ATCO Kitchen Theatre :: Belgo Brasserie featuring Chris Joyce
www.belgo.ca
Belgo Brasserie is a Belgian brasserie and French Bistro. Belgo brings a perfect blend of nouveau and traditional French culture in the heart of the film and entertainment district. Customers will experience fresh European draft beers featuring Belgian style ales and lagers while indulging in casual French cuisine. Chris Joyce has been with Belgo Brasserie for a year and a half now. Embracing the French culture, he has used his 20yrs of culinary skills to create an unforgettable experience at Belgo unrivaled in the Calgary restaurant scene.
In search of a true Canadian mountain adventure, Chris moved to Jasper, Alberta at the young age of seventeen to work at a local Greek restaurant. His mountain adventure quickly became a culinary one when one evening he was thrown into the thick of things and instantly realized he was a natural in the kitchen. Encouraged to pursue the culinary arts, Chris moved to Edmonton where he began his studies at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology.
During an internship at Chateau Lacombe, the Executive Chef recognized Chris’s natural talent and invited him to join the Fairmont team. Following his time at the hotel, Chris worked at a private club in Edmonton, and was soon after lured by the call of the ocean and moved to the West Coast.
Upon arrival in Victoria, British Columbia, Chris participated in opening a restaurant, and then spent the next six years working in some of the finer restaurants throughout Victoria. In 2000, Chris became the Sous Chef at the Hotel Grand Pacific. He took this opportunity to develop relationships with local farmers and passed his new knowledge onto the customer through an innovative and fresh menu, which showcased his unique cooking style. The Chateau Victoria was the next stop for Chris where he was appointed their Executive Chef and season after season reinvented the menu, taking comfort food to the next level.
Chris moved to Calgary and was appointed Restaurant Chef of Thomsons Restaurant at Hyatt Regency Calgary in June 2005. "You have to stay sharp in this industry," states Chris. "Hyatt and Thomsons Restaurant encourage me to be creative and push the limits of everyone’s expectations. At the same time, I’m able to take my career to the next level under the tutelage of Executive Chef Max Labhardt". For the thousands of travelers and guests that dine at Thomsons, Christopher Joyce does a tremendous job of making them all welcome in his home.
For more information, please contact:
ATCOKitchenTheatre@westernshowcase.com
