Cheftimony Episode 015 – Sunday in the Kitchen
“They are hospitality personified and made me feel right at home with their team.”
Today’s episode comes from the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. I’ve been lucky to live on the Coast since late-2017. It’s an absolutely beautiful spot, close to Vancouver but pleasantly distant at the same time. We’re actually on the mainland here, but the Coast is separated from Vancouver by a short ferry ride. That separation means fewer people, fewer cars, and much more relaxation.
It also means fewer restaurants, of course, but over the last couple of years the coast has seen a lot of development. While there’s the inevitable controversy that comes with that, let’s focus today on how great the culinary scene is becoming! Within a very short walk, you could have brilliant oysters at Smitty’s, wonderful sushi at Nagomi, great Mexican food, serious cocktails and an unbeatable atmosphere at Lunitas, terrific bistro food with a view at Drift, happy hour at Emelle’s in the Gibsons Public Market…
And if you’re in the mood for pasta or wood-fired pizza, you’ll want to visit Buono Osteria, a one-year-old restaurant in the heart of the village of Gibsons and one of the definite highlights of the food scene here. The partnership behind the restaurant is Chef Mike Buono and the restaurant’s Director of Hospitality, Ryan Kingsberry. A few Sundays ago, the restaurant hosted a long-table dinner featuring dishes matched with gins from small-batch British Columbia distillers. It sounded like a really fun night to join the kitchen team.
Mike and Ryan are in the right industry. They are hospitality personified and made me feel right at home with their team. I came into the kitchen for service that night and helped out where I could. My thanks to Sous Chef Steve for giving me great work and for keeping an eye on me all night, and to the rest of the team in the kitchen too – Chef, Nova, Ryan and Nigel.
After service, my fiancée joined me and we sampled three of the wonderful pasta dishes from the menu. You’ll hear me go on today about the cacio e pepe. If you’re in Gibsons, go to Buono. If you go to Buono, order the cacio e pepe. It’s just plain damned delicious.
Before eating those pastas, I captured a bit of audio from the kitchen. You’ll hear that on today’s episode, followed by my interview with Chef Mike and Ryan. The three of us sat at one of the tables looking directly out over the ocean and had a really fun talk. I learned that Mike had played football at the University of British Columbia before making the change to follow another passion that runs in his family – cooking. Ryan came to the coast from Ontario, bringing with him a background in hospitality and management. Very interestingly, Ryan also went to culinary school himself so he understands the inner workings of kitchens as well as the front of house.
As you’ll hear, at Buono there really aren’t divisions between kitchen and tables, between cooks and servers. Everybody in the restaurant is on the same team. They literally removed a wall between the kitchen and the tables so that everyone could work together. Each guest that comes to Buono sees every staff member working to make their night memorable.
So join me now for this interview from my hometown of Gibsons, British Columbia. I’m excited to share it with you!