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Back of the House : Xavier HetzmanBiographyBefore all of the new stars started shining in the Vancouver culinary sky, there was one top-hatted chef who started it all—the late, great Xavier Hetzman, best remembered as the formidable giant of the kitchens of the Bayshore Inn. Born in France and trained in Europe, Xavier was Executive Chef of both the Hotel Georgia and the Westin Bayshore for a total of forty four years. It was he who co-founded the BC Chefs’ Association in 1958, an organization that began with a meeting of just eight guys in white jackets in Port Coquitlam, and one that has proudly grown ever since—one of the oldest, volunteer-run professional associations for chefs and cooks in Canada. During his tenure at the Bayshore, Xavier initiated an apprenticeship program, the first of its kind in British Columbia; cooked for Queen Elizabeth, Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, and Prime Minister Trudeau. Among his many honors, Chef Xavier was presented with the Chevalier de L’Orde National de Merit, the profession’s most prestigious award. He retired in 1987, and died in 2007. We welcome the late, great Xavier Hetzman to the British Columbia Restaurant Hall of Fame. |