life in the moment|fine food
IN THE
story by Jeff MaCkinnon Photos by sergei belski
KITCHEN WITH CHEF RICHARD DAOUST
A 2,200 square foot log-cabin-like building, it was known as a place Like most people who work at a golf course, chef to refuel during a round over the summer. Five of Apple Creek’s 18 holes Richard Daoust loves the game and wishes he converge at the building, making going hungry or thirsty during a round could play more, but can’t. Time won’t let him. “Since I left the golf course world in 1999 I started to lower my score because I actually had time to play,” Daoust says.“Now that I returned to my passion of working at a great golf course, my playing time is limited and my handicap has started to climb back up because of the work required to run the clubhouse.” Daoust came to the Calgary area in 1999 after starting out in the restaurant business while attending cooking school and working at the prestigious Beaconsfield Golf Club in Montreal. When he relocated to Calgary he moved from fine dining to chain restaurants. Returning to the golf business, Daoust is now the chef/restaurant manager for Airdrie’s newest facility, Apple Creek Golf Course, which opened in May. Daoust and his hand-picked staff – former coworkers from his 11 years working in the industry in Calgary – spent the late summer and early fall getting the club’s snack shack ready to become a fine dining establishment.
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there a very difficult thing to do. Looking ahead, the chef is excited about the dining possibilities. “I want everything local and all natural,” says Daoust, who also does some private catering on the side in the Bearspaw area. Daoust is back at a golf course at the behest of Apple Creek’s principal owner Rick Skauge of Calgary, whom he’s known for 11 years. Fourteen years ago, Skauge bought the property, located six kilometres northeast of Airdrie on Township Road 275, and ran it as a tree farm until flooding wiped out that business seven years ago. Plans to build a driving range expanded and construction began on a 5,000- to 7,000-yard public course six years ago. Living in the Sage Hill community in north Calgary, Daoust is right next door to the new farmer’s market at Symons Valley Ranch. He’s working to establish relationships with suppliers there to provide the clubhouse with all natural meats and vegetables, following along with the current trend among restaurants to serve organic fare.