Getting Busy

It's getting pretty busy now with the holiday season quickly approaching. Stock is starting to arrive, the port Stiltons are soaking, Hastings construction is rocking...lots of stuff going on.

The walk-in coolers arrived yesterday. They were assembled by the end of the day. We'll have twice as many freezer display doors at Hastings for soups and entrees than we have at 2nd avenue. That means we can expand the menu over time. The refrigeration will be done just in time, as 2nd avenue is bursting at the seams.

Allison told me about the new mini truffle pecorinos that came today. I didn't get to see them but they sound like a great gift for truffle lovers this season.

We're pleased to announce that Annette Rawlinson has joined Au Petit Chavignol as General Manager. Annette brings with her extensive years of experience in managing service-oriented restaurants in Vancouver, such as C, Diva, 900 West and Bacchus. Annette has been awarded Vancouver Magazine's "Premier Crew Award" for outstanding service. She was also part of the team at C when it was awarded Where Magazine's "Birk's Silver Spoon Award" for cuisine, service and ambiance. Annette brings her hands on approach, honesty and genuine passion to Au Petit Chavignol.

Port Soaked Stilton

We've been soaking quite a few wheels of Stilton in Taylor's Port over the last few weeks. Soon you will be able to choose from Long Clawson, Thomas Hoe and Colston Bassett. They still aren't ready to go, but they should be ready for sale somewhere around December 15-20th.

Vacherin Mont d'Or

We are pleased to announce that our first Vacherin Mont d'Or shipment of the season is now in stock. This seasonal cheese is made from the same spotted cows that give us Comte de Montagne, and is only available for a short time during the winter months. Do like we do and make an event out of serving it. You can choose to serve it as part of a cold dinner, at the end your meal with the cheese course, or possibly the best of all...bake it like a fondue. Which ever way you choose to serve it, make Vacherin Mont d'Or part of your Holiday entertaining this year.

$39.99 ea / 500 gr

Hastings construction is still moving along. Electrical, plumbing and mechanical is mostly roughed in now. The columns, ceiling and duct work is getting painted out dark and should be finished by tomorrow. Up next is drywall and then refrigeration installation.

Hastings Update

We're back, and work is progressing full steam ahead. Framing is done, so now we begin the electrical, plumbing, mechanical...it's all happening. Security is now in place (knock on wood). Kitchen equipment has been ordered, fabrication has started on the stainless steel for the kitchen, POS has been decided, wine coolers ordered, new Vega showcases ordered. Hopefully if everything is on track, the drywall should begin in a couple of weeks.

The picture on the left shows the main entrance way and the original ramp we've uncovered. It is looking into the entranceway of Au Petit Chavignol. The search for a restaurant manager continues...

I just received news that Allison has been invited to judge again at the 2009 Canadian Cheese Grand Prix in Montreal. More on that later...

History Update

The heritage assessment of 845 E. Hastings came back from Donald Luxton & Associates today. They did a really good job, and they offered advice on how the front of the building may have likely looked. We discovered that the building was originally used by the Royal Canadian Naval Reserves. There had been rumors that it had been used previously by the military, but up until now it was unconfirmed. When you see how thick the cement is, it's not surprising as the inside is like a bunker. We confirmed the original date of 1922-1923, and found out some information about the architect Maurice Helyer.

Maurice was in partnership with his father J.S. Helyer, and together they ran a successful firm responsible for numerous small buildings and large commercial structures. The most famous of their designs is the Beaux-Arts skyscraper on Victory Square known as the Dominion Trust Building, 1908-10, at the time of its completion the tallest building in the British Empire. The firm also erected the Renaissance-style, ten-storey Metropolitan Building on Hastings Street, 1911-12, and the poured-in-place concrete Board of Trade building at Homer and Cordova, 1909, arguably one of the earliest local uses of concrete as both a structural and a finishing material. One building where he was responsible for the design was the sophisticated Medical Arts Building on Granville Street, 1922-23.

Paris - part III

Pierre Herme: acheck that off my list

What can I say except that was awesome! Caramel & fleur de sel was the flavour we chose. Each one was about 3" across, and heavier than one would expect for the size...gone in 60 seconds.

Back to cheese. I've noticed that in many instances, the cost of cheese here in Paris is only marginally cheaper than at home in Vancouver. Sure there are some items that when you see them, you go "wow that's cheap, back up the truck". But in some cases it is more expensive here in Paris. Beaufort at Barthelemy was 49,80 euros per kilo ($80 CDN), where as in Vancouver we sell it for about $52.50 ($CDN) per kilo. On average, I've noticed that cheese in Paris retails at about 75% of the cost of what it retails for in Vancouver, and we're half way around the globe.

Paris - part II

We've done miles and miles of walking since we've been here. Yesterday at SIAL we covered dairy products (cheese) and French regional specialties. At over 2,000,000 square feet, SIAL has roughly 10 times the exhibition space as BC Place.

It's supposed to rain Tuesday, so we are going to adjust our schedule and attend SIAL again on Tuesday, rather than today. We've already covered quite a few cheese stores, (see the picture of the Gaperon at Fromagerie Marie-Anne Cantin Conseil) and today we are going out to tour more cheese and specialty food stores.

Last night we enjoyed some late night salted caramel ice cream at Berthillon. I can't imagine ice cream being any better than that. Next sweet target: Pierre Herme