Chef Check In – Mark Filatow, Waterfront Restaurant and Wine Bar
In this blog series, we are checking in on some of the chefs whose recipes are featured on our website. We’ll touch base with them, and find out how their lives, and careers, have changed since their recipe’s debut.
For this feature, we reunite with Chef Mark Filatow whose Ambrosia Apple and Roasted Squash Soup Recipe is featured here.
With over twenty years of experience, Chef Filatow represents the pinnacle of culinary excellence and is the driving force behind Waterfront Restaurant and Wine Bar. After being accepted into the coveted Sommelier Guild in 2001, he also gained the distinction of being one of the only chefs in Canada with this level of skill in food and wine pairing. With countless awards and continual stream of industry accolades, Mark still manages to keep his feet on the ground, and in the kitchen as Executive Chef/Sommelier of Waterfront Restaurant & Wine Bar.
Since he created the incredible Ambrosia Apple and Roasted Squash Soup, Chef Filatow’s children have become teenagers. Waterfront Restaurant is now in its teenage years, as well, as it is over 15 years old. He’s done more catering, judged more wine competitions, and it doesn’t seem to stop.
Chef Filatow cooks with Ambrosia apples through the winter in desserts including Warm Ambrosia Apple Fritters and Brown Butter and Apple Tarts.
“I probably love eating the Ambrosia apple fresh,” he mused. “Crunchy and juicy, it hits all of the marks. For a fun twist, we also include a Spiced Ambrosia Chutney on our cheese plates.”
Covid-19 shut Waterfront Restaurant’s doors to inhouse dining. “We did a delivery system of frozen soups, sauces, fresh spreads and charcuterie, breads from our friends at Okanagan Grocery for a few months,” Chef Filatow tells us. They also prepared a two-person heat and serve meal kit for dinner at home.
“The pandemic strengthened my belief that using local ingredients are more important than ever,” he says. “We are reopening our dining room slowly and continuing to create locally-sourced menus for our diners.”
For more information, contact:
Executive Chef Mark Filatow
Waterfront Restaurant and Wine Bar
@wfwines www.waterfrontrestaurant.ca