Quick bites with
Rodney McNabb, sous chef, The Beet Root Cafe
Photo and interview by Maureen Provencal
PQ: What’s your food philosophy?
RM: Savouring of all flavours.
PQ: What’s the most important principle in cooking?
RM: Simplistic and clean.
PQ: One food you can’t live without?
RM: Seafood.
PQ: One ingredient you can’t live without?
RM: Extra virgin olive oil.
PQ: What food/drink should people be more open to trying?
RM: People should be more open to paying for organics.
PQ: One food you avoided as a child and now you love?
RM: Olives.
PQ: Weirdest thing you’ve eaten?
RM: Yak.
PQ: Most memorable meal you’ve ever eaten?
RM: The duck breast at Elements.
PQ: Exact moment you decided to become a chef?
RM: Probably when I discovered I could cook better than my mother.
PQ: Most memorable meal you have ever served?
RM: Spatch Cock.
PQ: What’s your solution for a last minute meal?
RM: A vegetarian stir fry.
PQ: Greatest professional moment?
RM: Cooking Heat Ledger breakfast for a week.
PQ: Do you dream of opening your own restaurant?
RM: No.
PQ: Where would you go to eat, if you could go anywhere in the world?
RM: Morocco.
PQ: How far have you traveled for a great meal?
RM: To Nesters for Samurai Sushi.
PQ: What brought you to Whistler?
RM: Friends and snowboarding.
PQ: Where would you go for your last meal in Whistler?
RM: Samurai Sushi.
PQ: Who has been the most influential person on your cooking/career?
RM: It’s been a personal endeavour.
PQ: What would you advise to anyone wanting to come into this industry?
RM: Learn to take the highs and lows.