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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Many 16-year-olds, when left home alone by their travelling parents, would throw a party in their house and let loose.

Not Terry Giannakos, whose Greek parents left him in charge of the kitchen in their restaurant on Vancouver Island.

Terry Giannakos, food and beverage manager of The Yellowknife Inn, looks through several colour schemes being considered for a redesign of The Mackenzie Lounge, which is set to re-open in early November. - Guy Quenneville/NNSL photo

Giannakos, now 41 and recently hired as the food and beverage manager at The Yellowknife Inn, said that teenage crash course in responsibility informed the rest of his career, which most recently included stints at the Grouse Mountain Ski Resort in Vancouver and the Buffalo Point International Resort in Manitoba.

The pull of family - his parents, two kids and sister live in B.C. - as well as desire to serve up Northern meats persuaded him to move up North.

"I've worked right across Canada," he said. "I wanted to see the dynamics of using the Northern Arctic char, the bison, the caribou, the muskox. I hadn't experienced that type of culinary challenge."

While he's been warned about challenges that would shock his southern counterparts but are normal to business people in Yellowknife, Giannakos said he was still taken aback by the high cost of shipping goods and the larger delivery window operators must contend with.

"The cost of freight up here for all goods is amazing," he said. "Plus it's a three-day lead time for us between when we place the order and when we receive it. I'm not used to that. Everywhere else I've been, you order product today and you get it tomorrow."

The high cost of freight has meant Giannakos must exercise more caution than before.

"In today's market, food costs and labour costs are your killers. That can make or break you. If you're not on top of your food and labour costs, it doesn't matter how many people you have walking through your door."

Not that he's complaining; the logistical challenges of the North are part of what attracted him to the job.

"I love a challenge," he said.

Giannakos arrived in time for a slew of changes to The Yellowknife Inn, which just completed renovations at its hotel plus L'Attitudes Restaurant & Bistro. And a change-up is being planned for the on-again, off-again Mackenzie Lounge.

"We just officially decided, as of last week, to re-open The Mackenzie Lounge," he said, adding light renovations, like painting, will be done to give the Scottish-themed lounge a brighter, warmer atmosphere.

The renovations should be complete in time for the Yk Inn's official Nov. 7 grand re-opening to mark its improvements, added Giannakos.

The Yk Inn was recently awarded the contract for the Aurora Geoscience Forum gala dinner on Nov. 19, which Giannakos will host on the second floor of the Centre Square Mall, covering the storefronts, lining the hall with black drapes and other decorations in addition to flying in staff from Calgary to serve a total of 250 people.

"It's an out-of-the-box idea and I'm glad the organizing committee of the forum was open to it," said Giannakos.

Yk Inn manager Derek Carmody said he chose Giannakos for the job because "he's aggressive. He's (fitting) in very well with the staff."

Carmody added he is grooming Giannakos to eventually become his assistant general manager, though he already serves as "my right hand man."