Text and photo by Maureen Provencal
PQ: What’s your food philosophy?
AF: Tapas, tapas, tapas.
PQ: What’s the most important principle in managing?
AF: Integrity and equality.
PQ: What food/drink should people be more open to trying?
AF: Beer and nachos.
PQ: Weirdest thing you’ve eaten?
AF: Alligator.
PQ: Most memorable meal you’ve ever eaten?
AF: With 17 others in Puerto Vallarta in 2003. It was a 20-man bed table. They brought the food on giant bamboo bed trays. There were huge pillar candles all around the table.
PQ: Most memorable meal you have ever served?
AF: At the Bamboo. We held a movie premier party for Denzel Washington at the 2004 Film Festival. It was an eight-course meal for 300 people.
PQ: Most interesting environment you’ve ever worked in?
AF: At the Bamboo Club in Toronto. It was a restaurant/dance hall. It was a very multicultural environment. The emphasis was on world music.
PQ: What’s your solution for a last minute meal?
AF: Antipasto.
PQ: Do you dream of opening your own restaurant?
AF: Yes.
PQ: How would you describe what it is to be a general manager?
AF: The buck stops here.
PQ: Where would you go to eat, if you could go anywhere in the world?
AF: Anywhere in Italy.
PQ: What brought you to Whistler?
AF: The right type of persuasion combined with the allure of the west.
PQ: Has Whistler opened up any doors for you?
AF: Absolutely. Just being apart of the company I’m with now. There is lots of opportunity for growth.
PQ: How has Tapley’s evolved over the past 26 years?
AF: While maintaining our loyal local patrons, there has been a younger crowd discovering Tapley’s.
PQ: Where would you go for your last meal in Whistler?
AF: I would make reservations at both the Rimrock and Hy’s and it would be a game time decision.
