Apres restaurant a reflection of the quality food and wine the region produces
My immediate reaction, walking in to the new Apres restaurant on Main street, is Wow! The room, which occupies the space which used to house Mailboxes Etc., has been transformed into a sophisticated and elegant 56-seat dining room. The decor, a contemporary design of clean lines with curved accents, is decidedly sexy and urban. When lit by candle light in the evening, the atmosphere is at once inviting and intimate.
This is precisely what Apres strives to offer its patrons, a welcoming environment conducive to the enjoyment of good food and wine, with one major distinction, all the food and all the wine hails from the West Coast. Manager Marcus Sawatsky, is excited about the opportunity to highlight the bounty of our region.
"This area yields world class products from the ground, the ocean and the bottle," he explains enthusiastically, "we are proud of B.C. in the world of food and wine and we want to share that with everyone."
The restaurant is the creation of partners Chris Cheney and Julia McKinnell. After finding the space they began working to transform it into a restaurant last summer. They opened Apres over the Christmas holidays.
After the initial once over I begin to notice how function follows form. The walls, a mixture of colours, frosted glass and backlit wine bottles, house a subtle display of wine preservation and storage systems. The extensive wine list, which includes more than 40 different wines available by the glass, is made up entirely of vintages from British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and California. The list is organized according to geographical region, complete with maps of each major wine producing area.
For the initiate to the wine world, this additional information helps to understand the interplay between climate, soil and grape type that contribute to the myriad of wines available. With such an extensive but concentrated focus on local vineyards, Marcus hopes to get people more comfortable with sampling different wines and trying new ones. Indeed, the list includes a selection of different wines in two ounce portions for a set price, also called "flights" of wine.
Sampling a flight of wine provides an opportunity to try different wines with similar vintages (or sometimes the same wine with different vintages) to get an idea of how aroma and taste can vary. Currently, Marcus has selected three different flights to choose from: west coast Chardonnay, pacific Pinot Noir and big red blends from the Americas. His interest is in educating people about wine in an interactive environment so the flights represent contrasting styles of wine. Wine aficionados will be pleasantly surprised by the reasonable pricing of wines.
Wine is always made better when paired with food and vice versa. The Apres menu is distinct in that it is divided into "small" and "big" plates. Even though multi course meals are available, the menu is designed to intrigue the palate with an interplay of foods, textures, colours and flavours. The menu will evolve with the seasons, changing to include the finest, freshest, most locally available product possible.
Executive Chef, Jeff Keenliside, notes that Whistler, gastronomically speaking, is strategically centred, reaping harvests from the Pemberton and Fraser valleys, Vancouver Island and the Pacific Ocean as well as inland waters. The food is prepared using traditional methods of cooking and classic techniques with a natural presentation that highlights raw flavours.
Marcus passes me a coffee during our interview and laughingly points out that the coffee beans are not local, of course, but they are free trade organic. Incidentally, every cup of coffee in the restaurant has its beans ground individually. I acknowledge the frothy, crema-topped coffee with a passing remark on the restaurant's dedication to the slow food movement. Marcus's eyes light up, "You're familiar with slow food? That's what we are - that's exactly what we do."
The Slow Food Movement is a grass roots, "food activist", international congregation of people committed to experiencing the pleasures of good food and drink while politically ensuring the quality and preservation of food through public awareness. Slow Food began in 1986 with an Italian association. Officially, the international slow food movement came into being at the Opera Comique in Paris in 1989. Its manifesto is a direct backlash against fast food, what it is doing to our lives and how it is destroying our environment through the process of industrialized farming.
Alice Waters, renowned chef of Chez Panisse restaurant in California, and leading member of the Slow Food membership in the United States, describes Slow Food in the International Herald Tribune as "educating people to see that decisions about eating have important agricultural and cultural consequences." Currently, the movement has more than 60,000 members on five continents (half of these are in Italy alone) and it continues to grow daily.
For more complete information, visit the Slow Food Web site at www.slowfood.com. The Vancouver convivium has an excellent Web site with several related articles and links and information about becoming a member of the movement, find it at www.slowfoodvancouver.com.
Presently, the Apres menu does not include salmon which is usually the most recognized West Coast offering. Following the Slow Food mandate, Chef Keenliside only incorporates line caught, wild salmon which can only be obtained in season (usually October). Instead, the winter menu boasts Queen Charlottes' smoked sablefish, porcini crusted jumbo scallops and grilled Sun Valley rainbow trout, to name a few of the ocean and freshwater options. Other comforting winter plates include Fraser Valley duck confit, red wine braised beef shortribs and herb poached pheasant breast.
I asked Marcus if committing to serving seasonal produce, even in the leaner winter months, is difficult. He replied that it is very hard, very challenging, but the culinary team takes particular pride in choosing quality food while supporting local farmers and artisan food producers.
Apres is open for dinner at 6 p.m. seven days a week. At 9:30 the menu switches to late night nibbles which can be enjoyed until midnight. With staff who are knowledgeable and passionate about the food and wine that they serve, Apres is a place to relax, savour and learn about the best that the West Coast has to offer.
