Best Whistler 2012

GOLD: ARAXI

Silver: Bearfoot Bistro  |  Bronze: Aura |  Honourable Mentions: Fifty Two 80 Bistro and Bar & Sidecut

James Walt’s relationship with local farmers and producers accounts for the fine ingredients on your plate at Araxi; his artistry in the kitchen is what makes them sing. And, one judge pointed out, “Samantha Rahn does an excellent job of matching his work with bottles from her well-stocked wine room.” Intense competition from Whistler’s other first-rate rooms keep Walt on top of his game. At Bearfoot Bistro, even Andre Saint-Jacques’s “ebullience, vast wine cellar, and vodka-filled ice room” can’t overshadow the “sophisticated textures and tastes of chef Melissa Craig’s creations.” Aura at Nita Lake Lodge—“the most unsung restaurant in the region”—took Bronze, thanks to the “top-notch ingredients and impeccable technique” of executive chef Tim Cuff. Sister restos Fifty Two 80 and Sidecut—both in the Four Seasons—also earned acclaim from the judges.

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