Huron Expositor, 2017-04-26, Page 9Wednesday, April 26, 2017 • Huron Expositor 9
Alvinston native leads Bayfield restaurant to four -diamond status
The Red Pump Inn
if marks 45 years of food
Melissa Schilz
Postmedia Network
Glenn Sheridan is entering his
third season as executive chef at
Bayfield's The Red Pump Inn, but
this year is special one for him and
owner Harry Israel.
Not only is the restaurant marking
45 years of business, but it's also
received four -diamond status from
CAA/AAA Travel - an achievement
the former Lambton County man
says has been his long-time goal.
"I had been working for these
diamonds since I came back from
Britain in 2004," he said. "When I
finally got it, it was a sense of relief
and a sense of, I can't believe I
actually did it."
He told Israel the news once he
had digested it for himself.
"I told him, 'you're now the
owner of a four -diamond establish-
ment:..his eyes went like dinner
plates," Sheridan said. "It was a
very surreal experience."
To achieve that status, Sheridan
said it takes a lot of hard work,
including being highly creative with
food while creating a full experience
for every guest who comes through
the restaurant's door. He said part of
The Red Pump Inn's charm includes
good coffee and homemade bread,
as well as an informed staff who
aren't overbearing.
"You have to be knowledgeable,
do things that are in season; there
is definitely an artistry to it," he
said. "You have to have profes-
sional service staff out front and a
well -coordinated ambiance... it's
not just the food."
According to the AMA travel
website, to achieve four diamonds,
a restaurant must have "distinctive
fine -dining, typically expensive;
highly creative chefs, imaginative
presentations and fresh, top-qual-
ity ingredients; proficient service
staff, upscale surroundings, and
the wine steward inav offer menu -
specific knowledge."
Out of 31,000 restaurants rated
annually in North America, 2.1 per
cent achieve four -diamond status. In
Southwestern Ontario, The Red Pump
Inn is one of just six restaurants that
made the four -diamond list this year
Sheridan said when Israel estab-
lished the restaurant in 1972, Bay-
field was just corning into bloom.
Now The Red Pump Inn has become
a cornerstone of the community.
"lust to be in our industry for 45
years is unprecedented," Sheridan
said. "It's pretty amazing."
Originally from Alvinston, Sheri-
dan and his family moved to
Oshawa in 1986. Ile said his first
restaurant job was at a local golf
course. He was in Grade 9 when he
took on dishwashing, and it was in
that kitchen where he met a Ger-
man chef whose work left Sheridan
awestruck.
"I remember just being amazed
that he could take a raw ugly prod-
uct... and in a matter of hours cre-
ate something that was so beautiful
to look at, and tasted great as well,"
said Sheridan. "It drew me to it... I
went right from being a dishwasher
to an apprentice and I've never
done anything else."
Sheridan trained at George
Brown College in Toronto before
taking his career in 2001 to the
United Kingdom where he worked
in Glasgow, the Isle of Man and at
the Soho Hotel in London.
He left Lambton County decades
ago, but Sheridan said he visits Sar-
nia, Petrolia and Alvinston and
area regularly to see friends with
whom he played hockey and with
home he attended Brooke Town-
ship Central School.
"Alvinston was a little garden
were my family and the locals let
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Lambton County native Glenn Sheridan
diamond status from CAA/AAA Travel.
me grow and it shaped me to who 1
am today," he said. "A lot of great
people came out of that area and
I'm happy to be a part of it."
After working overseas, Sheridan
said his goal has been to bring a
British standard to his daily work as
a chef. He said North Americans
often rush through meals, but he
wants his guests to savour every
moment of their dining experience,
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is the executive chef at a Bayfield restaurant that has won a coveted four -
making it the main course of a cou-
ple's date night.
"We're always rushed, and I
almost feel it's a lost art where people
just don't take the time to go out to
dinner," he said. "It's a different way
of life, and I really like it...we were
like that in the '50s and '60s, and
that's what I'm trying to bring back"
As a classically French -trained
chef, Sheridan said he was drawn
to The Red Pump Inn because it
brought him back to what he feels
is real cooking.
"Our industry is constantly chang-
ing... [The Red Pump Inn] reminds
me a lot of the inns I worked at in
England," he said. "The freedom to
create and the clientele is really what
brought me here:' For opening hours
and information, visit www.red-
pumpinn.com.
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