Flames erupt from the pan as Oleg Bozovic flips a mixture of sliced onions, peppers and carrots over searing heat and tosses the mixture into a bowl with crispy potato cubes. His artful gestures launch slivers of green onion into the air while his laser focus guides them into the swirl of colour and seasoning.
“Cooking is my life, for the rest of my life,” says Bozovic. His commitment to the trade is resolute. Here at Blue Mountain Resort he is affectionately known as Chef Oleg.
There was never any question about Chef Oleg’s career path, his parents owned a restaurant on the outskirts of Sarajevo in the former Yugoslavia but fled the country during the civil war. When his family arrived in Canada, both his mother and father found work in the restaurant industry. “I remember being very young and being in the kitchen,” says Chef Oleg.
Muscle memory guides his movements as he prepares and plates one of everything on a brand new menu at the Pottery Restaurant. Everything must be perfect. He is setting the standard here while food photographer Heather Goldsworthy works in the dining room documenting every morsel that comes out of the storied kitchen. But presentation is only part of the process being measured here.
“Making sure your training and consistency is there and then your timing too,” Chef Oleg explains the importance of training as he infuses his own passion for food into the people around him. “I show them, this is how it is plated, this is what it tastes like, here are some tasting notes, details of the local products,” he continues. “The servers need to tell the story as well—and the only way they can be excited is if they see the passion coming from me.”
Originally known as the Pottery Room, the restaurant is steeped in tradition and has long been a fine dining destination at the mountain. The name pays homage to Blue Mountain Pottery, the world-famous ceramics that emerged from Jozo Weider’s Ski Barn in the 1950s. The ceramics business helped Weider fund the resort’s growth at the time.
Located hillside at the Blue Mountain Inn, the restaurant is now rebranded and revamped around the glow of the central fireplace.
“Going back to having a dinner operation is really exciting for the team. We’ve always been passionate about the dinner offering,” says Tiffany McPhatter, Blue Mountain’s director of food and beverage. “When we brainstormed about it, we wanted to get back to Blue’s alpine roots with Eastern European influences and create a menu that was authentic and inspired by the ski culture Jozo started here.”
The brunch menu includes some variety like eggs benedict three different ways as well as comfort foods with a Bavarian flair. Diners might want to be social and try the cheese fondue or play it safe and go it alone with a burger.
“Like the mountain, we want the Pottery Alpine Restaurant to be the go-to dining experience for locals and visitors alike.” says McPhatter.
Back in the kitchen, Chef Oleg applies his “make it from scratch” philosophy to everything from his carefully seasoned chicken schnitzel to the sauerkraut. “I can buy sauerkraut. It’s not a very expensive product but we can make it much better.” Chef Oleg goes on to describe the perfect marriage between cabbage and salt.
“Jozo would be proud,” he laughs.
