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the owners were recruiting a head chef. In early September 2023, Corbett flew to Edmonton to interview for the job, and started a month later. “Restaurant Yarrow is something extremely unique, and I have so much op- portunity to experiment and try new things,” Corbett says. “I’m really happy to be here.”
Since Restaurant Yarrow opened in (sigh) January 2020, it has offered a unique dining experience comprised of a multi-course tasting menu for 10 guests a night in an intimate dining room. Corbett is continuing with that concept, developing four menus a year to align with the growing seasons. The seasonal dishes will also see some minor changes throughout their lifespans as Corbett finesses and evolves the recipes. “Every day the goal is to make something that we did better,” Corbett says.
Serving just 10 guests an evening gives Corbett the challenge of being efficient and managing food waste, and provides an oppor- tunity to use skills of fermentation and pres- ervation he developed in Europe. “I find that that that [Noma] model works extremely well in Edmonton because the climate is so similar to Denmark,” Corbett says. “The preservation and fermentation of products is important
to me. I think that the world has lost its way when it comes to food production. I’ve got old cookbooks from 1860, and Old World methods of preparing food get me excited. When you walk into Yarrow it is reminiscent of an older time sitting around the fire and eating food prepared with that old-world knowledge. At Yarrow, I’m hoping to rejuvenate the idea of what food should be.”
Despite the $200/person price tag, set menu and haute cuisine influences, Restaurant Yarrow attempts to elicit the emotional response to, and nostalgia for, food showcased in Ratatouille rather than the pretension mocked in The Menu. “Our menu is a journey,” Corbett says. “About 80 per cent of the dishes are nostalgic things that will bring an emotional response — things that you know and love, but they’re slightly different than you’ve ever had before. When I’m developing a menu, I think about what ingredients might mean something. Then 20 per cent of the menu showcases a more creative side and interesting ingredients. There’s a nice balance, something a set menu really allows for. The whole experience at Yarrow is tied together
so the sights, smells, music and conversation match the food and tie everything together.”
Bar Yarrow is an adjoining bar that’s open to guests even without a dinner reservation, and its menu was reimagined for the new year.
“The bar, like the restaurant, has extremely limited capacity so it has to be extremely special,” Corbett says. “There has to be a complexity to the storytelling and the bar has to mimic the restaurant in its love and passion for an experience — it won’t be a place to just come get a drink.”
Corbett has confidence that his menus will entice diners who have enjoyed dining at Yarrow previously, and continue to find new audiences. “The
food scene in Edmonton is really interesting, and I don’t think people are scared of spending money on good food, and they are excited to try some- thing new,” Corbett says. “I think the careful development of the menu, and the transparency with what we do and where we get stuff from will appeal to people — we now also offer kitchen tours so people can feel like they’re part of the experience and what we’re doing. It’s not for everyone, but it’s a unique experience. When you’re here, you feel like you’re on vacation. You forget you’re in Edmonton, you forget what else is happen- ing in your life that day. It’s a chance to escape for two and a half hours.”
Ever since the lasagna incident at Noma, Corbett knows the power of a good comfort dish, and says that for all its constant change, Yarrow’s menu will always feature comfort elements, like the current guest- favourite potato dish. “It’s warming, it’s consoling, it’s a perfect spot on the menu. The dish is phenomenal the way it is.” ED.
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PHOTOGRAPHY BLUEFISH STUDIOS