Chef's Dish: Q & A With Chef Louis Gervais

2017 Jul

Chef’s Dish: Q & A With Chef Louis Gervais

by Louis Gervais / In Events, Louis' Little Black Book, News & Media, Tips & Advice

If you’ve met Chef Louis Gervais, you probably love him for his joyous and larger-than-life personality and charisma (in and outside of the kitchen). He’s they type of Chef that literally brings the party and not just the fine food (if you know what we mean).

Born and raised in Montreal, Chef Louis is a culinary force to be reckoned with thanks to nearly thirty years of industry training (Culinary Arts at the Institute of Hotels & Tourism) and training under top chefs in Quebec and BC.

He’s about to celebrate a career milestone: twenty successful years of business with his namesake Louis Gervais Fine Foods & Catering, so we pulled him away from kitchen duty for a series of fun and reflective questions.

Here’s what Chef Louis has to share…

Craziest event you’ve ever worked on:

I pride myself in my ability to think outside the box to do whatever it takes to make a client’s catering dream come true, so there are a lot of crazy events to choose from. I have created menus that spanned cuisine from multiple cultures as well as incorporated fantastic themes. One memorable menu I created worked with a graffiti theme – all plates splashed with colour and each course a work of abstract art. Or, try merging Trinidadian cuisine with Chinese – mini curry-rubbed shark sliders topped with Asian slaw, they were amazing if I do say so myself. But, I guess the craziest was for a group of 100 executives from Australia. The event was held on a black ocean barge in English Bay on one of the fireworks nights in August a few years ago. The theme was pink and black and the five course meal I prepared had to be pink and black as well! Who knew squid ink would turn Alfredo sauce black and still taste delicious? The black and pink cupcakes were a huge hit too. It was a spectacular evening.

Top (Safe-For-Work) Kitchen saying you use:

Edgy / Gorgeous / I would eat that

Favourite activity:

If I had to pick one it would have to be golfing. Perhaps one of the most beautiful things about living in Vancouver is you can play all year round! I finally scored below 90 at Northlands Golf Course last week. It was a great, great day.

If you only had one place left to dine, where would it be?

I’m going to say Barcelona because I have never been to Spain and it is at the top of my bucket list. I’ve heard so much about the culture, the people and amazing cuisine. Plus, I love the idea of eating tapas for dinner at 10 pm.

What is something that has you feeling the most excited these days:

My baby girl Chloe is getting married on July 12^th! The wedding is going to be at Sunwolf Resort in Brakendale. Quintessentially BC, it’s a five acre woodland property right on the river in the stunning Coastal Mountains. It’s the perfect location for an outdoor wedding. She just wanted a big long table in the woods and a family style dinner.