On this week’s episode, I’m thrilled to chat with hospitality and hotelier legend Charles McDiarmid of the Wickaninnish Inn in Tofino BC.

Charles grew up in Tofino and fell in love with the idea of running his own hotel from a young age. After studying at Cornell and gaining experience with the Four Seasons Hotel Group across North America, he returned home to Tofino to pursue his dream.

We talk about what hospitality truly means and what it takes to anticipate your guests needs before they even arrive. For me, it was a fascinating discussion. As a restaurateur, you only need to make a guest happy for a few hours. From a hotelier perspective, that experience has to last for days.

I hope you enjoy our conversation.

A special thank you to this episode sponsor:
BC Dairy
https://bcdairy.ca/

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On this week's podcast I get to chat with return guest, amazing pastry chef, chocolatier, small business owner and opinionated guy, Mr Thomas Haas. We try and tackle some of the bigger problems that we see out there in our industry right now. Commodity pricing, macro economics of chocolate and food, seeing if there is much sense to be made in our very unnecessarily complex system of food. We also delve a bit into a favourite show topic and the exponential increase in tipping culture and how there doesn't seem to be an end in sight. I really enjoyed this chat as we got to the meat of some our industry's issues. 

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This episode is part 2 of my conversation with longtime hospitality pro and wine expert Kurtis Kolt. In this part we talk about mental health, the state of the industry, tipping and where he sees the industry going. All very insightful takes. I hope you enjoy our chat. 

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In this week's podcast we have a two parter. Kurtis Kolt has been a front of the house legend and sommelier in BC for as long as I have been in Vancouver. Originally from Ontario, he has called Vancouver home for a very long time. His love for wine and our industry permeates everything he does. As one of the founders of Top Drop Vancouver, Kurtis and his partners have built one of the most prestigious wine events in western Canada. Highlighting some of small boutique wineries from around the world that are doing things differently than the big operators. We had so much to talk about I decided to split our conversation into two parts. I hope you enjoy them both. 

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On this weeks podcast, we have a very old friend and Industry veteran Luke Kennedy. Vancouver born, starting as a young eager dishwasher at a local North Van place to working in Michelin starred kitchens in Europe to opening Daniels Boulud's first restaurant in Toronto. We chat about his story in the business and in and outs of this amazing industry. Luke has also been involved with COOKSCAMP as our "Pitt Boss", the go to guy to help the different Chefs cook over the charcoal pits and BBQ's. I hope you enjoy our chat. 

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On this weeks podcast I am happy to have on Coulson Armstrong, Culinary Director of Our House Hospitality, based out of Toronto, Ontario. Coulson grew up on a farm and has an incredibly deep love for agriculture and utilizing the best he can find locally. He trained here and Canada and like a lot of friends of the podcast, he fell in love with the business of food and travelled to see the world through the eyes of a cook. His experiences and passion brought him in contact with another great Canadian Chef, Matty Matheson and they started working to gather and making restaurant dreams come alive. Matty's Patty's, Rizzo's House of Parm, Iron Cow, Matheson Food Company and the flagship Prime Seafood Palace, all now thriving and making delicious food in Ontario, with dreams of expansion. I also have to mention like many great Canadian Chefs, he had his turn on Top Chef Canada and won. No easy feet for anyone. I hope you enjoy our chat as much as I did. 

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On this podcast we have cook, Chef, sustainability expert, Order of Canada Recipient, Robert Clark. Originally from humble beginnings in Gaspé Quebec, making his way through the kitchens of Toronto, to around the world and ending up in Vancouver. This is where Robert, turned his passion for great product into his lifelong work in seafood sustainability. A great Chef, a voice and and advocate for our industry and still always asking the hard questions. I hope you enjoy our chat.

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Mise en Place on the Road. On this weeks podcast, we are recording is sunny, windy, rainy, overcast and beautiful St. Johns Newfoundland. We are joined by a true native son, fourth generation Newfoundlander, Chef Todd Perrin of Rabble Restaurant in St. Johns. We chat about the sights, some of the history and what it is like to run a restaurant in St. Johns in 2026. I hope you enjoy our chat. 

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On this week's episode we have a many of many hats on the podcast. From a rugby player and cement truck driver to a builder a writer, a founder of the Chefs' Table and a person I call a friend Mr. Jamie Maw. Former food editor of Vancouver Magazine, retired but never stopping. I have wanted to get Jamie on the podcast for a long time. His insights into the Vancouver and Canadian dining scene are second to none. He knows everyone in the business and has been a Champion of the Canadian food scene worldwide for decades. I hope you enjoy our chat, and I will have to have him on again soon as I know I only scratched the surface. 

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On this weeks podcast I have a 5th generation Shellfish Farmer, Malindi Taylor. The Taylor name is synonymous with some of the best oysters in the Pacific Northwest and they also own and run Fanny Bay Oysters, their shellfish farm north of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. They also own and operate many restaurants in Washington and in Vancouver. The one here is Fanny Bay Oyster Bar & Shellfish Market. The best place for fresh oysters and a bottle of wine in town. I hope you enjoy my chat with Malindi and get a glimpse of her unbridled passion for the business and all things shellfish. 

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