Beckta gossip [General]

2006 Sep 17
So... Stephen Vardy, former chef at Beckta (Beckta) is now chef at Par-fyum (Par-Fyum ).

2006 Nov 9
Yes he is. Parfyum is great. The look an feel of the place is fantastic, very glam and trendy. The food is exquisite although the selection is small...what they do, they do well. The service varies from perfection to frustration, changing every visit. Hopefully that part will even out. The art on the walls is by the restaurant owner, Caroline.

2006 Nov 29
Did you read Ottawa Citizen that Stephen Vardy is leaving par-fyum after only three months for another venture (???). Does anyone know the details and reason?

2006 Dec 17
re: Ashley's comment from a few weeks ago -- Stephen Vardy is now at The Whalesbone Oyster (The Whalesbone Bank). Article from the citizen about him: www.canada.com

2006 Dec 17
I know the brother of the executive chef at Beckta, so I will have to get the 411 on that.

2006 Dec 17
Thanks, Candice. I think Vardy starts a trend in Ottawa. What he wants to do is already a trend in Hong Kong for few years. We call this gourment food at home kitchen. Famous chefs offer home-based environment to limited number of guests. The guests feel like eating at friends' place and can iteract with the chef. Good initiative for Vardy.

2007 Jan 5
I heard Vardy left Par-Fyum due to a conflict with the owner one night after closing. Not sure if the whole story is true or not....I will leave it at that.

2007 Jan 9
It is true he is now at the Whalesbone on Bank, best oysters in town.

2007 Jan 10
I was in Whalesbone "before and after Vardy" and I can say that their menu was improved after he came. Now you can find lighter and better plates. Unfortunately the wine list is still poor and short even after Vardy advent.

2007 Jan 17
Mr Red...I have a couple of friends who work there (servers, not cooks) and the owners there seem pretty passionate about their restaurant. I'm sure if you wanted a specific wine brought in for you they would try to accomodate you. In my experience most owners are always looking for ways to improve their service and bringing in different wines seems a pretty low hassle way to do that.

2007 Jan 17
Mousseline.........I'm not complaining of Whalesbone servers(your friends), since I think that their service is satisfying. I think simply that who's responsible for Whalesbone wine list (and you can sure that your friends are not) could improve up on the range of wines to offer to his customers. In my experience most owners are always looking for ways to improve their profit and bringing in different wine seems a pretty high hassle way to do that.

2007 Jan 17
Whoa there Red...I didn't think you were complaining, just making an observation. I haven't eaten at the Whalesbone yet I've really only dropped by to talk to my friend or hang out at the bar waiting for him to finish work. The owners there seem really approachable, so I wondered if you have asked them to bring in any other wines for you. And hassle if all relative...bringing in a couple of new wines doesn't seem like that much of a hassle...changes that require major renovations etc count as "high hassle". As for the profit thing...no business owner wants to lose money, but the folks at the Whalesbone seem pretty committed to quality. Perhaps they just know more about seafood than they do about wine.