Sooke Harbour House, BC's original farm-to-table inn, has reopened, with new investment and an exciting new culinary team
By CINDA CHAVICH
Sooke Harbour House has recently reopened its doors with a top chef and her colourful spouse at the helm.
Award-winning Chef Melissa Craig heads the kitchen with Andre Saint-Jacques as operating partners of the legendary ocean-side inn, the couple leaving Whistler’s Bearfoot Bistro, another property they made a legendary destination, to relocate to Vancouver Island.
It’s the most anticipated opening in recent years, with new owners and investment promising to bring this lauded Canadian landmark back to its former culinary glory.
Craig grew up in Duncan, studied at Malaspina University College (now Vancouver Island University) and did her culinary apprenticeship in the Sooke Harbour House kitchens more than two decades ago, at a time when the inn was known around the world for its innovative local cuisine.
Under original owners Sinclair and Frederique Philip, Sooke Harbour House became a celebrated pioneer of Canadian farm-to-table cuisine, and the spot where the island’s Slow Food movement was nurtured.
It’s a property where several top Canadian chefs displayed their skills, from the late and legendary Edward Tuson to Michael Stadtlander, James Walt and Oliver Kienast, now with his own award-winning restaurant, Wild Mountain, right down the road. Peter Zambri, owner of Victoria’s popular Zambri’s restaurant, credits Sinclair Philip for creating the space for him to learn and experiment early in his career, a philosophy he brings to his own kitchen today. The Philips even won a Governor General’s Nation’s Table award in 2010 for their work supporting local famers and fishers, mentoring culinary talent and promoting Canadian cuisine.
But the inn was closed in 2020, after the debt-burdened former owners and potential new investors were swindled out of millions in a contentious share purchase deal, with subsequent legal battles that forced the foreclosure of the property.
The white clapboard inn, set on the shores of Sooke’s Whiffin Spit, was originally constructed in the 1920s and was substantially expanded by the Philips after they purchased the property — then a small guest house — in 1979. With 28 rooms, eclectically decorated with west coast art, Sooke Harbour House was a destination for food lovers and celebrities, routinely named one of the best places to dine in Canada, and hosting celebrities including Richard Gere, Robert DeNiro and even the president of France in its heyday.
In July 2020, Sooke Harbour House was purchased by IAG Enterprises, a North Vancouver real estate company, for $5.6 million in a court-ordered sale. IAG has since renovated the inn, aiming to restore the property to its former international stature. Though the inn’s famous vegetable and herb gardens were removed, a massive new outdoor patio was added and aging infrastructure replaced.
When announcing the appointment of Craig and Saint-Jacques as operating partners in July last year, IAG’s Alex Watson said “the goal is to open the hotel, as well as both the dining room and lounge, in late fall or early winter of 2023.” That date has been pushed ahead, with the hotel recently announcing its soft opening of the lounge and an expected opening date for the hotel and restaurant later in by the end of August.
After years serving well-heeled and party-focused ski tourists in Whistler — at a restaurant that was known for Saint-Jacques ’ engaging hospitality as much as Craig’s elevated cuisine — the couple takes on a very different space and place.
Craig leaves behind a strong kitchen crew at Bearfoot Bistro, with former executive pastry chef Dominic Fortin returning to the restaurant from rival restaurant group Toptable as culinary director there.
She's still assembling her team at Sooke Harbour House, with pastry chef Madeline Beaumont (from the Wickaninnish Inn) signing on, and colourful Robert ("Frenchy") Gagne taking on the role of maître ‘d (a job he held for decades at Joe Fortes in Vancouver, and one he once described as "Circus Master"). Craig says she looks forward to "curating a passionate group of like-minded visionaries" and "cultivating a team that can grow together as one".
My memories of visits to Bearfoot Bistro over the years are of beautiful food paired with the kind of over-the-top theatrics that put this mountaintop dining destination on the map.
While Craig prepared foie gras and Japanese wagyu, Saint-Jacques sabered champagne in the wine cellar, supervised parka-clad customers doing vodka shots in the Ketel One Ice Room, and organized wild Masqerave parties at the Cornucopia wine festival, complete with food presented on body-painted nude models and dancing into the wee hours. It was a restaurant famed for its smoking liquid nitrogen martinis, buckets of shellfish and other indulgences and a must for well-heeled visitors to the popular mountain ski resort.
Its unclear what, if any, of the Bearfoot Bistro experience the pair will bring to sleepy Sooke, and how they might re-imagine the inn’s former hyper-local mantra. Craig plans to offer tasting menus and a la carte dining at Sooke Harbour House, in both the restaurant and lounge spaces, and the food is sure to celebrate island ingredients.
“It’s about simplicity and sophistication," says Craig, describing her culinary style.
"If I have a perfect heirloom tomato, I’m not going to mess with it. When the fish is so fresh, why wouldn’t I serve it raw?
"But I also want an element of surprise; a familiar plate that tells a new story, an invitation to a culinary journey.”
When we met earlier this year, while the hotel remained in renovation mode, she fondly recalled her early years here as a young chef, when it was her job to head down to the shore to harvest kelp for the seaweed bread and help tend the once lush kitchen gardens. It was the place to inspire young chefs, and she has hopes to bring young talent here again.
“Everyone came here, all of the chefs — Michael Statlander, James Walt, David McMillan, Peter Zambri, Edward Tuson — we all trained here, so I want to make this a training ground again,” she says. “It’s my heart.”
Like her mentors here, it’s both fitting and auspicious to have Craig back at Sooke Harbour House a spot also showered with awards and accolades over the years. Though she has yet to release her menu, Craig will certainly bring her own unique local perspective and style of hospitality to this historic property.
The lounge space in the hotel (aka Sooke Harbour House Bistro) opened with casual fare in early August, featuring a breakfast and happy hour menu featuring lingcod, freshly-shucked oysters, vegetable focaccia, buttermilk chicken and waffles and burgers, alongside cocktails and local craft beer,
Food lovers across the country are waiting to hear more from this celebrated chef, when the hotel and main restaurant fully open (expected later this month), and diners can begin to book reservations.
It certainly promises to be an interesting new chapter for this iconic island destination, and the next place to watch for food lovers here and across the country.
Stay tuned for my first official visit!
IF YOU GO:
Sooke is just 30 minutes away from the BC capital of Victoria on Vancouver Island, but it is a world away, sitting on the rugged western side of the island, with nearby wild beaches, forests and parks to explore. The warm west coast of Vancouver Island remains a popular year-round destination for travelers across North America and around the world, so Sooke Harbour House a top Canadian destination for all seasons!
1528 Whiffen Spit Road
Sooke, BC
Here's more on SHH, from my story published in enRoute magazine.
©Cinda Chavich 2024
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