Happy Birthday, Daryl Kerr! 5 fun facts about our Executive Chef
Today we are happy to celebrate our creative leader and master chef Daryl Kerr who is turning 50. We want to wish him all the best in his career and personal life and a plenty of health, fun moments, and prosperity.
To honour his contribution to our company and to the culinary industry in Calgary, here are a couple of fun facts about Chef Daryl Kerr.
What does Daryl Kerr love most about being a chef?
Everything. I love creating new dishes and seeing people enjoy the food. When they smile as they try something new, that’s the best part. I feel like I’m a catering chef that destroys the stereotype that catering chefs can’t be creative. I love to experiment with plating designs, create interesting displays (like doing a vertical buffet made with old-fashioned swings and ladders), and trying new methods.
What are some crazy numbers you can tell that people would never believe?
How would you think catering a plated dinner for 900 people or serving 4000 people a day in the busy season could look like?
How has food and being in the culinary industry changed your life?
I can be really shy, but when I’m cooking, I come out of my shell. I get to interact with people to teach them about the dishes, and it’s made me a better person. It’s given me life lessons on how to treat people better. I’ve gained a passion for community involvement and charitable work, launching a program to feed hungry kids. I’ve become a teacher, encouraging aspiring chefs. During our high season, I manage almost 100 employees between three kitchens, helping to shape their culinary skills.
What’s Daryl Kerr’s culinary style:
Old school cooking with modernized style. While the food I create falls clearly on the modernized style I never forget the importance of classic “Old School” cookery. I’m known for taking creativity to the next level and designing avant-garde menu items that are not only exquisite but also presented in an artful way. Culinary creation and plating is an art and I like putting everything very funky and cool on the plate. Like any art form, influence can be drawn out from the most abstract stimulus and there is always room for fresh ideas.
What’s your career achievement to date?
Winning the Calgary 2016 Chef of the Year Award from the Calgary Academy of Chefs and Cooks, a branch of the Canadian Culinary Federation. They said I was picked for the award based on my passion for my craft, an unending pursuit of creativity and a commitment to promoting the local food industry.
Master chef Daryl Kerr is currently overseeing Foodies in the Park – a series of pop up dining events, hosted in unique garden domes situated in the heart of Fish Creek Provincial Park. Don’t miss the culinary event of the year:
