C100B is going fishing

And so are some Canada’s best chefs.

So, picture this. You are up north, far north, just 27 miles from Alaska and in the proverbial middle-of-nowhere. You’ve put in a tough day on the water in a guided Boston Whaler, hunting down Chinook and coho salmon, and maybe a little halibut too, while savouring the eerily beautiful scenery of Haida Gwaii, watching eagles soar and humpbacks fluke, and trying not to drink an irresponsible amount of Chablis. Now, you’re back at the Clubhouse, dinner is starting and — what’s this? A tian of Dungeness crab in gazpacho from David Hawksworth? Beef Wellington with sauce Périgueux?

No one takes a charter flight and helicopter ride to the West Coast Fishing Club’s The Clubhouse in B.C.’s Haida Gwaii just for the food. But you could. And in my experience, I’d recommend it.

For over my 15-odd years of visiting the place, I’ve seen great fishing complemented with more splendid meals than I can count. Normand Laprise has taken over the kitchen and served Princess scallops in rhubarb water with tarragon-strawberry foam. I cannot forget Marc Thuet’s civet of wild game with mascarpone-and-fingerling-potato gnocchi with bear prosciutto. Other times, there have been guest-chef visits from brilliant Kentucky-based Korean chef Ed Lee; Tuffy Stone, a.k.a. “The professor of Barbecue”; Anthony Walsh; John Horne and Ron McKinlay from O&B; Charles-Antoine Crête and Cheryl Johnson; Derek Dammann; Justin Leboe; and many more besides. And full-time Clubhouse chef Blaine Robinson always runs a tight ship.

Nonetheless, for 2024, this uniquely culinary-minded fishing resort in the wilderness has decided to ratchet up its gastronomic program still further. And to my delight, to help make this happen, they have come to Canada’s 100 Best. Most of the chefs listed above were guests over a mid-July trip hosted by David Hawksworth. While that continues, Canada’s 100 Best will be delivering pop-ups from some of our favourite restaurants over the last trips of the season, in September.

This year, we are delivering two of what I consider to be the country’s most captivating restaurants. Restaurant Pearl Morissette’s chef Daniel Hadida and his estimable team will be taking over the Clubhouse dining room for one night, over a four-day trip, from September 1 to 5. Next, on the final four-day trip of the season, September 8 to 12, the Clubhouse will welcome Steve Molnar and his team from Quetzal, and thus — briefly — it will become the best Mexican restaurant in the country. In September 2025, three more sensational restaurants from the upper reaches of the C100B list will follow (watch this space for announcements). I hope to see you there.

— J.R.