Lumière owner-cum-culinary genius Robert "Rob" Feenie is the most unpretentious French-trained chef on the face of the earth. A Canadian in every sense of the word-and I mean that in a favorable way, Feenie is a gifted hockey player and cyclist, Vancouver Canucks fanatic and a cultural observer on provocative subjects ranging from Canadian-born baseball players (B.C. native Jeff Zimmerman of the Texas Rangers is a fan of Feenie's cooking) to the latest snow conditions in Nelson and Whistler.

Feenie, no slouch on any subject concerning refined cooking, is also able to quote famous French chef Joel Robuchon verbatim: "...great food can only be made from great food products and simplicity is much more difficult to achieve than any complicated cuisine."

Dinner at Lumière is a highlight of any visit to the beautiful city of Vancouver-and that is saying quite a lot, as this is one of the most underrated restaurant towns in North America.

The muted lighting in the foyer, spilling over a long bar of sparkling crystal and superbly made martinis and Campari sodas with orange peel, morphs into a comfortable dining room that is neither formal (jackets are appropriate but wearing a tie is not required) nor overly rigid in the service department. The staff is very friendly and up-to-date on the latest B.C. reds or French whites. But this is not an uptight French restaurant with cloying waiters and sauces composed of so much butter and cream that you need a quick trip to the E.R. after your dessert course and "Le Fromage."

Feenie takes umbrage at the very notion that true French cooking must be defined by the traditional parameters of rich sauces and the so-called "Western" ingredients.

"I really don't agree with the notion that you have to follow a preset formula that rules out using Asian elements or atypical nuances that give a dish its texture and flavor," said Feenie, who trained in France, travels all over the world to do cooking demonstrations and has for years hosted his own show on the Canadian Food Network. "There's a bias against taking chances and experimenting with new approaches to cooking French cuisine, but as long as the cooking methods are traditional, the dishes can be unique, creative and innovative."

Menu options at Lumière run the gamut from seafood to vegetarian to beef and fowl. Feenie's preparation of the beef tenderloin, braised short ribs and "pot-au-feu" (roasted pheasant and duck maigret with fall vegetables in a Peking duck broth) aptly demonstrate his symbiotic relationship with French cooking styles and eclectic ingredients.

To wit: The tenderloin is pan-seared with fois gras and shaved black truffles; the short ribs are stuffed into raviolis with shimji mushrooms and shaved reggiano; and the "pot-au-feu" merges the French (maigret) with the Asian (Peking duck broth).

My in-the-trenches dining experience-two distinct dinners spaced several months apart, unearthed the opinion that it is worth going for the "The Signature Menu," ($120 Canadian per person), which features small portions of many of the dishes that define Feenie's integrative style of French cooking.

Typical offerings include pink scallop ceviche with lime, honey tangerine vinaigrette and basil oil-very light and refreshing; vodka cured arctic char with crème fraiche and caviar-again, the freshness of the ingredients make this combination of flavors merge perfectly; salad of Dungeness crab &Atlantic lobster with mango and pineapple in a curry, lime and lobster vinaigrette-Atlantic lobster in British Columbia...wow!; crispy sweetbreads and carmelized scallops with oven-dried tomatoes, pancetta crisps, pak choy and caper-raisin sauce - note the Asian influence; "la poisson" with citrus segments, braised endive and blood-orange-tapenade reduction; roasted squab breast sautéed parsnip, crosnes, cippolini and carmelized onion jus-I'm no fan of squab but this is how you make it seem refined; braised beef short-rib ravioli and black angus beef tenderloin; and a selection of Québec and French cheeses followed by two of the best desserts on any menu in the world-persimmon panna cotta with poire William anglaise and chocolate chestnut torte with chocolate sorbetto.

Reservations are recommended, so book a table before leaving on your trip to Vancouver. If you are on a tight budget, consider Lumière 's bar menu - no dish costs more than $12 Canadian. Feenie's dedication to classic cooking is once again obvious with a brilliant beef dip served with fries and salad and more finesse-type dishes such as albacore tuna sashimi and red kuri squash &marscapone ravioli with black truffle beurre blanc.

Chef Feenie plans to open a more casual restaurant, to be known quite simply as Feenie's, which will expand the bar menu and include a Sunday night roast beef dinner and a Monday night rib special. Look for Feenie's to open in May or June 2003.

Lumière Restaurant — Lumière@relaischateaux.com
2551 West Broadway
Vancouver, B.C.
V6K 2E9
Phone: 604-739-8185; Fax: 604-739-8139

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James Rosenthal has written on food and wine for The Wine Spectator and San Jose Mercury News. He also writes sports instructional books, the latest being "Randy Johnson's Power Pitching" (Crown Books; 2003).

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