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Chef's Choice:  Alex Stoll and Neil Harrison

One of the two famous hitching posts outside The Pony Restaurant in Pemberton is missing. That's because a pony actually pulled it out of the ground.
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power pony Neil Harrison and Alex Stroll are going to renovate The Pony Restaurant between Nov. 4 and 21.

One of the two famous hitching posts outside The Pony Restaurant in Pemberton is missing. That's because a pony actually pulled it out of the ground. It is currently in the repair shop and will be back standing sentinel in front of the entrance soon, says co-owner Neil Harrison.

It's a reassuring example of how the restaurant hearkens back to the village's yesteryear of frontier living and the gold-rush trail; on any given day real-live horses can be parked, their owners having a burger or a bevvy. Recently, Harrison said, eight waited outside, coming from nearby riding ranches or owned by locals.

"A lot of people stop and take pictures," Harrison says.

"Do you have to provide water?" I ask him.

"Yes. And a shovel," he says with a laugh.

Harrison, who grew up in Lincolnshire, England, and Alex Stoll, originally from Alsace in France, took over The Pony together four-and-a-half years ago. Both men trained as chefs in their respective home countries, and got to know each other on the frontline of the Whistler restaurant scene.

"We met at the Westin Resort... then we both went off and did different things. I went to a fishing lodge and Alex went to a ranch in the interior," he says. "We had the same interest in wanting to own our own restaurant and be able to do our own thing. A small percentage of chefs actually want to take on that headache."

But they wanted the commitment and the lifestyle and so have settled in Pemberton with their families.

They purchased The Pony, a restaurant that has now been a Pemberton landmark for around 19 years housed in a building that was once a CN watershed and added onto over the decades. Before that, they managed Fat Duck Cuisine together for 18 months at the Pemberton Valley Vineyard, which is now a B&B.

Harrison said: "By doing that, we worked out that Pemberton liked our style of food and looked at whether our partnership would be solid and if we could work together. A lot of partnerships fall apart but we've been working together..."

"Eight years now," Stoll said, finishing the sentence. "We're self-made men, starting from scratch."

Both are flexible in their roles as owner-managers. Harrison was The Pony's chef over the summer but he has left that side to Stoll for the coming winter, and will run the front-of-house.

They are aware they have responsibility for maintaining what is a Pemberton icon. Asked whether they moulded themselves to what Pemberton wanted or tried to get locals to respond to their styles of food, Harrison says it was a bit of both.

This discovery is reflected in The Pony today.

"If you look at our menu, we have pulled pork sandwiches, burgers and chicken wings. We also have homemade linguini and meatballs, halibut, venison. And we have our special board where we can cater to people who don't want to see the same thing all the time," Harrison said.

"People trust us... we have to cater to everyone. We have to cater to the blue-collar workers, to the farmers, to the construction workers and to all those people who want to have a nice dinner on their birthday or anniversary. I like to think we've been successful. We're always looking to improve."

And the famed organic valley is what attracted Harrison and Stoll in the first place.

"It was such a big interest to us. Being in the heart of this community and not going to the Fraser Valley, or Vancouver, or Osoyoos. Whistler is an attraction because of its attractions but this is where we want to be. I've travelled all around the world and Pemberton is where I want to settle."

Stoll chimes in: "It inspires us. As European-raised chefs we are interested in knowing the farmers."

The big news is that Pemberton will be Ponyless in November. The restaurant is closing for renovations Nov. 4, reopening on the 21st.

"Our plan after we reopen is to talk to the customers and find out more about what they want," Harrison said.

"There's some real positive stuff going on in Pemberton right now with the school, with the various projects, power projects. However people feel about them, they are going to bring through a little more traffic. And Tourism Pemberton has done a fantastic job in catering to the people who want to be here. We're not just overflow for Whistler anymore. It's a destination in its own right."

The café side of the restaurant will be replaced with a retail store, selling Pony products such as sauces, pickles and jams, buying the produce locally and preserving it.

There will also be new menu features: a "rapid menu" with 15-minute dishes for workforce diners who need to be somewhere fast. For those with a little more time, a two- and three-course special menu — close to what they did at the Fat Duck — will be included.

The Pony's Ultimate Burger

Ingredients

    5 oz. Two Rivers Speciality Heritage Angus Beef, ground into a patty
  • 1 oz. Duck foie gras
  • *2 oz. Lacquered pork belly
  • Burger buns
  • Mayonnaise
  • Oven-roasted tomatoes sliced lettuce
  • Pickle slices
  • Onion jam
  • Quebec maple syrup and balsamic vinegar reduction
  • Mature-aged cheddar, 1 slice

*Lacquered pork belly Ingredients

  • 1 whole pork belly
  • 1 cup soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp dry sherry
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp Chinese five spice
  • Cayenne pepper

Preparation

Marinate pork belly overnight. Slow braise in oven and let portion cool as desired once cooked.

Burger preparation

Grill the burger, season with salt and pepper. Sear duck foie gras with fresh cracked pepper. Sear pork belly, deglaze with maple syrup. Toast bun with butter, top with mayonnaise, add lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and onion jam. Top burger patty with cheddar cheese, foie gras and pork belly. Drizzle with balsamic reduction and serve.