Everything was going smoothly for Jason Munn, chef and owner of Jasper’s Syrahs restaurant – as smooth as a knife through butter.
That is until a wildfire ravaged the townsite, destroying almost 360 structures, including Syrahs. With a nearly five-star rating on Google and rave reviews, Syrahs was a town favourite.
The restaurant even caught the attention of John Gilchrist, the host of Cuisine of the Rockies, a TV series streaming on Tubi.
The series follows Gilchrist and his camera crew to tourism towns where chefs across the Bow Valley showcase their cuisine.
“We want to talk to the chef in the kitchen and…then we go out in the dining room, and we sit down, and we have food and talk about it; we talk about life and living (and cooking) in the Rockies,” explained Gilchrist.
Gilchrist is no amateur food critic. He has almost 40 years of experience reviewing restaurants for the Calgary Herald, CBC Radio, and other publications.
Cuisine of the Rockies is an eight-episode series that features 17 restaurants, including Munn’s Syrahs. Munn’s episode was shot before the recent wildfire devastated Jasper.
“I just feel so badly about the Jasper situation. I know for a lot of people it’s going to be hard to watch that episode where we’re in Jasper where we’re walking the streets, and we see everything the way it was before,” said Gilchrist.
Many people are still processing the tragedy that consumed a third of Jasper, but the town’s residents are focused on the future and rebuilding.
This week, Jasper announced that several trails, businesses, and areas are now open or soon will be open, including banks, lodgings, gas stations, restaurants, the post office, and tourist services.
A Proven Recipe For Success
After being completely destroyed, Syrahs isn’t among the Jasper restaurants being reopened, but Munn isn’t ready to hang up the apron yet.
“Currently, my plans are to stay in Jasper and create something memorable like Syrahs again. The restaurant meant so much to so many people, and that has inspired me to bring that experience to guests again,” Munn told the Rocky Mountain Outlook.
Syrahs was named after Shiraz (Syrah), the dark red grape used to make wine. It comes as no surprise that the restaurant’s menu was chock full of wine, including Syrahs.
Better yet, Syrahs would even re-cork any unfinished bottles for you to take home! The restaurant advertised its menu as Canadian-inspired and featured elk, salmon, and game meats like bison, yak, and duck.
Syrahs’ standout menu item was The Chef’s Dinner, which was “what Chef (Munn) eats after work.”
The dish included a charcuterie board of house-made game sausage, candied boar bacon, and venison salami served with house pickles, warm olives and almonds, flavoured mustard, toasted focaccia, and a baked pretzel. The dinner also came with the option to add a selection of Canadian cheeses.
Cuisine of the Rockies showcased the best Syrahs had to offer before the wildfire destroyed it. Munn is grateful to have had the opportunity to highlight his restaurant, even if Syrahs won’t benefit from the exposure.
Unfortunately, anyone interested in visiting Syrahs after seeing it on Cuisine of the Rockies won’t get the chance, but a similar experience isn’t out of the question.
Munn plans to create a restaurant as memorable as Syrahs, stating, “(Syrahs) meant so much to so many people, and that has inspired me to bring that experience to guests again.”Some of Alberta’s best restaurants are found in the Rockies, and Syrahs was one of them. Munn has the talent, experience, and determination to cook up something just as good as Syrahs, if not better, and our taste buds are ready for it.
