Way back during one of our many travel
video shoots in Banff, we made it into Banff's
BLOCK Restaurant + Bar. With Asian flare, Izakaya influences, and truly delicious cocktails, it quickly became our favourite restaurant. We also met Chef and Managing Partner Stéphane Prévost who filled us in on what inspired him to bring in Asian influences and create one of
Banff's top restaurants. Now he's here on the newsletter. Enjoy.
You run our favourite restaurant in Banff. What inspired you to open Block?
I actually wasn't part of the Block project until the eleventh hour. The three opening partners had a loose idea of what the food concept could be but hadn't found a chef to take the lead with a couple of months left until opening day. At that time, I was available after a few months break from the industry. I jumped into the project and I was able to bring back my style of cooking on Caribou street, where I had a couple of successful restaurants in the past, Typhoon and Café Soleil. The food at Block is somewhat a continuation of where I had left off, with my passion for Asian food and Global Cuisine.
How long have you lived in Banff and what brought you there?
I've been living in Banff on and off since the early 80' and for good since 1998 after six years in Tokyo Japan. In 1980, the Banff High School and mine in Montreal started an exchange program and I immediately bonded with the Banff students when they came to my high school in the springtime. I promised them I would come to Banff in the summer to visit them. I did and it changed my life.
What's your favourite part about Banff? Or what's an activity/attraction you always look forward to?
It's hard to have one specific favourite activity but I feel privileged to have access to a variety of amazing places just a few minutes away from where I live. Tunnel Mountain, Fenland Trail to Vermilion Lakes, the Minnewanka Loop, Sundance Canyon, are all amazing places to hike, bike, skate or swim if you dare! I also just love walking around the Bow River at any time of the year.
Outside of Banff, what's one of the coolest experiences you've had in Canada?
Driving from Banff to Montreal on a motorcycle ranks up there. I've made the trip several times by car or by bus but the sense of freedom on a bike and exposure to the vastness of the landscape is very inspiring.
You recently launched another restaurant just down the street from Block. Why and what makes it different?
Ever since I lived in Tokyo, I dreamed of opening an Izakaya, a type of Japanese Pub serving a wide array of sharing plates and great beverages in a dynamic, convivial atmosphere. The opportunity came after the first wave of the pandemic and with an amazing team of partners,
Shoku came to life as Banff's first-ever Izakaya. It is also a natural extension of the food and cocktail culture that we established with Block Kitchen + Bar. There is a synergy between both places and as with Block, we are blessed to have an incredibly talented team of individuals behind the success of Shoku.
