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Reinventing Four Seasons for Whistler

Fifty Two 80 a bistro by careful design

An aphorism bounces around from time to time that could be applied to anything, including a cute bumper sticker. But it’s something Wolfgang Puck and his partner in all things, Barbara Lazaroff, apparently ascribe to, even at their heady level of success in the hardscrabble restaurant business.

(Wolfie and Barbara, in case you don’t recognize the reference, are the darlings of the glitterati restaurant world who literally revolutionized it back in the 1980s with concepts like multi-cultural cooking and exhibition kitchens, and Spago, if Spago can be called a concept.)

The aphorism goes something like this: the minute you think you’ve made it is the minute you start going downhill. And we don’t mean on skis.

It’s a good point to springboard off of when you consider the Four Seasons in general and its new incarnation at Whistler. For this is one hotel chain that’s seemingly never made it (part of its born-in-Toronto identity?). Much like Wolfie and Barbara, the Four Seasons is constantly reassessing, striving and responding to changing opportunities, goals and demands.

All this despite the fact or, perhaps more accurately, resulting in the Four Seasons consistently receiving more AAA Five Diamond awards than any other hotel company. It was also recently named top international hotel chain by the Zagat survey. And it is repeatedly recognized as one of Fortune magazine’s top 100 companies to work for in America.

This at least partly explains why Edel Forristal was excited to be hired on as the Four Seasons Resort Whistler’s new food and beverage director. She also got to live at Whistler and be part of the hotel/restaurant opening, a professional feather in your cap. Also, a process that typically takes a full year as you move through the seasons and the idiosyncrasies each presents, especially in an idiosyncratic place like Whistler.

So given the latter, how did the Four Seasons interpret its acknowledged high standards for this setting? Not that Whistler doesn’t have or warrant same, but, as we shall discover, it’s somewhat different delivering a Fours Seasons experience here than, say, Paris or London or even Palm Beach.

Since this is a food column, we’re focusing on the restaurant ensconced in the hotel, the Fifty Two 80 Bistro. First, two things about the name: the number comes from the full mile of skiing from peak-to-valley on Blackcomb. And the bistro designation is no toss-off.

At this juncture, allow me to introduce Mr. Alfons Konrad. Mr. Konrad, as he is known in the Fours Seasons culture, is the senior vice president for food and beverage. As such, he personally oversees all the menus for every restaurant in the entire company, says Edel.

Good job, I say.

Apparently, before even setting foot in Whistler the idea of "bistro" was in his mind.

"He knew Whistler, mountain destination, casual, fun, adventure – he knew a fine dining room was the wrong thing to do here," says Edel.

"So the first thing was to create a bistro environment as opposed to a fine dining environment, which a typical Four Seasons would have in a city. That means formal dining, very hush-hush, double- and triple-cloth tables. People are dressed in suits, there is lots of jewellery, silver champagne buckets, formal tea service.

"Our whole feeling here is different – yes, the food is top quality, but the champagne buckets are not silver, they’re kind of a funky chrome, and there’s outside dining on unvarnished teak tables and things that suit this environment.

"In terms of ambience, a bistro is busy and noisy – yes, you have the tablecloths and the servers are well-appointed and all that, but it’s not the kind of place where you are trying to one-up the next guy. A bistro is comfortable and convivial, it has a sense of life and energy."

To that end banquette seating abounds. Tables are closer together. Two fireplaces, one outdoors and one in, ante up the bistro atmosphere, plus the raw bar provides a welcome point of interest and informality.

Throughout all this casual conviviality, Four Seasons core standards are maintained. For service, that means how long it takes for you to be acknowledged, to have your drink brought to your table, to have your breakfast delivered to you are all prescribed to the minute. And those numbers are the same whether you are in Whistler or Paris.

As for the menu, how did Mr. Konrad envision it? In a word, simplicity.

"Bistro is all about having food that is not complicated, not highly structured or complex," says Edel. "It had to be fresh, simple food where you could read the menu and understand exactly what you’re getting."

However, while Mr. Konrad saw simplicity, the fact was that the Fifty Two 80’s four chefs, including executive chef Jason McLeod, were all coming from different perspectives. And while Whistler-based personnel did have a lot of influence in this area – in fact, Jason did the menu and wanted the focus on seafood – there was a bit of back and forth at the pre-opening menu tasting, shall we say five or six back-and-forths on some dishes, until everyone agreed they had it right. (What you’ll experience at Fifty Two 80, by the way, is roughly 80 per cent corporate, including lighting, menu covers, décor, colour palette, dishes, flatware, even the music; about 20 per cent is determined locally).

Not to say the chefs aren’t talented; they are. It was just tricky initially getting them all on the same simplicity page.

"He (Mr. Konrad) didn’t want to see little drops of this and bits of that. Whatever the feature is, meat or fish or pasta or whatever – that is the focus of the dish with one or two side items that enhance it," says Edel. "But not a sauce with 15 ingredients in it with sprinkles of this and crackles of that.

"He absolutely would not allow us to construct the plate. He wanted fresh, simple, good value and great presentation."

Good for you, Mr. Konrad, for sticking to your guns. Wolfgang and Barbara would be proud.

SIDEBAR:

Le Classique Bistro

Bistros evolved in Paris, and although we’ve come to associate them with all things French and lively and bohemian, they really started more from working-class necessity than design. In the late 1800s, they began as places to serve workers hearty food in or near Les Halles (the marketplace), the great wholesale food market which opened in 1100. But with their honest, homemade cooking and fair prices, bistros soon became havens for struggling artists and journalists throughout Paris whose tiny garrets had no kitchens. Ergo the bohemian connotations.

Bistros were more than a place to dine; they were a place to live, where the grandmotherly women who ran them nurtured stomach and soul. The allure has always been their satisfying, down-to earth cooking served in a warm, informal, softly-lit environment. And yes, banquettes were a hallmark.

Today, you can still find unassuming bistros in Paris, such as Le Bistro d’Hannah in the Latin Quarter which serves flavourful Aberdeen Angus beef from the only supplier in France. Excellent with a refreshing Beaujolais crus .

Glenda Bartosh is an award-winning freelance writer who enjoys all four seasons.