((Vancouver, Canada) - With a personal history deeply rooted in Vancouver, a high regard for French culinary techniques, and extensive experience in Japanese cuisine, Opus Hotel's award-winning executive chef Don Letendre, 37, has created a global dining experience that could only exist in British Columbia. Overseeing Elixir, the 155 seat bar and restaurant, as well as Opus Bar, this executive chef has positioned the Opus as one of the premiere dining destinations in Vancouver.

Catering to both the hotel's international clientele and the sophisticated local residents of Vancouver's trendy Yaletown, Letendre's menu reflects the chef's enlightened notion of creating up-to-the-minute cuisine without borders.

"My style of cooking is true world cuisine," explains Letendre. "The concepts could originate on the French Riviera, in India, Morocco, anywhere." Also particularly proud of the local produce of the Pacific Coast, Letendre serves regionally-inspired dishes that range from intensely sweet, freshly-caught Dungeness crab, exquisite herring roe still clinging to the kelp upon which it was spawned and assorted wild mushrooms. (Vancouver is one of the chanterelle capitals of the world.) Another example of Letendre's virtuosity where he blends locally harvested ingredients can be experienced in dishes such as perfumey pine mushrooms with hot soba dashi (a traditional Japanese broth) that one can drink like tea.

Being raised in Vancouver with its preponderance of world-class Japanese restaurants and after having spent two years apprenticing in Tokyo restaurants, Letendre is greatly influenced by Japanese cuisine. An aficionado of the wide range of Japanese culinary categories, Letendre does not limit himself to sushi and other popular Western imports. A proponent of simplicity, Letendre bemoans the fact that much food today is overly complicated. "Sometimes, excellent simple dishes are the most difficult to achieve."

Next Page