The Perch Restaurant presents upscale casual dining at UBC campus

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      Gus Stieffenhofer-Brandson grew up in Winnipeg, and his grandparents had a farm just outside the city.

      The chef de cuisine at the Perch Restaurant in the new student union building at UBC relates that most weekends when he was a child were spent helping out at the farm: weeding, harvesting potatoes, picking raspberries and tomatoes, processing black currants, and preparing apple sauce.

      The experience shaped Stieffenhofer-Brandson’s culinary outlook, giving him a profound understanding about ingredients that go into meals.

      “Before I really got into any sort of fine dining or higher end cooking, I’ve always had that appreciation for good, fresh food,” Stieffenhofer-Brandson told the Straight in a phone interview.

      Nestled at the top floor of the Alma Mater Society’s Student Nest, the Perch reflects the chef’s deep connection to the land.

      The 300-seat non-profit establishment owned by the student society has built relationships with a number of local farms, particularly the UBC Farm.

      Students also run a rooftop garden at the Nest, which provides part of the fresh produce that go into Perch’s kitchen.

      “Once a week or twice a week, they bring me a box full of all of the things that are ready, whether it’s kale and green beans and tomatoes and basil, all sorts of great stuff from them,” Stieffenhofer-Brandson said.

      Formerly with the Pear Tree Restaurant, Stieffenhofer-Brandson doesn’t want to call the experience offered by the Perch fine dining, preferring to describe it instead as upscale casual.

      “Modern Canadian or contemporary West Coast I think is a good way to call it,” he said. “And basically what I like to say is we do local ingredients cooked using European techniques.”

      With its affordable menu, the Perch, according to Stieffenhofer-Brandson, provides “a downtown experience at a university price point”.

      One of the dishes at the Perch that is closest to his heart summons up memories of the years he spent helping his grandparents at the farm, the seared, rare albacore tuna. It comes with German potato salad, which his grandfather used to prepare: “It’s something I used to make with him when I was little.”

      The Perch started operations in early September. A celebration of its opening will be held on October 5 at the Student Nest (6133 University Boulevard).

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