SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
For Dorothy Leon and Junde Leon, the cafe at the legislative assembly is more than a place to sell and serve Filipino cuisine.
Epic Grill's chef Junde Leon prepares thinly sliced sirloin steak in the kitchen at the legislative assembly. He and his wife Dorothy recently moved into the space after winning a two-year restaurant and catering contract. - Karen K. Ho/NNSL photo |
"It's a big opportunity," Junde told Yellowknifer.
"It's an honour and a pleasure to serve the Government of the Northwest Territories," Dorothy added. "We have a commitment to them to do our best."
The Filipino-Canadian couple behind the Epic Grill restaurant and catering company recently moved into the small, 28-seat space in the back corner of the government building at the beginning of April after winning a two-year contract.
The Leons had been running their private catering business on the weekends for years, but will now exclusively cater events for the territorial government. Junde said it's a big deal for their reputation to be serving government officials. Despite the workload and the much smaller working space, he and Dorothy want to focus on cooking everything themselves to ensure quality and consistency.
"Once you're a chef, it doesn't matter how small is the kitchen, as long as you know how to handle it," he said.
Shortly before the Leons had landed the contract for the legislative cafe, they were actually thinking about leaving Yellowknife to move back to British Columbia to be closer to their family. They had lived in the city for three years, initially moving here when Junde landed a job as a chef at the Explorer Hotel. But they wanted to see their children and grandchildren in Vancouver this summer.
Dorothy was alerted to the request-for-proposal by a customer and wrote it over many nights.
The government contract stipulated that no deep fried items are allowed on the menu, so for now the Leons only offer simple breakfast items like eggs Benedict or French toast and three types of Si-Logs: Filipino plates with garlic fried rice and eggs made to order. They also offer longanisa, a Philippine sweet sausage, tapa, which is thinly sliced, marinated and spiced top round sirloin steak and tocino, a thinly sliced and seasoned pork shoulder or loin.
The Leons said that they plan on expanding the menu in the future and look into hiring students and additional staff when the legislative assembly gets busier. They have also applied to the Business Development and Investment Corporation for a grant to purchase warming equipment.
The month of April is going to be extremely busy for the couple, who have to juggle weekday duties at the legislative cafe, and then running their restaurant at the Arnica Inn on the weekends until their lease ends at the beginning of May. However, they're unfazed by the nonstop pace. "We came here for work," Junde said.
The couple sees their presence at the legislative assembly as also representing something bigger than themselves. Dorothy cited chef Cristeta Comerford, who is also Filipino, and the chef for the president of the United States. "It's a very unexpected achievement."
"We're not bringing this just for the two of us," Junde said. "It's for all the Filipino community."
