Killarney Mountain Lodge’s restaurant rethink

By Don Douloff

KILLARNEY, ONT. — The restaurant at Killarney Mountain Lodge is undergoing a renovation that will enlarge and improve the dining space and kitchen and further refine the menu.  

Part of the second phase of an ambitious, multi-year $18 million renovation of the 52-acre wilderness lodge on the north shore of Georgian Bay, the 2016 upgrade is expanding the dining room space, said general manager Kelly McAree.

Key to freeing up that extra space was the removal of the front desk, previously located in the dining room and now relocated to a spot adjoining the lodge’s great room.

In addition, the refurbishment will install new lighting, new windows facing the water, refinish the floors in hardwood, and increase seating capacity by 25 per cent to 120 seats, including those at the waterside barbecue.

But perhaps the biggest change is taking place on the plate, courtesy of executive chef Guy Bedard, who joined the property in April 2015.

Prior to Bedard’s arrival, area grandmothers would come onsite and cook for the lodge’s dining room customers.

Bedard’s resume includes stints as executive chef at Best Western Fireside Inn Kingston (Bistro Stefan); chef de cuisine at Kingston Banquet and Conference Centre, where he spent almost five and a half years; director of food and beverage at Touchstone on Lake Muskoka; executive chef at Residence Inn by Marriott Kingston; and executive chef at Brown’s Dining Solutions, a caterer in Kingston, Ont.

He also owns Gypsy Chef Consulting.

Bedard is tweaking the menu, with the aim of “refining it more,” said McAree. Currently built on a style McAree describes as Canadian cottage cuisine, the menu will evolve to include more game, such as venison and buffalo.

The April menu features a bison/beef burger; striploin, tenderloin and Ontario lamb rack; and Georgian Bay pickerel, trout and whitefish.

Moreover, the refurbished restaurant will also reflect a more hands-on, DIY philosophy.

“We will move toward growing our own produce, such as root vegetables like potatoes and carrots onsite,” said McAree.

To that end, the property has designated one-eighth of an acre to host the veggies, which will augment the herbs and edible flowers already harvested on-property.

Also on the radar is an expanded kitchen, slated for Phase 3 of the lodge’s renovations, which will involve gutting, rebuilding, expanding and better equipping the space to accommodate the expected increase in capacity due to the influx of leisure guests and the growing events and groups business.

“We’ve more than doubled our groups already from last year,” said McAree.
Plans include increasing the number of guest rooms at the property to 90 by the end of next year.