CHEF ROD BUTTERS

It was an injured arm that got Rod Butters wielding a knife. Instead of heading off on a baseball scholarship in America, Rod's professional sports ambitions were cut short. He was forced to reflect on what appealed to him most in his life, to what he was drawn from a very young age. And that was cooking. Even at seven years old his favorite thing to do was to get up before anyone else and make a pancake breakfast for his family.

Some career highlights include the Four Seasons Hotel group - Toronto & Vancouver, Chateau Whistler Resort opening team and Pacific Palisades Hotel Vancouver.  Rod then went on to open the world famous Wickaninnish Inn, Tofino as Chef de Cuisine in 1996. His innovative cuisine and high service standards quickly helped the Inn's Pointe Restaurant attain the internationally recognized Relais & Chateaux designation.

After a year-long journey around the world in 2000, he returned home to BC to share his culinary experiences and open Fresco Restaurant & Lounge in Kelowna. As Chef /Proprietor, Rod has been instrumental in promoting the growth of culinary tourism in the Okanagan.

The importance of Rod's commitment to establishing regional BC cuisine has earned him international respect. Long before it became "trendy" to serve regional food, Rod has always

been committed to this effort.  It’s because of this and his talents as a chef “at the top of his game” that in 2007 his peers inducted Rod into the B.C. Restaurant Hall of Fame.

In the words of food and arts critic Jurgen Gothe, "Butters is the consummate Canadian-born, Canadian-trained, Canadian chef, the kind that will eventually… create what we'll come to call Canadian cuisine."

Rod is a member of the Canadian Culinary Foundation and has earned the WCC designation recognizing international culinary excellence from the World Association of Chefs Societies.