Kitchen Staff part 1

The thing that makes the hoof so special is its staff. I often look at the crew at both restaurants and think to myself, where else can you find such a wide range of talented cooks in one place who just dont cook food, but live food. You can find anyone of our cooks, on there day off cooking in one of the hoof's kitchen, not because they were told to, not because they have too, (and definately not because they're getting paid) but because they want to. They are so important to the success of both hoofs that without them it might not be possible.

If you dont know who he is already, this is Geoff Hopgood , our head chef at the Hoof Cafe. He is the one responsible for starting your day off in the morning with a smile and a full (perhaps very full) stomach. Geoff and i met a few years back when i worked at Lucien. You see, Geoff is not only a cook but a forager as well. He came into lucien one day selling ramps. I am glad that i am paying 1/2 the price for ramps now that he works with us. If there is one person i would choose to be lost in the wilderness with, it would be Geoff. He even finds edible things in the back patio area of the hoof. He is originally from the east coast but spent a good time cooking in BC at C restaurant as well as Fuel. But his cooking really reflects the south and he generally thinks everything tastes better with a bit of his special bbq spice.

This is Brendon Olson....Brendons new.... i dont know much about him yet, so i cant go into much detail but i can tell you he has worked most recently with Thomas Keller at TFL, Bouchon , and most recently a year and a 1/2 at Adhoc. Working in the keller kitchens, his work ethic and skill level is as sharp as my knifes used to be back in the day when i had time to sharpen them. He is the newest addition to the team and brings new knowledge to our already primo team.

More cooks to come.