Chef Patrick comes home

The Black Rooster Bar & Grill in Castlegar has a new chef

Patrick Tomelin is the new chef at the Black Rooster Bar & Grill in Castlegar, B.C. — Photo courtesy Patrick Tomelin

Patrick Tomelin has been the chef at the Black Rooster Classic Bar & Grill in Castlegar, B.C., since Mother's Day 2013. He said his style of cooking is classic, homestyle food, and he’s looking forward to incorporating a number of menu changes and updating the restaurant website.

Where do you find inspiration for your culinary creations?

The Food Network provides lots of ideas, especially some of my favourite celebrity chefs like Guy Fiori, Chuck Hughes and Gordon Ramsay. I also got lots of inspiration during my previous work experience, especially at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel—most of the chefs there were great mentors.

Is there a particular type of cuisine that you especially enjoy cooking?

I really like to keep on learning, so I prefer to not specialize in a particular cuisine. In my training I learned Japanese, German, Italian, Canadian and Chinese cuisine, and my background is Russian. I love to combine and fuse flavours from all cultures.

Which dish do you consider your signature?

I’m pretty excited about a new dish that I’m going to be putting on the menu: waffles and fried chicken, with a maple drizzle. It has incredible flavour and texture and I can’t wait to introduce Castlegar to this dish.