The Quartermaster Eatery has had its doors open for a few months now and the verdict is unanimous: this place is something special. The food is sensational, the servers attentive and the atmosphere is both intimate and casually sophisticated. The restaurant is well on its way to becoming the destination restaurant the Jenkins’ envisioned when they dreamed about what to do with their historic First Street West property.
And while it’s the first time Rebekah and Stephen Jenkins have ran a hotel — The Explorer’s Society is a nine-room boutique hotel also housed in the same building — Rebekah does have previous restaurant ownership experience. She opened Cafe Destino in the ’90s. It’s a traditional Italian cafe located in Portland and it whetted her appetite for being a trendsetter in the food industry.
The design of The Quartermaster is what initially draws people in through the door. The space is inspired from Japanese and Scandinavian influences. Contrasting tones of black and white with green accents gives the interior an upscale lodge feel. But the menu is what keeps people coming back through the door.
Rebekah describes the ethos as this: “It’s a rustic American cuisine, all the way to South American with some definite Argentinian influences with the steak. This is food your grandparents would’ve eaten. It’s very simple and cooked really well with an emphasis on meat.” The Jenkins’ partnered with local restauranteur Olivier Dutil to create the menu with options for everyone — both with its variety of dishes and price points.
For Rebekah partnering with Dutil was a natural fit, “Oli and I are both super passionate about food. We know how good it can be and we want everyone to know how good it can be. We both love really simple food that is not processed. We make everything here down to the mayo and the ketchup — we do not used processed anything.”
Creating extraordinarily delicious dishes is of utmost importance, but where the food comes from is also paramount, “All of our seafood is certified wild and sustainable farming practices. Our beef is mostly from B.C. Even our beer is from small independent breweries like local Mount Begbie Brewing Co.” The Jenkins’ believe in supporting local businesses and through their hotel, restaurant and event space have exciting plans to bring more people to Revelstoke to invest in our community.
This article first appeared in the June issue of the print Revelstoke Mountaineer Magazine.