CULINARY NOTES ON FERNIE
Chef Jay Squires
Cirque Restaurant
Head Chef Jay Squires may be new
to the position at Cirque Restaurant
— he took over leadership of the
Lizard Creek Lodge kitchen late last
year — but it’s a role he’s been working
towards his whole life. As a 15-year-old
in Newport, Wales, he began working
as a restaurant dishwasher and later
spent a winter as a chalet cook honing
his prep skills. From there he travelled
to New Zealand and found more work
in restaurant kitchens. It’s a story many
Brits can connect with, and readily-
available restaurant work makes the
desire to travel an achievable goal.
It was in Australia that the job became a
career and Squires found his passion for
the industry, first working a fine dining
restaurant in the Great Barrier Reef
preparing a fresh menu based on each
day’s catch, and later in Melbourne.
Arguably one of the world’s top culinary
hot-spots, Melbourne attracts and
inspires the best in the industry where
the creative Mediterranean food scene
is heavily influenced by the established
Italian community.
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Squires took his passion for Italian
cooking back to Europe, working in
both Italy and France, and is now
pouring more than a decade of
experience into creating a fresh and
exciting menu to enhance the Fernie
culinary scene. His food philosophy
is simple – keep it fresh, keep it
tasty. Eschewing traditionally heavier
elements of Italian cuisine, he is
focusing on natural flavour profiles;
combining lighter ingredients and raw
elements and including vegan and
vegetarian dishes as menu staples.
Summer highlights will include
seasonally-inspired salads, seafood
pasta, and charcuterie boards great
for sharing. Heartier appetites won’t
be disappointed with dishes like the
locally-sourced elk ragout
on pappardelle.
Handmade pasta for dishes including
house ravioli and local produce from
Broxburn farms in Lethbridge keep
dishes clean and simple, while classic
desserts including tiramisu, panna cotta
and an airy flourless chocolate cake
round out the Italian-inspired menu.