VANCOUVER
-- Canada's Iron Chef has been defeated
in a battle for control over his own restaurants.
Rob Feenie has quit his job as executive chef
of Vancouver's world-renowned Lumière fine-dining restaurant and the adjacent
upscale bistro Feenie's, it was announced yesterday.
"Rob Feenie has terminated his
relationship with Lumière and Feenie's due to breaches of his employment
contract by the majority owner of the restaurants," his publicist said in a
statement.
"These breaches severely diminished his
responsibilities in both kitchens and in external marketing."
In an interview earlier this week, Mr. Feenie said he
had lost creative control of his kitchen.
"They took all my rights away as an executive
chef," he said, referring to his business partners David and Manjy Sidoo.
"The final decision about food for the last month
and a half has gone through [them]. I have no say."
For the past three weeks, a private group of investors
supported by Mr. Feenie has been trying to buy Lumière from Mr. Sidoo, an
independent financial adviser and former CFL player who bought the restaurant
two years ago, when it was on the verge of financial collapse.
The talks broke down on Wednesday.
Mr. Feenie, the host of a television series and author
of several cookbooks, hasn't worked in his restaurant since early August, when
Dale MacKay was hired as the new chef de cuisine.
Mr. MacKay, the former sous chef at Gordon Ramsay's
restaurants in New York and Tokyo, replaced Marc-André Choquette, who departed
last spring.
Rumours began flying last month when a full-page ad
was published in the new edition of Vancouver Magazine's eating and drinking
guide that introduced Mr. MacKay as the new "executive chef."
"That was an unfortunate error," said Mr.
Sidoo, who disputes Mr. Feenie's version of the events.
"Rob was always the executive chef. Marc-André
often acted independently of Rob, and Dale was hired on the same premise.
"Rob will be missed," he added.
"Having said that, I am confident Lumière will
continue to be one of the best restaurants in the city. With the staff and
quality of food and the chefs that we have, we can continue to give the same
experience to the clientele that they've had in the past."
Mr. Feenie, one of Canada's most famous chefs, opened
Lumière in 1995 with Ken Wai, an investment partner he later bought out.
The restaurant, known for 12-course tasting menus and
Asian-inspired French cuisine, quickly rose to the top of the culinary scene.
In 2005, when Mr. Feenie competed on the Food Network
TV series Iron Chef America, he beat Masahuru Morimoto and became the
first Canadian challenger to win the epic food fight.
- 2007 November 3 Special to GLOBE
& MAIL by Alexandra Gill
太太 once
accompanied Ken Wai on a culinary tour of some of the San Francisco's most
outstanding restaurants. He was the perfect escort for meals at:
Few men we know can beat our friend KEN
WAI for his good looks and easy going lifestyle. The guys want to be
like him......go to parties, drive in fancy cars, show up at art gallery
openings, wear beautiful clothes (Gucci jeans); babes on his
arms each night..... That's if he can squeeze in a moment with you when
he's not golfing (single digit handicap) or remember who or what he's done
recently. Even he has hard time keeping track of his social
schedule!
He's led a playboy life who's
professional resume includes a Tennis Instructor at Club Med in Cancun; a
store manager for Club Monaco in Toronto [ Tai Tai learned how to fold
clothes from him! ] He should always be
remembered for having founded and funded Lumière
restuarant which has made it to New
York Times mention of fabulous fare although he seems to have discovered
joys of celebrity life even more after he sold his interest in the restaurant in
2004.
Tai Tai met this handsome and
charming fellow almost twenty years ago in Vancouver BC.
Something like a week before she was getting married she screamed "How come
I never met you before?"
Turns out I knew of his parents.
His mom was the role model for my growing up. Perhaps I could be as
capable or as beautiful as her?! She was a famous beauty at the Bank
where she epitomized Tai Tai qualities. His Father asked
Tai Tai to train him in commercial real estate. Nowadays
he's developing four luxury units on the waterfront of westside Vancouver which
we can broker to you for ~ $2 million each.
At the do, sometime British Properties chap Ray
Signorello cracked a nine-litre Salmanazer of Cabernet Sauvignon Founder's
Reserve '91 and poured plenty of the classic Bordeaux-blend Padrone '97 that
honours his same-name late father and -- if you could get any -- would cost
$200-plus per 750-ml bottle.
Michael Updegraff also pleased thirsty diners with
vintages from Napa's Swanson Vineyards, which was founded by members of the
family that invented and made a fortune from frozen TV dinners.
Undeterred, Feenie sent out seared scallops,
sake-and-maple-marinated sablefish, roasted duck with duck confit, lamb loin
with ratatouille, braised Black Angus short ribs and tenderloin, Quebec cheeses,
vanilla pannacotta with poached figs, and a torrent of aromatic Napalia you
could smell clear across Broadway in the White Spot parking lot. - By
Malcolm Parry Vancouver
Sun 9 February 2002
