PQ: What’s your food/wine philosophy?
DS: I’m a firm believer in local products. Whether it’s wine or vegetables or seafood.
PQ: What’s the most important principle in cooking?
DS: Don’t cut corners. And don’t second guess yourself.
PQ: What food/drink should people be more open to trying?
DS: Any type of ethnic food. Go into an ethnic restaurant and tell the server I’ve got $30, feed me what you would eat.
PQ: Weirdest thing you’ve eaten?
DS: As a child, a slug.
PQ: Most memorable meal you’ve ever eaten?
DS: The tasting menu at the Banffshire Club.
PQ: Exact moment you decided to become a chef?
DS: Sitting in my grandma’s kitchen watching her.
PQ: Most memorable meal you have ever served?
DS: When I served my family a meal and met my cousins from Scotland for the first time.
PQ: Most interesting environment you’ve ever worked in?
DS: At The Burrow. It is so much fun. It’s like going to play every day rather than going to work.
PQ: What’s your solution for a last minute meal?
DS: Pasta with butter and parmesan.
PQ: Do you dream of opening your own restaurant?
DS: From time to time.
PQ: How would you describe what it is to be a chef?
DS: It’s like painting with food. Everybody has different tastes. It’s like art is in the eye of the beholder.
PQ: Where would you go to eat, if you could go anywhere in the world?
DS: A picnic on Long Beach.
PQ: How far have you traveled for a great meal?
DS: From Whistler to Kamloops for Peter’s Pasta.
PQ: What brought you to Squamish?
DS: Change of pace.
PQ: Where would you go for your last meal in Whistler?
DS: Splitz.
PQ: Who has been the most influential person on your cooking/career?
DS: My grandma.
PQ: What advice would you give anyone wanting to come into this industry?
DS: Do your research.