Quick bites with
Paul Palmer
Senior Bartender, Black’s Restaurant, Pub, Patios
PQ: What’s your drink philosophy?
PP: Guinness is a great substitute for a sandwich.
PQ: One drink you can’t live without?
PP: Red wine.
PQ: What drink should people be more open to trying?
PP: Beer other than lagers.
PQ: Weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?
PP: Sea urchin and quail egg sushi.
PQ: The worst thing you’ve ever drank?
PP: Shooting Portuguese schnapps, which I found out later is best sipped.
PQ: Most memorable drink you’ve ever had?
PP: A bottle of wine. A Beaujolais on a beach in France.
PQ: What’s your solution for a last minute meal?
PP: Empty-the-fridge kind of pasta.
PQ: Best trend in food/restaurants/pubs?
PP: Attention to lighting, music and essential atmosphere.
PQ: Worst trend in food/restaurants?
PP: Cookie cutter fast food.
PQ: Do you dream of opening your own restaurant?
PP: Yes, I’d love to find someplace relatively quaint and simple along the lines of a licensed coffee house where the clientele are intrinsic to the atmosphere of the place. A place where the town would take pride in it as a meeting place.
PQ: Where would you go to eat, if you could go anywhere in the world?
PP: France.
PQ: What brought you to Whistler?
PP: The skiing, the lifestyle and natural beauty.
PQ: Has Whistler opened up any doors for you?
PP: In some respects it’s opened the door to Never Land: the Peter Pan Syndrome, you are as you ski.
PQ: Where would you go for your last meal in Whistler?
PP: Cocktails at Black’s and dinner at Sushi Village.
PQ: What would you advise anyone wanting to come into this industry?
PP: For the right person it’s a great lifestyle and it seems that when I’ve been traveling the people I’ve met the most have been bartenders or carpenters. As a bartender you don’t have to lug your tools around.
