Volume 14 Issue 1 » 27
CRAFT CORNER KITCHEN
Craft Corner Kitchen opened in 2016
with a mission to be “community sourced,
community driven” in delivering great-
tasting food and beverages while creating a
fellowship of foodies. Owners Chef James
Holmes and double-duty Mixologist/
Bartender Jonathan Cote are joined by
like-minded colleagues, Chef Jason Meyers
and Chef/Baker Holly Kernohan.
Together they’ve crafted the place where
other chefs go, and in almost any visit,
you’ll find a who’s who of the food and
beverage industry. I’ve bumped into
regulars like Jay and Wendy Drysdale of
Bella Wines, Tyler Harlton of TH Wines,
Bradley Cooper from Serendipity Wine
along with partner/Black Cloud Wine
co-owner, Audralee Daum, plus Cannery
Brewing’s Ian Dyck. Bad Tattoo’s Rob
Theroux even has a secret burger.
Inside the restaurant there is a massive
hand-hewn wooden communal table
that dominates the room. It signals Craft
Corner’s sharing-plate concept. Some
diners are surprised as dishes arrive when
ready rather than fading under a heat lamp
to serve everyone at once.
Attention to bio-waste sets Craft Corner
apart. Holmes admits, “It took owning a
restaurant to be inspired by the untapped
wells of product. Grant Stevely, Dubh Glas
Distillery, suggested the botanicals left
from his Noteworthy Gin were still packed
with flavour. Jason Cox, The People’s
Crafthouse, advocated similarly about the
mashes and spices from his sodas.”
Holmes and Cote plunged into “urban
foraging” for passionate and practical
reasons to reuse rather than let something
go to waste, cut costs, and capitalize on
all that great flavour left. Beet parings, for
example, are transformed to sugar. Other
rescues comprise some 24 seasoning salts,
pickling juices and bar syrups at the ready.
Cote embraces the farm-to-glass mentality
offering classic drinks and new favourites
as a key advocate in the Okanagan
Cocktail Movement.
557 Main Street
Penticton, BC
(250) 493-2368
craftcornerkitchen.com