Our Chefs

	Executive Chef	Frank Pabst
	Executive Sous Chef	Spencer Maxemuik
	Raw Bar Chef	Yoshiya Maruyama
	Pastry Chef	Jean-Pierre Sanchez

Frank Pabst
Executive Chef

One of Canada's most accomplished chefs, Frank Pabst's disciplined technique—learned in some of Europe’s finest kitchens—is matched to the West Coast's extraordinary catch of seafood.

Widely recognized for his creative impetus and leadership in responsible seafood practices, today Pabst leads Blue Water Cafe's brigade of expert chefs in what has been called "one of North America’s finest seafood restaurants."

With tenures in Michelin-starred restaurants throughout Germany and France, including La Becasse (Aachen), the Hotel Negresco (Cannes) and Restaurant de Bacon (Antibes), Pabst was schooled in the rigorous classical technique that provides the foundation for his diverse cooking style today.

Directing the kitchens at Blue Water Cafe since 2003, Pabst has consistently demonstrated excellence, both in the procurement of impeccably fresh, sustainable seafood—Blue Water Cafe is a founding member of the Vancouver Aquarium's Ocean Wise program—and in the execution of its cookery, showcasing his trademark "complexity without complication."

Culinary Arts Recipient, City of Vancouver Mayor’s Arts Award, 2010
Chef of the Year, Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards, 2010
Back of House Inductee, BC Restaurant Hall of Fame, 2010
Silver Medalist, Canadian Culinary Championships, 2009
Vancouver Culinary Champion, Olympic Gold Medal Plates, 2008
Chef of the Year, Georgia Straight Golden Plate Awards, 2008

Spencer Maxemuik
Executive Sous Chef

Spencer’s rapid rise in Vancouver’s culinary scene actually saw him take an early educational misstep; he soon decided that majoring in Finance at UBC Okanagan, and then ‘flying a desk’ was not where he wanted to be. He switched gears: graduating from the Dubrulle Culinary Institute in 2004, Spencer performed a stage at Bishop’s restaurant, and then the same year began his professional cooking career in earnest at Blue Water Cafe as ‘low man on garde manger.’

Today Spencer takes his challenges from ‘the intense pressure of a busy night, the focus required for perfection – it energizes me and pushes me to be my best.’ And as to inspiration, Spencer cites executive chef Frank Pabst’s creativity and skill at combining different ingredients to produce unique dishes, but is also motivated by the ‘extraordinary, sustainable seafood that finds its way to Blue Water Cafe every morning.’

Spencer has recently completed a culinary tour of France and Spain, one that offered him further vision and allowed him to share his experiences with his colleagues. ‘That is my dream – to meld classic techniques with the finest local products, and Blue Water Cafe offers those opportunities.’

Yoshiya Maruyama
Raw Bar Chef

Yoshiya’s culinary resume is studded with some of the finest sushi and traditional Japanese restaurants in his native Japan and Vancouver. A native of Yokohama, Yoshiya undertook his apprenticeship at Tokyo’s Sushi Kagetsu for seven years before serving as assistant chef at Ecchu. He emigrated to Canada in 1998.

Working in close partnership with Executive Chef Frank Pabst, Yoshiya is true to the Japanese culinary aesthetic of pure, clean flavours and ample portions that Blue Water Cafe’s Raw Bar has long been famous for.

Fastidious with his preparation and presentation techniques, Yoshiya also acutely focuses on the sourcing of the freshest seafood products. “In the realm of sushi,” he says, “there is simply no hiding.”

“My craft is about my need for perfection,” Yoshiya says. “I can only measure our success when our customers leave happy, and when they return to the raw bar with their friends for more.”

Jean-Pierre Sanchez
Pastry Chef

Jean-Pierre holds both his Professional Apprentice Certificate and Masters degree as chef de pattiserie, accredited after many years of apprenticeship and professional development in his native France.

He held the position of Patissier for 11 years in Le Cours Mazan and Bornes les Mimosas in France. He worked with Gerard Moyne Bressand in Nimes, and subsequently as Executive Pastry Chef in a number of world-class properties, including the Michelin-rated Chewton Glen Hotel in Hampshire and the Grosvenor House Hotel in London. After moving to Canada, he was appointed Executive Pastry Chef at the Founders' Club, a private fine dining club in Toronto. In Vancouver, Jean-Pierre was a Chef Instructor at Vancouver's Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts and held the Pastry Chef position at the four-diamond Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Hotel.

At the helm of Blue Water Cafe’s pastry kitchen since 2005, Jean-Pierre’s desserts, breads, chocolates and petits fours, are all made daily; the perfect complement to Chef Frank Pabst’s savoury seafood menus.

Gold Medal, Professional Culinary Salon, Toronto, 1992
Honours Diploma Charles Proust, France, 1988