Inn at Manitou plated for New York
By Margaret Swaine
(National Post September 22, 2007)
Last summer one of the guests at Inn at Manitou in northern Ontario ended her stay with a proposition. A recruiter for the James Beard Foundation dinners in New York, she suggested the inn’s chef bring his team to the Big Apple to stage a dinner. That’s like a musician being asked to play Carnegie Hall. It’s an honour that’s as wonderful as it is terrifying.
The resort perched on the shores of Lake Manitouwabing near the tiny town of McKellar north of Parry Sound is remote but not unsophisticated. As a Relais & Chateaux member it’s part of an august group of about 450 hotels and restaurants in the world. The five “C’s” of the independent owner-operated Relais members are to provide character, courtesy, calm, charm and perhaps most importantly cuisine.
Ben and Sheila Wise opened their inn in 1974 as a small 16-room tennis resort next to a camp they owned. As the place expanded so did the kitchen which quickly became a launching ground for ambitious young chefs from Europe. As a summer resort they needed staff for only six months which meant hiring anew every year. To get the best they hired from abroad. A good number of chefs returned for several seasons eventually staying in Canada. The alumni such as J.P. Challet, Thomas Bellec, Oliver Boels, Philippe Couerdassier and Christophe Letard went on to head top restaurants about the country.
Hiring from overseas is definitely a Wise decision. Around their land of cranberry bogs, granite outcroppings and lakes one would be more likely to find a moose than professional service staff. Maids, spa therapists, waiters, sommeliers, tennis pros all sport accents from places such as Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Maldives, New Zealand, Vietnam, France and Ireland. The current chef Bernard Ibanez was born in Morocco from Spanish parents. He grew up in France sharpening his culinary talent in Michelin starred and Gault Millau recognized restaurants in Paris, Bordeaux and Cannes.
Now in his seventh season at Manitou, he winters wherever fancy and a job takes him. Le Yeti in Meribel France, Villa del Sol in Ixtapa Mexico, L’Esquinade in Mégeve, Chez Moi in Hong Kong and Shenzen China are duly noted in his resume. Wiry and angular with tobacco stained teeth, a scar criss-crossing his face and passionate flashing eyes, his gypsy life style matches his looks. His passion is the kitchen. At 51 years old, never married, no kids, “My job is my family” he said. “Every year I have five or six new children in the kitchen I need to look after,” he added referring to the constantly changing staff. (His girlfriend of the past two years is in Europe studying at hotel school.)
He works everyday with a few hours break in mid-afternoon. As a point of pride rather than a complaint he mentions that world renowned Spanish restaurant El Bulli, which also is seasonal, has 40 people in the kitchen and 20 working off-season in the lab to perfect dishes. He has no sous chef, his staff is young and few in numbers yet he manages to turn out an ever changing array of gourmet dishes. The menu changes completely nine times a week so guests (on all-inclusive three meal a day plans) won’t get bored. “With a new menu it feels like they’re in a different place,” said Ibanez.
All this will serve him well when he heads to New York October 18th to cook at James Beard House. The historic townhouse in Greenwich Village is the former home of James Beard, considered the father of American gastronomy. Beard penned many classic cookbooks, taught cooking and ran a gastronomical salon in this townhouse. Rather unimposing, the rooms are small – intimate in real estate parlance – and the kitchen tiny. This intimacy of being in Beard’s old domain creates an electric atmosphere for the public and Foundation members who attend the dinners. It also creates challenges for all who cook here.
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There are other challenges. The Beard House, now in its 20th year, has always had a mantra of celebrating local seasonal ingredients. They want out-of-town chefs to bring the bounty of their regions with them. The logistics of this can be daunting for those crossing country borders. Chefs are provided a letter from the Foundation, stating they are coming to do a charity dinner (proceeds go towards culinary scholarships and the like) and they will receive no compensation. Show this note to an understanding customs official and the knives, fish, meat, sauces and stocks in the transport van get through. (Chefs generally travel with their produce to ‘babysit’ it.) If they are unlucky something will get seized and they’ll have to improvise at the dinner.
In charge of logistics are Sheila Wise and daughter Jordanna. Jordanna ran the Manitou’s camp for twenty years and when it sold had retired to enjoy time with her three children. Four years ago when her father Ben died, she returned to help her mother run the inn. The two share a miniscule office and say of each other “She’s remarkable.” The harmony between the two is impressive and leaves no doubt they’ll have the supplies and shipping carefully orchestrated.
“We’re billed as a Relais and Chateaux Canadian event,” said Jordanna pointing out that produce will be consolidated from several key suppliers in eastern Canada. “It’s a little bit of luck that you get to the border and not get something turned away.” Foie gras will come from Quebec’s La Ferme along with Artisanal cheeses. The source for oysters and lobsters is still under debate. Chef wants to bring Ontario venison as is should be in season in October but wants to ensure its quality before he commits. He’s hoping to bring Canadian caviar but worries about getting it into the US.
The shopping list so far is 10 to 15 racks of venison, 25 lobsters, 160 oysters, two to three salmon, the Quebec cheeses, stocks, sauces and cases of Peninsula Ridge wines. Coming to help in the kitchen are station chef Sylvio Alonso , apprentice chef Virginie Valembois and Than Hoang pastry chef. But while the menu is finalized, the exact recipes and plate compositions are not. Chef is offering Manitou’s guests an opportunity to order the James Beard dinner at the inn from now until he leaves for New York in October. He wants to fine-tune the dishes, their tastes and presentation. In mid July Chef cooked the meal for the entire dining room of 90 people, close to the numbers he’ll cook on the Beard big night. With feedback from customers he’s tweaking his dishes. He plans to even up to the last moment to take advantage of the freshest seasonal crops.
The Peninsula Ridge wines from Ontario’s Niagara region are a definite. Burgundy born winemaker Jean-Pierre Colas has won many accolades for his elegant, well-structured wines that display their origins with accuracy and intensity. He’s hosted very popular winemakers weekends at Manitou for four years and has a fan in the Inn’s sommelier Eric Denis who hails from the same region in France. The wines Colas will present at the Beard dinner include a zippy single vineyard sauvignon blanc, a mellow minerally unoaked chardonnay reserve, an intriguing ratafia (grape juice fortified with plum liqueur) and an intense tangy riesling icewine.
The inn brings the food, wine and staff all at their own expense. They get no monetary compensation except for a small stipend of twenty dollars per guest. Performing in New York is done partly for the media attention and the recognition given in a mailing that goes to the four thousand Foundation members. Mainly however it is for the glory.
“It’s a fantastic adventure for us and for Bernard,” said Jordanna. “It’s nice to be in the same company as world caliber chefs.” The first professional chef to cook a Beard dinner was Wolfgang Puck when he was a young rising star. Charlie Trotter, Thomas Keller and many other icons of American cooking have graced the Beard kitchen since. “It’s a career achievement,” said Izabela Wojcik, Director of House Programming. “There’s a sentiment about making it in New York,” she added.
Ben Wise’s first career was on the stage. Now his family is carrying on in his spirit by taking their kitchen to perform in New York. “It’s a bit of theatre. My father was very theatrical,” said Jordanna. “It’s scary but it’s exciting.” No need to hold the applause. Appearing on this culinary stage says it all.