SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Two weeks ago, not long after starting his new job as seasonal chef at Blachford Lake Lodge, Simon Brown found himself in the enviable position of being the only person on the lake.

Chef Simon Brown, seasonal chef at Blachford Lake Lodge, returns from a trip to the garden with a bowl full of green lettuce and a can of bearspray. - Guy Quenneville/NNSL photo

"I'd been there just a couple of days and Mike (Freeland, owner of the lodge) had to go back to Yellowknife," said Brown, a British antiquities dealer who came to Yellowknife from the village of Knebworth.

"He left me up here for three days alone. Absolutely nobody here. Not another person for 75 miles except for me, up here, cooking in the lodge.

"On one of those nights, I saw absolutely stunning Northern lights, from one far end of the lake to the other end."

It's a long way from travelling all over Europe in search of Egyptian and Roman antiquities and selling them to American clients, but for Brown, it was exactly the kind of break he needed.

"I decided that I wanted to do some travelling and just get away for a while," said Brown. "I put the business on hold and just wanted to get somewhere completely different, really off the beaten track."

Yellowknife's history as a centre of exploration for gold and other highly-sought commodities appealed to the prospector in Brown.

"I liked the fact that the town was founded on the gold rush. I like a real hard-working town and ... I wanted to get a real experience and meet Canadian people."

Brown has cooked in hotels and country clubs in London, but this is his first time in Canada, which gives him a chance to try traditional English cooking on both Canadian guests and travellers from all over the world.

"I cooked last night for a couple that had come up from Venezuela and prepared them a Sunday roast," he said.

Yesterday, Federal Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff was slated to arrive at the lodge.

"I find myself in the very strange position of cooking for possibly the next Prime Minister," said Brown.

With a steady history of solid French chefs, the lodge wasn't looking to change up its game; Brown – who was hired after several exchanged emails and phone calls – simply came at the right time, said Freeland.

"We weren't seeking anything different. Simon is just kind of a unique connection; he certainly brings an English flair," he said.

"He's got a varied background," added Freeland. "He's got a lot of different skills and cheffing is one of them. It's one of his passions, so he's enjoying getting back into that."