Help Wanted: “L’Abattoir” Seeks Experienced Chef De Partie
July 22, 2010
Scout supporter L’Abattoir Restaurant in Gastown is seeking a reliable, motivated chef de partie immediately. Please reply by email in confidence to info@labattoir.ca with a resume detailing no less than 2-3 years experience. We look forward to hearing from you.
Thoughts And Photos From The First Few Days At “L’Abattoir”
July 20, 2010
Those were a fun first few days at L’Abattoir in Gastown. With the kitchen in calibration mode to perfect their timing, the pace was calculated so as to guarantee necks above water until close. The door was managed really well, and the action was all very smooth from my vantage point on the pass (the busy communications and exchange station in the kitchen where the plates are finished by the chef and then distributed to the staff). Almost as many customers were turned away as were seated on opening night, which is, I think, a jolly good harbinger of things to come.
From valet parking needs to service protocols, some interesting dynamics are already emerging, the most fascinating of them being those generated by the neighbourhood itself. As I’m sure most of you are aware, Gastown enjoys a late crowd these days, especially on weekends, and since the kitchen only stays open until 10:30pm, it’s Shaun and David at the bar who are receiving the wave of latecomers. As we are busily shutting down (polishing silver and stemware), they get pretty well slammed with folks keen to take a peek, wish them well and get their drink on. They’re both solid pros, however, dudes long accustomed to high volume. Most of my experience has been at slightly more formal restaurants that don’t attract a crowd seeking Negronis and Manhattans, so it’s weird to be finished with food service and then confronted with a crush of bodies at the bar. It’s pretty awesome. Read more
Training Days Inside Gastown’s Highly Anticipated “L’Abattoir”
July 15, 2010
As regular readers might remember, I’m writing a feature for Vancouver Magazine on table service in the city and how it’s been evolving with our restaurant scene. To gain some insight, I’m putting the old apron back on (God help you all) and getting back to work. I’ll be at South Granville’s storied West Restaurant for a night later this summer, but right now I’m concentrating on the opening of L’Abattoir in Gastown (I’ve been invited to clock in at Deacon’s Corner, too, and I hope to be able to make that happen, too).
So far it’s been a lot of fun. We did cocktail and wine training yesterday and talked a little about service philosophy and the different protocols associated with each (table settings, approach, et cetera). It’s been fascinating to watch them try and create their own style to suit their vision for the restaurant. I’m really very psyched about the whole “embedded” experience, though not a little freaked that I might drop something. In a few hours we start the final menu tasting, followed by a proper dry run of friends and family. The opening to the public, if all goes well, should be a ‘go’ for Friday (knock on wood). Lots of photos of the room and our training sessions after the jump. Read more
On Staff Orientation & Service Stories @ Gastown’s L’Abattoir
June 29, 2010
I’ve started researching for a couple of features for Vancouver magazine this week. One of them is on restaurant service across the city, which as I’m sure you’re aware can range from the outright deplorable to the superbly air tight. I’m taking it as an opportunity to work shifts at three different establishments that will hopefully reveal to readers some of the different kinds of styles and philosophies represented in the more fascinating coves of our restaurant scene. One of these will be the soon-to-open L’Abattoir in Gastown.
It’s my hope that participating in service through the prism of a hotly anticipated restaurant opening will prove of interest on several levels, not least because the exhilarating systems check that is opening night is something that only happens once in a restaurant’s lifetime. It’s then that you discover what works and what doesn’t, and when experience steps in to calibrate.
Staff orientation began yesterday, with the fourteen member front of house crew (several familiar faces) in their civvies listening to co-owner/chef Lee Cooper going over the menu, wine guy Jake Skakun explaining the list, and bar manager Shaun Layton (interview) presenting his cocktail list in a room that was still very much under construction (see pics below).
Though I wasn’t umbilically attached like the other staff, I was still a little nervous. It had been about 10 years since I’d done any sort of orientation in a restaurant, and nearly four since I hung up my apron and started writing full time. I’d like to think floor work is “old hat” or like shoes I can just slip back on whenever the fancy strikes, but the butterflies suggested very much otherwise. Good times… Read more
Shaun Layton Dishes On Life & Leaving George For L’Abattoir
May 27, 2010
We sat down with recently anointed Bartender of the Year Shaun Layton yesterday for a long delayed interview and were surprised to learn that he’d just given his notice at George Ultra Lounge in Yaletown after two and a half years of solid service there. Read more
New Restaurant “L’Abattoir” To Open In Gastown This Summer…
April 9, 2010
A new Gastown restaurant is under construction in the original Irish Heather location at 217 Carrall. Demolition began yesterday. It’s called L’Abattoir, a name chosen to speak to the space’s proximity to Blood Alley (‘slaughterhouse’ in French is so much sexier).
Such a moniker might weird some people out, but if Judas Goat can pull off a name that sounds like a Norwegian death metal band’s sophomore album, L’Abattoir’s a total go. I’ve been assured that there will be no carcasses hanging from the ceiling, and blood splattering is not a motif currently being entertained by the designer.
The front of house will be the realm of co-owner Paul Grunberg, former GM at Chambar and Market (most recently he’s been moonlighting at Bao Bei), and the back of house is in the hands of co-owner/chef Lee Cooper. Applying his business acumen to the project is Nin Rai. He went to Malaspina with Cooper, and owns Truffles Fine Foods with chef David Lee. A young, hungry group.
Grunberg is a known entity to me (and you, if you get out much). I’ve seen what he’s done, loved where he’s done it at, and recognise him as one of the city’s top drawer managers. Though this may be his first swing of the independence bat, I don’t doubt his abilities one bit, especially since he’s personally invested.
Cooper is a total mystery to me, and that’s what excites me the most. The 31 year old seems like a really nice guy – the nephew of none other than Okanagan pioneer Bernard Casavant (was Burrowing Owl, now Manteo). He’s made the right moves staging; training at some big guns (London’s Tom Aitkens, Maze, and most recently at Napa’s Ubuntu); and was once upon a time a chef de partie at the storied Fat Duck. Closer to home, he did a stint under Michael Allemeier (interview) at Mission Hill, moving on to sous chef positions at Scott Jaeger’s award-winning Pear Tree and Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Market in the Shangri-La Hotel. Though I’ve never eaten a morsel from the man, having read that back I sure as hell want to.
The approach he’s taking to the food seems straightforward. Though they don’t want to be pigeon-holed, from what I gather it’ll be affordable, modern French with bouts of rustic classicism and plenty of attention being paid to details. They won’t be afraid to take chances, Grunberg told me, but they’ll do so with confidence. Sounds plenty like Boneta up the street, which is a very good thing as there are plenty of beery, jolly joints in Gastown, and only the one swipe at excellence. An extra dash of the stuff wouldn’t hurt, and Lord knows Boneta could use the company. Read more
L’Abattoir
October 5, 2008
Details
217 Carrall St, Gastown | Vancouver, BC
Telephone: 604-568-1701
Email: info@labattoir.ca
Website: www.labattoir.ca
Twitter | Facebook
Gallery
Hours
Open 7 evenings a week, 5:30pm to 10:30pm
Kitchen closes at 10pm | Bar service until midnight
The Team
Paul Grunberg | General Manager
Lee Cooper | Chef
Jake Skakun | Sommelier
Shaun Layton | Head Barman
About
L’Abattoir is located in the center of Gastown between historic Gaoler’s Mews and Blood Alley. The restaurant was built in the 19th century and is the site of Vancouver’s first jail. Originally buttressed to the city’s main butchery and meat packing district, the name L’Abattoir pays homage to the neighbourhood’s colourful past.
Set in a refurbished brick and beam building that combines classic French tile work with industrial fixtures, natural wood, and glass and steel finishes, the restaurant offers a bar and lounge setting, elevated dining room and plush, sun soaked atrium.
Chef Lee Cooper and General Manager Paul Grunberg are dedicated to highlighting the finer points of eating and drinking in L’Abattoir’s informed but informal setting. French-influenced West Coast fare is paired with Sommelier Jake Skakun’s eclectic wine program and Head Barman Shaun Layton’s innovative cocktail list to offer a truly unique dining experience.
Press
“Fresh market-driven flavours, innovative fare, handsome rooms, winsome cocktails and wine list – who could ask for more?” | Alexandra Gill, The Globe & Mail
“L’Abattoir, I gotta say, nails it. I got very excited over the food.” | Mia Stainsby,
Vancouver Sun
