, 2015 | 45
Feature ST ORY
PHOTO BY MITCH WINTON WWW.COASTPHOTO.COM COURTESY OF WHISTLER BLACKCOMB
IT’S NOT YOUR DAD’S RENDEZVOUS
The local company has a history of building quality projects in Whistler,
most notably 85 units in Cheakamus Crossing and more recently the
$5-million building envelope restoration for the Carleton Lodge. Murphy
Construction began the $5-million renovation of the Rendezvous this
past spring, typically sending 20 to 40 workers to the site every day.
“The experience has been fantastic,” says company owner
Graham Murphy.
When word went out that Murphy Construction had been
awarded the contract, tradesmen throughout the Sea to Sky Corridor
came out of the woodwork.
“We had lots of people approach us who wanted to work on the
project, to be a part of this… to the point of offering to drop their prices,”
says Murphy. “Because at the end of the day, it’s an iconic building.”
The local builder describes the extensive renovation as “fresh” and
one that will result in a better guest experience. Changes to the building
included moving the entrance to the front of the building, creating a
better flow within the main servery and updating Christine’s to include
The fact that things have changed dramatically at the Rendezvous is evident
the moment the building comes into view. No longer is the 2,500 sq. m.
(27,000 sq. ft.) lodge clad in nondescript weathered wood accented with
red. Instead, the architectural firm that headed up the project, Michael Green
Architecture (MGA), made the bold choice of going with an all-black colour
scheme. The result is striking, with the snow framing the building to create
the ultimate high-contrast image. Elegant. Simple. Inspiring.
MGA has won accolades for the dramatic design and creative it
applies to residential, commercial and community projects such as
Parthenon Place in West Vancouver, Vancouver’s Rennie Gallery and the
North Vancouver City Hall and the proposed Harvest Urban Farm. While
it’s out-of-the-box conceptual work is bold and compelling, the firm’s
prowess is most apparent in its renovations.
Executing MGA’s vision was Pemberton’s Murphy Construction Co.
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Feature STO R Y
a proper lounge area. The result will be more people being served more
efficiently in a space that is more welcoming.
“The Rendezvous was called the ‘zoo’ for a reason. There was no flow
in the building. You would come inside, and people didn’t know where
the washrooms were, where Christine’s was or where the servery started
and where the servery ended.” says Sterr.
To create a better guest experience the lodge’s sight lines were
cleaned up, the entrance changed, retail moved downstairs and
more seating — with more captivating views — was installed.
“The new design is less confusing and easier,” says Chef Ramey. “It
offers a faster, cleaner, better-organized experience.”
But the real star of that new improved experience is the food that
will be served up in the iconic building.
I think what
you’ll see at the
Rendezvous is
that the price/
value/quality
component is
much better.
We’re using
cleaner, higher-
WHERE THE WB FOOD
REVOLUTION BEGAN
quality products
and fresher
ingredients in
Sitting down with Sterr and Ramey a month out from the opening of
the mountain, the two chefs are brimming with enthusiasm. Despite
the fact that the menus aren’t quite set and staffing hasn’t yet been
completed, the two men look relaxed, but that could be the result
of being positive that they’re on the right track. Sterr is particularly
confident that guests and locals alike will embrace the changes to
the iconic building and the food it provides.
“The changes to the food started two years ago when we analyzed
and benchmarked against other ski resorts and found that we were
looking at the wrong benchmark,” says Sterr. “We looked to Vancouver
to see what our guests were eating. They’re well educated, they have
disposable income — they spend, but they also want high-quality
consistency when they come to visit us. This clientele wants to spend
money; they go out four or five times a week. They go to Hawksworth
for lunch; they go there for dinner.”
The challenge Sterr faced was how to replicate that experience
throughout WB food services. The first project he and his team
undertook was reinvigorating the Crystal Hut. A faster, meat-andbread approach was implemented at the cozy mountain cabin
that had been known for being incredibly slow.
“By having fewer offerings but higher quality and more
consistency, we saw we were able to speed up the process and give
dining pleasure to more of our guests.”
The second overhaul to the mountain’s approach to food
happened as part of the Carleton Lodge renovation.
“When the lodge was renovated we were given the opportunity
to have a permanent fixture outside, a small 23 sq. m. (250 sq.
ft.) barbecue hut and we opened Garbo’s Smash Burger Shack
order to provide
a better meal for
the guest.”
Wolfgang Sterr, Executive
Chef at Whistler
Blackcomb
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Feature ST ORY
A new item that will appear on the menu this year
(now Garbo’s Grill),” says Sterr.
Garbo’s was the first of the WB restaurants to clean up its proteins and is a vegan fish taco that also uses a Gardein protein. The
go to hormone- and antibiotic-free beef. The customizable burgers, which “fishless fish taco,” topped with coleslaw, chipotle sauce
and mango sauce appears to be a winner.
feature 20 choices of garnishes and sauces, were an instant hit.
“You would not know the difference,” says Ramey.
“We started to serve breakfast sandwiches with a fun spin on the
names like Plain Jane, The Hangover — the most popular one, which And Ramey, who’s been cooking for more than 15 years,
you’d expect in a ski town — and the Three Amigos featuring chorizo would definitely know the difference.
sausage and some other goodies,” says Sterr.
(This year the Garbo’s concept
moves up to the Rendezvous, one
A NEW CHEF AND A
of the venue’s many new food
NEW FOOD PHILOSOPHY
stations focused on creating
AT CHRISTINE’S
maximum choices for guests.)
“From there, we kept driving
change last year in the Alpine in
the big three — Glacier Creek, the
Christine’s will be the fourth restaurant opening
Roundhouse, and the Rendezvous
for the former Hawksworth sous chef. He was
— by changing all our grill menus.
involved in the re-launch of Lumière under the
We reduced the number of menu
leadership of Daniel Boulud, and the opening of
offerings from eight to seven, which
Robert Clark’s Nu and Hawksworth.
was cluttering the servery and
“This is the first time when I’ve been responsible
making it difficult for our staff to
for everything — with a lot of support. Four-andachieve consistency,” says Sterr.
a-half years ago I was developing the menu for
Another menu improvement
Hawksworth, but that was with three guys; now
has been the introduction of
there’s just one. But I’m having fun. It’s different
better quality raw products. An
and it’s exciting,” says the immensely talented
example of the new commitment
young chef who lives in Squamish.
to excellent ingredients has been
A fan of outdoor recreation who was getting
SAMANTHA RAHN
the introduction of chicken from
tired of driving to the city for work, Ramey, jumped
FILE PHOTO
Rossdown Farms in the Fraser
at the opportunity to work in Whistler.
Valley. The farm produces the feed
“We (Ramey and David Hawksworth) came up
for the birds, hatches its eggs and
and did a couple lunches at Steeps last season and met
raises the birds to slaughter, with
everyone,” says Ramey. “I heard about this opportunity
STEVE RAMEY
much of the processing taking
that was coming up, they were making all these
place on the property.
changes and were looking for someone to bring new
But it’s not only the meats,
ideas, new flavours and skills up to Whistler, and I
including beautiful Pacific wild
thought it would be a perfect fit. I wanted to be part of
salmon, that have been upgraded.
the mountain lifestyle again. I wanted to get out of the
Produce is fresher and, when
city but still have the ability to make awesome food.”
possible, locally sourced. And the
Ramey’s ability to turn out “awesome food” made
introduction of a quinoa burger has
Sterr stand up and take notice. The fact that the young
proven to be a welcome change for
chef had experience working on mountains, having
vegetarians.
started his career at Cypress Mountain scooping out
Sterr may have had an ulterior
soup and making fries, followed up with a six-year
motive in reimagining WB’s veggie
stint at Grouse Mountain, further piqued the executive
burger.
chef’s interest.
“I am the butt of all jokes because
“It really interested me to see where he had started,”
I am a chef and a vegetarian,” says
says Sterr of his new colleague. “He has a very good
Sterr. “My boss enjoys watching me
understanding of what the ski industry is and what it
suffer through burger tasting.”
takes to get qualified people here.”
“My personal belief is that
Another plus for Sterr was the younger chef’s
animal farming has a very large
experience with the province’s culinary apprentice
PHOTO COURTESY OF WHISTLER BLACKCOMB
footprint with a negative impact
program (Ramey graduated top of his apprenticeship
on the environment,” he adds. “Personally, I choose not to eat meat class, earning his Red Seal, before starting at Hawksworth).
outside of work. I think over the past few years I’ve been able to influence
“We’re establishing at this point an apprenticeship program at WB
what we do at WB. For example last year, we opened The Raven’s Nest, to attract young people to come here and use Whistler as a training
the first vegan/vegetarian restaurant on the mountain. It was a bit scary at platform and not just a place to work and have fun,” says Sterr.
first, we didn’t know what the response from the guests would be like.”
The apprenticeship program is already underway with three of
Sterr had little reason for his trepidation; the response to this new the mountain’s unit chefs currently completing their Professional
approach, from both patrons and the media, was terrific. The new Cook 1 designations. Once they have completed the first of the three
eatery, the first of its kind in any ski resort in North America, was one courses required for their Red Seal, they will be taking on apprentices,
of the mountain’s biggest wins last year, drawing positive reviews from hopefully mid-spring. Chefs from the Four Seasons and Hilton are also
vegans, vegetarians and even meat eaters. What’s proven very attractive involved in this distance-learning trades program, bringing the number
is The Raven’s Nest’s ability to create meatless versions of classics such of participants to nine.
as meatball subs consisting of Gardein soy-based proteins, a rich tomato
The opportunity to apprentice at “North America’s #1 Ski Resort” (as
compote and Daiya vegan cheese served on a multi-grain ciabatta bun.
named by respected sources such as SKI Magazine and Freeskier Magazine) is
48 | November 26, 2015 | www.piquenewsmagazine.com
Feature ST ORY
“
One of my
goals for the
menu is to
have a slightly
smaller menu,
but with the
ability to change
items every
two to three
weeks when
an ingredient
becomes
available. It
sucks that
we’ll be too
late for pine
mushrooms.
I’m looking for
food that can be
featured as long
as its
season lasts.”
— Steve Ramey, Chef
at Christine’s
50 | November 26, 2015 | www.piquenewsmagazine.com
proving popular with applicants. Sterr points out that Ramey is key
to the success the mountain is having in securing talent this year.
The addition of the buzz-worthy, tattooed young chef
combined with WB’s innovative ad campaign promising that
working for the mountain affords “an elevated experience,” is
generating great applicants that are as interested in food as they
are about working in Whistler.
“These are people who are passionate about food, they work
when they’re at work, and they’re here because they love food,”
says Ramey. “I want to have people that work for me that I want
to do stuff with, like go snowboarding or go for a run after work.
I want people who care. That’s the most important thing to me.”
The food Ramey’s crew will be producing has already received
good reviews at tastings for items on a menu that will be unlike
anything that’s ever been offered on the mountain.
“My goal is to try to bring the components of the food I was
making in the city — a cool balance of textures and flavours, maybe
cool ingredients and technique people aren’t familiar with — and
make that something that will work on the mountain.”
Ramey, who is committed to a menu that is as seasonal as it can
be, is becoming increasingly familiar with all the local suppliers,
including farms in nearby Pemberton, but is still trying to find “some
cool products.”
“One of my goals for the menu is to have a slightly smaller menu,
but with the ability to change items every two to three weeks when
an ingredient becomes available. It sucks that we’ll be too late for
pine mushrooms,” he says with an edge of remorse in his voice. “I’m
looking for food that can be featured as long as its season lasts.”
Guests will be able to pair these seasonal delights with wines
handpicked by Araxi’s wine director Samantha Rahn, who, in 2013,
was named Sommelier of the Year by the Vancouver International
Wine Festival.
“At Christine’s we’ll be offering the full dining experience,” says
Ramey. “You can come in and have a couple courses and a great bottle of
wine and enjoy yourself for a couple of hours. We want to give another
option to our guests. There’s nothing like this on the mountain right now.”
What customers will also enjoy at Christine’s is an elevated level of
service.
“Our guests are used to the service they get in the city,” says Sterr.
Feature S T O R Y
PHOTOS COURTESY OF WHISTLER BLACKCOMB
“We’ve hired someone to oversee both full-service restaurants from the
service perspective. One of the things that will be addressed is a dress code
that’s neat and professional; servers will be educated on wine and how to
interact with guests. If we improve the food side, but not the service side,
it’s not going to be a better experience.”
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In the past, part of what’s hindered the guest experience has been what
many consider to be captive audience pricing.
“When I look at our food costing, it falls in line with industry
standards. From a pricing perspective I think it’s fair pricing when you
compare us to any other leading ski resorts in North America,” says Sterr.
“I don’t think we’re out-pricing ourselves. I think what you’ll see at
the Rendezvous is that the price/value/quality component is much better.
We’re using cleaner, higher-quality products and fresher ingredients in
order to provide a better meal for the guest.”
Sterr’s ultimate goal is to create a culinary experience at WB that no other
ski resort affords. He sees this season as being the one where the new concepts
employed at the Rendezvous and Christine’s will be proven. His hope is
that the changes will be noticed by senior management and implemented
across the mountain. If initial response to what he’s been doing to improve
mountain food so far is any indicator, he doesn’t have much to worry about.
Food services “Net Promoter Scores” have grown considerably during
Sterr’s time onboard. (A “net promoter score” is a measurement that
reflects a guest’s intention to recommend a travel destination indicating
overall satisfaction of a travel experience. Higher numbers mean more
likelihood of positive word of mouth.)
“Last year our Net Promoter Score in the quick-serve sector target was
+20, we reached +22,” says Sterr. “Five years ago we were at +12. We take
a lot of pride in that. All the chefs and sous chefs in each building, they
want to do well and provide service that’s exceptional.”
This year, with the changes to one of Whistler’s truly iconic
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www.piquenewsmagazine.com | November 26, 2015 | 51