One of Whistler’s most revered culinary institutions has a new executive chef.
Chef Ying Gao started at Araxi Restaurant + Oyster Bar earlier this summer, bringing her lifetime of industry experience to the long-standing gourmet haunt.
Gao comes to Whistler from Vancouver, where she excelled at CinCin Ristorante + Bar, Blue Water Café, and helped open Elisa.
Gao’s passion for culinary delights is rooted in family tradition. Both of her parents are restauranteurs, owning eateries in Germany and China. She grew up in the industry eating succulent food, which inspired her career path.
“I’m pretty lucky, a lot of people cannot figure out what they want to do or what they can do. I figured out early that I want to work in restaurants,” Gao said.
While working in Vancouver fuelled her life as a chef, she found herself craving rich access to fresh air and nature. Cue a move to Whistler.
“I really wanted to work someplace like Whistler, waking up with fresh air. You can ski and mountain bike,” she said. “So, when I thought about where, Whistler was 100-per-cent the most beautiful place in my heart.”
Working with Araxi’s culinary director, James Walt, was another draw.
“My dream came true,” she said. “I work in the most beautiful place, and I work with Chef James. Araxi is also a really special restaurant in my heart, because we work with the farmer using local ingredients. That is a treasure. Not a lot of local restaurants can do that, but we have been doing that for over 40 years.”
That concept draws not only guests, but staff to the table at Araxi. One of the reasons Gao gravitated towards Araxi is the seemingly never-ending supply of fresh produce for farm-to-table meals.
“In Vancouver, we don’t have that available every day,” she said. “But in Whistler, we have all the beautiful vegetables, local mushrooms, treasure foods.”
Gao will marry her training in French culinary knowledge with Chinese and Japanese ingredients at the farm-fresh locale.
As the executive chef, she’s creating a new menu aimed at impressing the international audience who sit down to dine in Whistler, and developed the prix fixe menu this year to give back to Whistler’s community.
“We want to treat them to really good food with a really good price, making sure everybody can come here with their family and friends and enjoy some fine-dining food,” she said.
When she’s not sharing her cooking talents with guests, Gao prioritizes sharing experiences with her friends and family, bringing them along for the ride, whether she’s playing sports or going to the spa.
“If I go to the park for a picnic, I want to go with my friends and family,” she said. “I’m all about sharing life experience. I always want to share beautiful things with friends and family.”
When cooking for herself, she enjoys making a Chinese dinner at home as comfort food, prioritizing vegetables in a stir-fry.
“It’s really simple, but tasty, and warms my soul,” she said.
Since she’s new to Whistler, Gao is finding her footing in the resort and looks forward to snowboarding and snowshoeing throughout the winter.
For any up-and-coming chefs who want to pursue a similar path to Gao, she suggests they cultivate patience.
“I think it’s very simple: just be patient. Don’t give up easily. Keep training until one day you’re successful,” she said. “A lot of people just try once, and they say, ‘oh, it’s not working. I don’t want to do it again because I failed,’ you know? The only opinion, I think, is to keep trying. Never try, never know.”
