- Words By Susan Lundy Photos by Lia Crowe

鈥�Where did you come from and how did you get to Cowichan Bay?

鈥廏rowing up on the West Coast, we have always been drawn to the ocean. After purchasing a house in Cowichan Bay in 2004, we knew this was home. An opportunity came about in 2012 in a location that we had my eyes on for years, and we found ourselves jumping in head first with absolute certainty that this was the right decision. After operating at our original Cowichan Bay location for five years, it was clear we had out grown that space and that鈥檚 when we were approached by the Oceanfront Suites Hotel to take over the 11,000-square-foot penthouse restaurant that included an ocean-view dining room, two event spaces, a street-side patio and a kitchen four times larger than our previous space. We knew right away that our vibe would be a perfect match for this space.

鈥廙att, what inspired you to become a chef?

鈥廡he majority of my childhood was spent living in Long Beach, California, where my parents worked at an upscale hotel. As a child, I spent countless hours roaming the property and mostly making my way into the kitchen where the executive chef had taken me under his wing. I was always intrigued by the creations I saw, and one day I told him I wanted to cook my mom lobster for her birthday鈥擨 was six! The next week he brought me into the kitchen, gave me a custom-made apron, a classic 鈥渢oque鈥� chefs鈥� hat and three beautiful Atlantic lobster. The next day, I was cooking steak and lobster on a Webber barbecue鈥�with supervision, of course! I鈥檇 have to say that鈥檚 what originally inspired me, but what keeps me going is the beauty of the West Coast and its offerings.

鈥廐ow did you adapt to becoming chef and owner of Cow Cafe?

鈥廐onestly, I think my biggest strength is adaptability. We are in an industry that is very demanding in so many ways. You need to be quick on your feet to make changes or accommodate something that might put you out of your comfort zone. When I initially took over operations as owner, I was mostly FOH (front of house) and had been for a of couple years. At that point, I didn鈥檛 really have a desire to be in the kitchen: I was very focused on the big picture and wanting to learn everything I could about the industry as a whole. However, I had a vision: I knew what I wanted to see coming out of the kitchen鈥攎y food! I knew I had to be in the kitchen if I was going make this vision a reality.

鈥廤hat challenges and rewards does working together as a couple and business owners bring?

鈥廜ne of our biggest challenges, but also the most rewarding was deciding to have a family: with both of us being so hands on in our respective positions, we had to figure out how to maintain our restaurant while learning to be new parents. We have always been a team in every aspect of our business, and finding a new balance has been a journey. But being able to share the journey as a family has been the ultimate reward.

鈥�What makes Cow Cafe special?

鈥廤e believe its our staff; they are like family to us. In this industry it鈥檚 very common to have staff come and go quite frequently. This is not the case here鈥攐ur core is our family and friends, and together we have made it through so many ups and downs. We all love what we do and we believe in the potential and growth of the business. Recently, we have had so many compliments from customers noting that everyone is so positive around here. This makes our hearts so happy as this is so important in the world, especially right now.

鈥廦our specialty is 鈥渕odern, West Coast-inspired comfort food.鈥� Can you give a few examples from your menu.

鈥廤ell, we love staying ahead of trends, but in our own unique way. One thing we鈥檝e created is our famous Coast-to-Coast Caesar鈥攚e鈥檝e taken the Caesar craze to a whole new level by incorporating seafood from Canada鈥檚 east coast 鈥攍obster tails from Nova Scotia, eastern sea scallops鈥攚ith west coast seafood, such as Pacific prawns and locally smoked candied salmon from Port Hardy. When we think of comfort food, it always reminds us of family gatherings in the kitchen, so we try to put that feel in almost everything we do. I think our best representation of that on our menu would have to be the Millionaires Meatloaf. It鈥檚 a classic home-cooked-inspired meal, but with a modern West Coast spin. We鈥檝e taken locally raised grass-fed beef and a Japanese-raised wagyu beef, wrapped it in a local bacon and topped it with fire-grilled garlic cajun Pacific shrimp and a Dungeness-crab-infused hollandaise. It鈥檚 like mom鈥檚 home cooking meets west coast contemporary.

鈥廡ell us about the dining experience: what do you hope to create for your patrons?

Honestly鈥攚e just want people to feel at home. We want parents to feel that they can come in for a date night or a family night. We want dad to be able to get steak and lobster, while the kids can enjoy a burger and a milkshake. We want mom to enjoy a delicious glass of locally made cider with her girlfriends on a Tuesday night, or a 90th birthday celebration on a Sunday afternoon. We want people to just be able to enjoy great food in great company and feel at home, and while doing so without the dishes.

鈥廤hat is your favourite cuisine to eat?

鈥廇t home, we love to enjoy as a family any kind of home-cooked meal that isn鈥檛 grilled cheese and tomato soup. We also do really enjoy a good Mexican spread and our occasional sushi dates.

鈥廤hen are you happiest at work?

鈥廎or Matt: 鈥淔irst thing in the morning: I鈥檝e always been an early-bird-gets-the-worm kind of guy, and to arrive at my restaurant when the sun is just starting to rise over beautiful Cowichan Bay, I sometimes find myself able to take five minutes to just soak it in. That鈥檚 when i feel truly inspired and blessed to be where we are. For Jenn鈥� 鈥淚t鈥檚 taking a moment in the middle of a dinner service to gaze across our oceanfront dining room to see the smiles and laughter coming from the families and friends as they fill their bellies with our delicious food and drinks.鈥�

鈥廤hen are you happiest outside of work?

鈥廕enn: 鈥淚 can answer this one for Matt鈥攇olf! Anything golf: watching, playing, reading, talking golf. He鈥檚 so happy, haha, and, of course, any family time we get to share with the three of us is always so nice, whether this is at home playing or out adventuring on the island.

Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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