In the kitchen at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel

Although I’ve lived my entire life here in Canada, I had never been to Alberta until now. I’m staying at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel to be precise, which is in my opinion, a fairy tale castle. The scenery around here isn’t the only thing that’s spectacular – all it takes is one meal at the hotel to see that the cuisine here is fit for a king. So when the chance came up to meet the hotel’s Executive Chef Martin Luthi, you can bet I jumped on it. I’m even more thrilled to learn that we’re able to bring in a camera to capture what happens behind the scenes in the kitchen while they prepare a dinner for 650 guests!

Come with us as we take a peek!



Once the filming is done, I have the opportunity to chat with the chef for a bit. I’m impressed by the fact that Chef Luthi has been with the hotel since 1974 - he’d originally planned to stay only a year to work and learn the language, but loved it and decided to stay. I can’t say that I blame him. After discussing his background for a bit, we get to one question he found to be quite unique. It was passed along by my fellow blogger and a chef-in-training, Carrie, whom I excitedly tweeted as soon as my interview was confirmed. She wondered if the Chef had any guilty pleasures – you know, something you would never guess he enjoys. Although it’s not odd at all, I find it charming to learn that Chef Luthi loves comfort food just like the rest of us. And to him, that means the rösti and veal loaf that he grew up on in Switzerland.

Since I’m a little star-stuck by the chef, I ask if there are any celebrities he was excited to cook for. I’m thrilled to learn that he loves Robin Williams as much as I do, and am wowed as he shows me photos of himself with Alec Baldwin in the hotel kitchen. But his favorite celebrity meeting wasn’t a Hollywood A-lister, it was former astronaut Eugene Cernan and I have to agree, that’s pretty darn cool.

Later on, while I sit among the group of 650 guests enjoying the evening’s meal, I have a whole new perspective on the process it took to create it. And when we get to the Intermezzo course and the ice globes filled with champagne granité are brought out, there isn’t a person in the room that isn’t amazed by the chef’s work of art.

A special thanks to Sophie Bujold who captured a great shot of the intermezzo course.