SUPPORTING PARTNER
Industry Award - Back of House: Rod Butters It was an injured arm that got Rod Butters wielding a knife. Instead of heading off on a baseball scholarship in America, Rod's professional sports ambitions were cut short. He was forced to reflect on what appealed to him most in his life, to what he was drawn from a very young age. And that was cooking. Even at seven years old his favorite thing to do was to get up before anyone else and make a pancake breakfast for his family. After excelling with Keg Restaurants, he pursued his culinary education at the former PVI - Burnaby Campus under esteemed instructors James Hutton, Peter Wieser, Uli Falter, and Keith Thomas. Upon graduation, Rod moved to Toronto to continue his career with an apprenticeship at the renowned Scaramouche restaurant. Some career highlights include the Four Seasons Hotel group - Toronto & Vancouver, Chateau Whistler Resort opening team and Pacific Palisades Hotel Vancouver. Butters has shared the kitchen with such admired chefs as Kerry Sear at Four Seasons and Bernard Casavant of Château Whistler, whose similar philosophies of using local farm-fresh products and their own home-grown herbs and vegetables influenced him greatly. Rod then went on to open the world famous Wickaninnish Inn, Tofino as Chef de Cuisine in 1996. His innovative cuisine and high service standards quickly helped the Inn's Pointe Restaurant attain the internationally recognized Relais & Chateaux designation. After a year long journey around the world in 2000, he returned home to BC to share his culinary experiences and open Fresco Restaurant & Lounge in Kelowna. As Chef /Proprietor, and the current President of the Okanagan Chefs Association, Rod has been instrumental in promoting the growth of culinary tourism in the Okanagan. Since opening its doors in June 2001, Fresco Restaurant & Lounge is proud to have been awarded the following prestigious achievements among others:
The importance of Rod's commitment to establishing regional BC cuisine has earned him international respect. Long before it became "trendy" to serve regional food, Rod has always been committed to this effort. He has always maintained the importance of "giving back" to the industry, and this is attested to by the long list of current successful culinarians that he has mentored and inspired. In the words of food and arts critic Jurgen Gothe, "Butters is the consummate Canadian-born, Canadian-trained, Canadian chef, the kind that will eventually- and not all that far down the road - create what we'll come to call Canadian cuisine."
Click on the image below to start video British Columbia Restaurant Hall of Fame award recipient 2008.
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