Andre Saint-Jacques is a Renaissance man with several potent passions. Saint-Jacques, the owner of Bearfoot Bistro in Whistler, is among the foremost experts on Champagne in North America. His "Bistro" is without a doubt one of the top two or three restaurants in British Columbia and will be a featured offering on the "big picture" of the food and wine scene in B.C. in an upcoming edition of naturaltraveler.com. Since I'll be chatting about the brilliance of Saint-Jacques again - yeah, he's that good - let's isolate the elements that make Bearfoot Bistro so unique:

THE WINE & CHAMPAGNE: Consider the possibilities of a restaurant in the best ski resort in North America that has a reserve wine selection featuring Dom Perignon, vertical back to ’66; Chateau Petrus, vertical back to ’70; Chateau Mouton Rothschild, vertical back to ’48; and Chateau Lafite Rothschild, vertical back to '11. Saint-Jacques built, at great expense, a state-of-the-art Champagne bar that allows the bubbly to stay cold at all times while fibre-optic lighting (under the bar) illuminates the Champagne flute in shades of red, green and blue. To quote Marlon Brando in "Streetcar Named Desire": "Let's get those colored lights a going!"

THE FOOD: Chef Brock Windsor, as handy with a golf club as with a whisk or a spatula, has been at Bearfoot for the past four years, following a successful three-year stint at the famous Sooke Harbour House in Victoria. Windsor is a wizard-merging the powers of the dark side and the more accessible Harry-Potter like charms-with a penchant for blending eclectic flavors and textures. Fish and game are the staples on the menu, and of course the excellent raw ingredients come mostly from the great white north (aka Canada):

To wit: Seared Quebec Foie Gras, peppered brioche toasts, crabapple puree and sugar fried rosemary; Tamari-glazed line-caught Tofino Black Cod with hot cucumbers vinaigrette, herbal salad and sesame oil; lightly smoked Sockeye salmon, fine bean and potatoes, crème fraiche and Quebec caviar; Live roasted Atlantic lobster with a white chocolate sauce, vanilla parsnip puree, purple potatoes and fennel bulb; Loin of Wild Arctic Caribou with a purple mustard and beetroot sauce, preserved morels, braised endive, russet potato terrine; Filet of dry aged Alberta Buffalo, foie gras emulsion, rosemary roesti, leeks and celery root; and Baked David Woods's aged goat's cheese (see the August edition of nt.com for a complete article on David Woods's Salt Spring Island Goat Cheese), with walnuts, greens, bosc pear and Venturi-Shultz vinegar; and samplings of Artisinal cheeses from British Columbia, Quebec and France served with crackers, Baguette, toasted nuts and fresh fruit.

THE SERVICE: Saint-Jacques has a first-rate staff that includes Roland Doya, a friendly, intelligent and patient fellow from the South of France who knows his wine and food the way Julia Child knows her way around a chicken avec citron; Kirk Shaw, an erudite sommelier with the real take on wines from all over the world; Brian Storne, a seasonal sommelier (winter only) who is perhaps the foremost expert on B.C. wines in the world; and general manager John Baldwin who-along with Andre - ties this close-knit group together in a cohesive team.

THE AMBIENCE: At the end of the day, the thing that sets Bearfoot Bistro apart from most five-star quality restaurants is the laidback, fun and entertaining ambience. "We are here to entertain and provide a relaxing atmosphere for our customers," said Saint-Jacques. "Bearfoot is quite different from a comparable restaurant in an urban setting, where the vibe is very serious, stuffy and quiet enough to let business deals get done. Here in Whistler, people are on holiday and so the name of the game is relaxation, fun and the best food and wine available."

Bearfoot Bistro-4121 Village Green, Whistler, B.C.; Tel.: 604-932-3433.
Reservations and more information are available on the Web at www.bearfootbistro.com.

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