Chef’s Table is a series of Interviews with some of the top chefs in North America.

Chef Dan Bain

I chatted with Dan after dining at LURE Restaurant at the Delta Ocean Point Resort on a recent visit to Victoria.

Dan washed dishes for 6 years in Cowichan Bay, then worked at Earls from the bottom and worked his way up to the restaurant chef in 3 years. He then joined the Delta Ocean Pointe Resort as the Chef de Partie and was in that role for 6-1/2 years, he was then promoted to Executive Restaurant Chef 7 months ago.

What is your favourite cuisine?

Great pub food – good pint and a good steak sandwich or antipasto

What challenges you as a chef?

Committing to standards, inspiring standards, watching over my team. Me always wanting to be better.

In your role as Executive Restaurant Chef, what are you responsible for?

I oversee our LURE Restaurant and lounge menus, In-room dining, Tour Groups special menus, Winemaker Dinners and Beer Dinners.

What do you want chefs to learn?

Ethic of life, attention to detail, to really enjoy it and to have fun.

What is your favourite dish to make (personally) at home?

Bolognaise with pasta with 4-5 types of meat and locally farm picked tomatoes.

Where is your favourite food city?

  • Bangkok
  • Taipei for their night markets
  • Bournemouth, England for their Cornish Pasties

Do you have freedom to create in your kitchen?

I have a lot of freedom in this hotel and we play. The hotel and restaurant strives to create anything that our customer wants from doing a Halal dinner, no salt and other dietary concerns.

What other escapes do you enjoy?

Beaches, taking my son roaming and wandering through the local farms (from Saanich to Metchosin)

What did you want to be when growing up?

Marine Biologist

Do you feature other more obscure fish on your restaurant menu?

We are Ocean Wise and we strive to keep within that focus, did Monkfish recently.

What are your favourite restaurants on a day off?

  • Foo (for lunch)
  • Hernandez (for lunch)
  • Stage (for dinner)
  • Brasserie le Cole (for dinner)
  • Glo (favourite place for a pint)
Stay tuned for the next chef in the Chefs Table series.