Zita Cobb, Innkeeper of Fogo Island Inn is pleased to announce the arrival of Jonathan Gushue as Executive Chef of Fogo Island Inn. He returns not only to his hotel roots, but also to his home province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Most recently, Chef Gushue was co-owner and Executive Chef of The Berlin Restaurant in Kitchener, ON. He will be joining the Inn’s team as of February 1, 2018.
Jonathan Gushue says, “I am very much looking forward to joining one of Canada’s premier properties. To create with such a talented group of people in such a unique setting is the opportunity of a lifetime.”
Gushue started his career with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts and, over the next decade, worked in various kitchens in Japan and the UK. Upon returning to Canada, his training lead him to positions in St. John’s, Vancouver, and Toronto. In 2005, he accepted his first Executive Chef position at Langdon Hall Country House Hotel and Spa. Over the next several years he established himself as one of the leading Chefs in Canada, earning such awards as Forbes Top 100 Restaurants in the World and Canadian Chef of the Year 2010, as well as Ontario Chef of the Year 2011.
Chef Gushue arrives at Fogo Island Inn just months after it was named among six of the best in North America by the Diners Club 50 Best Discovery Series, and was noted by that same organization as “the one to watch to move into the world’s top 100.” He is excited to be joining the Inn’s kitchen team, alongside Chef Tim Charles, in what will be Fogo Island Inn’s sixth year of operation. The Inn’s culinary presence continues to evolve from its solid foundation and earliest honour of being among the top three of ‘Canada’s Best New Restaurants’ in Air Canada enRoute’s listing of 2013.
Innkeeper Zita Cobb said “from the first days of service, our focus has been on our traditional foodways and connecting people to nature and culture through food. We are delighted to be deepening our commitment to Newfoundland culinary development and innovation with Newfoundland-born Chef Gushue. His approach to food celebrates tradition with imagination.”
Dining at Fogo Island Inn is an invitation to dig a little deeper to more fully know the remote island in the North Atlantic. The food at the Inn shines a light on the people, culture, and traditions of Fogo Island. It is a food that is intensely local, complimented by culinary traditions and techniques “from away” that complement without flattening or changing the essence of the island’s time-honoured cuisine. The ingredients come from the ocean and the land – wild-caught fish, seafood, and game, as well as locally-foraged berries, plants, and mushrooms. With Gushue’s arrival in February 2018, Fogo Island Inn will continue to keep company with the people who came before – with a respectful nod to their ways, the botany of the place, the wild plants and the not-so-wild local growers and fishers.