Text and photo by Maureen Provencal
Katrina Frew, GM, The Fire Rock Lounge
PQ: What’s your food/wine philosophy?
KF: We’re not just serving drinks, we’re serving an experience. Customers will always come back because they remember good service.
PQ: What’s the most important principle in managing?
KF: Having faith in your staff. Giving them the opportunity to expand their potential.
PQ: One food you can’t live without?
KF: Crème de lait.
PQ: Which drink should people try at the Fire Rock?
KF: Brandon’s Backseat Spritzer.
PQ: Weirdest thing you’ve eaten?
KF: A raw egg on pizza in Paris.
PQ: Most memorable meal you’ve ever eaten?
KF: Christmas dinner with Joe Joe Kovacs.
PQ: Craziest day you’ve worked?
KF: Pressing a tray with three pitchers, two buckets of Corona and beer in your pants while pushing through hundreds of people on the Longhorn Patio during the Black Eyed Peas concert.
PQ: What’s your solution for a last minute meal?
KF: Call the boys.
PQ: Greatest professional moment?
KF: When I look around the bar and see all the people I care about the most smiling and having an amazing time.
PQ: Do you dream of opening your own restaurant?
KF: I’m living my dream now.
PQ: How would you describe what it is to be a GM?
KF: Being the last man standing.
PQ: Where would you go to eat, if you could go anywhere in the world?
KF: Home to a Frew Mann dinner party.
PQ: What brought you to Whistler?
KF: An ex-boyfriend. But that’s not what kept me.
PQ: Who has been the most influential person on your career?
KF: My bosses Joey and Brad and my staff. They continue to inspire me every day.
PQ: What advice would you give anyone wanting to come into this industry?
KF: Never look back. These are the best memories of my life.