Feel like dining on delicious international cuisine while enjoying entertainment on our 125” screen?
Come down to Sauce at 10:00pm Monday – Saturday. Every night we play a different silent movie from the silver era of cinema.
Movies start at 10:15 and dinner starts whenever you’d like…
Four score and seven years ago, haha, just kidding. But seriously though, that intro conjures visions of grandeur for me, and it’s therefore an excellent way to relay my feelings on what’s transpiring this evening.
Tonight is St. Patrick’s day, and while I’m excited for our much hyped 3 course Irish menu, I’m far more excited about a new hire whom begins this evening. Tonight Scotty Valentine begins his tenure with Sauce Restaurant & Lounge. Saying that sounds strange because Scott has done so much behind the scenes work for Sauce in the past, but tonight will be his first night as a front line ambassador.
I had a boss once who told me, “Steven, the key to managing the service staff of a restaurant is understanding that every single one of them is replaceable.” Shocking that I never really got along with her and would one day throw my name tag off in disgust at her attitude towards guests. Anyway, no single person in my life has impressed me more with their attitude towards service than Mr. Valentine. I feel I’ve worked with, for, and been in charge of some of the best, but Scotty’s in a category with very few peers. Scotty’s vision of service, since moving back to Victoria, hasn’t just been to serve the tables in his section well. Scotty wants to eradicate the low standard of restaurant service that our city has been known for in the past. His dreams warm my heart.
Anyone who works for me knows that I want to show the world that amazing service and hospitality has nothing to do with price point. It can happen at McDonalds as much as it can happen at The Bengal Lounge. Amazing service and hospitality is a mind set and a dedication to enhancing the experience of your guests. There’s no perfect procedure or set of instructions because every guest arrives with a different story and views the evening from a different context. With service, and more importantly hospitality, there’s no chance for perfection. All one can do is ensure that every time the front door swings open, you greet those opening it with a smile and a genuine intention to improve their evening. Who knows what they’re seeking. It could be anything from a steak, a glass of malbec, or simply a hug. Approach each guest with empathy and take pride in striving to make their evening better. That’s the best you can do. And quite frankly folks, I’ve never seen anyone better at it than Scotty Valentine. I simply can’t wait for the wonderful people I have in my employ to see what my friend is capable of. It begins at 4:30 this evening.
Scotty, you’re probably going to smack me upside the face for writing this, but I promise you, it’s not just your name I love.
Onwards and upwards my friend!
Steve
As I write this I am currently less than 24 hours away from accomplishing certainly a first for Victoria, but possibly even Canada or the globe. I’m referring of course to the 20 Litre keg of Beefeater 24 Gin and New Theatre Tonic that I batched last night and intend to carbonate and hook up to a draught system (thanks to Draught Wise) later this evening at Sauce Restaurant & Lounge. That’s right, read it again. Gin & Tonic on tap. Some questions may come to mind at the thought of such a concept so let me clear up some query’s right off the bat.
Answer:
Truthfully, I didn’t get the idea; Sauce’s owner, Steve Hof did. It all started when Shawn Soole over at Clive’s Classic Lounge put Fernet and Coke on tap. It should be mentioned that Shawn didn’t pioneer the cocktail on tap movement either (it is a bit of a trend right now in the cocktail community) but he is however the only person doing it in Victoria. So like any great artist, I stole his concept. Now armed with that idea in my mind, I just had to figure out what sort of cocktail I should batch. If you follow my blog then you will know that I sell Tonic so it shouldn’t have taken me long to determine that Gin and Tonic was the obvious decision. I’m embarrassed to say that it did take me a long time. In fact I didn’t even think of it. Then one night on a walk from Sauce to Darcy’s Pub I mentioned the idea to Sauce’s Owner/Operator Steve Hof who suggested, “Why don’t we do Gin and Tonic on tap?” I couldn’t believe I had missed such a blatantly obvious idea, my brain pretty well exploded. I happened to be a few pints of Hop Circle into my night so I left it at that for the evening, but when I awoke the next morning… Game on.
Answer:
Beefeater 24 is a contemporary style of London Gin that focus’ more on citrus notes and a softer smoother mouth feel. This is accomplished by macerating all 12 flavouring ingredients (including seville oranges, grapefruit, chinese and sencha green tea) for 24 hours before the distillation process. Hence the name. It is then distilled for 7 hours and bottled at 45% ABV which is a little higher then your standard gin. I came across a slogan for the macerating process of the gin on their website that I adored. “While London parties into the night, Beefeater 24 rests”.
Answer:
New Theatre is a Victoria based company started by Geoff Malcolm and Kyle Bienvenu that makes Tonic the way it should be made. Using Cinchona bark from Peru as the key ingredient. It is then sweetened with agave nectar, and a ton of citrus is added. Historically tonic was used as a way to administer your daily dose of quinine (a chemical found in Cinchona bark) to sailors of the Royal Navy to stave off malaria. Tonic as we know it today actually contains no Cinchona bark, it is instead a synthesized formula that was created in a lab in Indonesia during WW2 when demand for Quinine was high and the supply was low and very expensive. At one point during the war Cinchona was worth more by weight than gold. Now that the price has gone back down New Theatre is celebrating the old style of Tonic in all its bittersweet glory.
Answer:
There are multiple answers to this question. Of course there is certainly a novelty factor by being the first restaurant (that I know of) to ever batch, keg, and force carbonate Gin and Tonic. It also ensures consistency; no two G&T’s will be different. Also on a busy Saturday night if you want your cocktail in record time, this makes things easier.
Answer:
By combining Beefeater 24 and New Theatre Tonic you should expect to get a bittersweet cocktail with a TON of citrus. It will be light and refreshing but also carry enough sweetness that it will linger on your palate a moment longer than you might expect.
I’m very excited to be hooking this up tonight. And if you live in Victoria, BC I would encourage you to come down to Sauce and give it a try. I’d love to hear as much feedback as possible from everyone because honestly… Until the first G&T is poured, I’m just winging it.
Ryan Malcom
Bar Manager
Yesterday was the last shift for one of our longest tenured employees. Well, at the time of writing this she doesn’t know that but…… See the thing is, Kassia Skolsky is so loved by her friends and co workers that they set up a fake shift for her this evening. She’ll come into Sauce thinking she’s working for the night, but in reality, her friends will be here to surprise her and take her out for the night. I can’t wait to watch it all transpire.
Kassia’s leaving us to go travel the world for the better part of a year so she was hoping to have her last shift be this past weekend to allow her time to tie up any lo0se ends before leaving. Fake shifts are so fun to watch in these situations because the employee is generally quite bothered by the fact that we’ve asked them to work when they’re already in holiday mode………….. Not Kass. “Sure! That’s no problem at all,” she says with her beaming grin. Arrrgh, she’s not even upset!!!
Anyway, it’s still going to be a blast to watch the surprise on her face. You see, Kass is as honest and genuine a person as you’ll ever meet. She wears her heart on her sleeve and has considerable difficulty masking how she feels. I can nearly guarantee tears this evening.
Why write a post about Kass when she’s simply going on holidays? In the words of my Operations Manager, Trevor last night, “Wow, we’re really going to miss her.” That’s the understatement of the year. Not only is Kassia my only employee capable of performing every single front of house position, she’s quite possibly the best or close to the best at every single one.
Kass started as busser / hostess many years ago here at Sauce. She busted her butt so hard, and worked so intelligently that she literally redefined the position. Until her, we were unaware that one person could accomplish so much. What’s even more important, is that she did every second of it with a smile on her face, often bopping her head to the music or high fiving a co-worker. Kass went from busser to barback, another position she completely redefined. While we had a fully staffed team of bartenders and certainly didn’t need anymore, Kass, through a sheer willingness to learn and take on new responsibilities, basically gave us no choice but to make her a bartender. Since that day she has been one of the best we’ve ever had.
Whether serving or bartending, Kassia is the employee I never have to worry about. Not only will she take care of her own duties, but she’ll ensure everything else is running smoothly as well. I literally had the general manager of another restaurant tell me, “Could you ask Kassia to stop being so awesome so her customers whom I golf with will talk about something other than her on the links?” That’s about as great a sentence I could ever hope to hear.
Well Kass, here goes nothing: It goes without saying that, not only will the restaurant miss you as an employee, but that I will miss you as a friend. Your smile and energy, more than anyone else, can flip my mood on the toughest of nights. From the head shaking smiles shared during moments of pure chaos, to the night closing duets I’ll cherish my whole life, this difficult goodbye serves only to prove how much you’ve meant to us. Will Sauce be okay without you? Of course we will, we’ll be better than okay because you’ve shown us what’s possible. Could I ever find anyone to replace you? Hell NO…………. It’s impossible; you’re one in a million. On your night out this evening I have but one wish for you: I hope you get the chance to hear even a few of the wonderful things we’ve all been saying about you behind your back for the past two weeks. In sixteen years there’s not one single person I’m more proud to say I’ve trained than you Ms. Skolsky.
Peace out $K-unit$
“With these HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANDS! With these HAAAAAAANDS!”
Steve
Sauce is participating in “Bear Wear”to raise funds for The Queen Alexandra Foundation!
Come down to Sauce and meet Saucier le Pooh! He will be here at the restaurant until November 24th when he will move to The Hotel Grand Pacific to be on display with 19 other special bears. You can go down and visit him and the other bears from November 25th to January 3rd! If you love him as much as we do you can make a donation and enter to win him at the end of the fundraiser!
Bear Wear is an annual event that raises funds for the Queen Alenxandra Foundation for Children. This year their goal is to raise $30,000 for the school Age Program in which therapists work tith the students, educational ssistants and teachers to develop strategies for success as children start their schooling. The work of the Queen Alexandra Foundation is close to owner Steve Hof’s heart or more accurately, his spine. He recieved care and support at the Queen Alexandra Centre’s Fisher Building after breaking his back in 2009. Many children and youth in the School Age Program also recieve help at the Fisher Building and Steve knows that his experience is one he shares in common with these kids.
How you can help:
Donate now! Click here for our Canadahelps giving page
Visit Saucier le Pooh at the Hotel Grand Pacific and make a donation (we suggest $2) to enter to win our cuddly friend
Purchase a Raffle ticket or two to enter to win one of two trips for two to anywhere WestJet flies! Tickets are only $20 each and you have, at worst, a 1 in 300 chance of winning!
This is such an amazing cause and we hope you’ll swing by the Hotel Grand Pacific, enjoy viewing all the bears, and help raise some money for the Queen Alexandria kids!
When a cocktail bartender enters a restaurant with an already stellar cocktail list what does he do? Well he turns his attention to the Beer & Wine program. Coming this winter to Sauce, be prepared to see some pretty substantial changes on our wine list and some funky new additions to the beer list!
Don’t be alarmed though, we are still committed to bringing you premium wines by the glass with some of the lowest prices in the city. Our focus on the new wine list is refinement. Picking varietals that are known to be phenomenal from certain regions, then choosing the one that will get you the best bang for your buck. Trust me when I say that this was no easy task. There must be a thousand Argentinean Malbecs available and to fit time to taste them all I had to start most days before breakfast. It has been a lot of fun to see all the great wines these regions have to offer. Red wines like Chilean Cabernet and Australian Shiraz. Whites like New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and French White Burgundy. We have removed a lot of the extra “clutter” on the wine list, 25 items of “clutter” to be exact. So be prepared to see a new stream lined list with only the best gems from each region.
As for beer, we are at the epicentre of the craft beer movement, with so many breweries in BC and in particular on Vancouver Island. According to the British Columbia Liquor Distribution Board, out of all categories of sales (wine, spirits, import beers, domestics, & cottage brews) only cottage brews saw an increase in sales during their last fiscal year. Seeing as the west coast is known as the Mecca of Cottage breweries, I’d say we are doing something right. At Sauce we have a very close relationship with our breweries and it will remain that way. Our draught list will contain beers only from Vancouver Island, and our large format bottles are predominantly local as well.
Moving in to Winter my brain is stuck on dark beers, and I hope I’m not alone in saying this: when thinking Winter, dos equis or sapporro don’t really come to mind. We will be adding Nelson Brewings “After Dark Ale” made with organic malt to the list. This beer is a personal favourite of mine and since discovering it, it has occupied a place in my fridge every November through to March. The other additions worth noting are Anchor Steam from California (hailed as one of the best craft beers available around the globe), Innis & Gunn (a scotch aged beer was an obvious decision), and Alhambra Reserva 1925. If your thinking: whoa whoa whoa, back things up!?! I thought you were talking local ales? Where does a spanish lager like Alhambra fit in? Well It’s 6.6% Abv and one of the best I’ve ever tasted, so it made the list.
Check back soon to read about our upcoming Beefeater 24 Gin & New Theatre Tonic draught tap and also our new and amazing non alcoholic selection!
Cheers,
Ryan Malcolm
Bar Manager
Sauce Restaurant & Lounge
Check Check Check, Hello Hello, 1, 2. Hello. Why is there a sound check going on at Sauce right now? Better question. Why are Alli and Bryan from THE ZONE conducting a sound check at Sauce? Well, because this Wednesday we will be kicking off our Office Hero with Georgia Murray and Kytami. The Zone’s lucky Office Hero and up to 19 coworkers will be dining for free and enjoying this special performance. Come in for lunch, enjoy the live music and check out www.thezone.fm/contests to enter for your chance to be an Office Hero!
Also during all of November – be sure to ask for the special Zone Sauce (from Sauce, get it?!)- you can add it to any dish for FREE between 11:30am – 4:00pm!
In the past, Sauce operated like a conventional restaurant. We were care less with our wasting of water, energy and food. This summer ownership changed, as did the vision for Sauce. With our new environmental focus, we are cleaning up our act. Working with local sustainability contractor Chantal Orr and Synergy Enterprises, we are taking on initiatives to better our waste management, energy efficiency, water consumption and sustainable purchasing. We have set the bar high:
Going green requires a shift in thinking and a change in habits, but we are excited to take that initiative. To launch awareness of our efforts, we have created a Green Sauce dipping sauce that’s free to add to any lunch menu item between 11:30 – 4:00pm. It’s called our Zone Sauce to thank 91.3 The Zone for the great contest they’ve set up for us. Green Sauce hits tables Monday, November 7th.
Come in soon to see the changes for yourself.
Well the revamp of Sauce’s Cocktail program began ten short months ago and the results have been nothing short of touching. So many communities and cultures in our world brand themselves on exclusivity and throw a cold shoulder to anyone perceived as an outsider. I’m here to tell you that the Cocktail Community, at least in Victoria, does not fall into this category.
From the very beginning, when I asked Shawn Soole of Clive’s Classic Lounge for some help in producing a more dedicated cocktail program, I was blown away. Shawn went, and continues to go, out of his way to help anyone willing to ask. Shawn, and the rest of the bartenders and managers leading the cocktail charge in this city, understand the importance of increasing awareness city wide for what’s possible with a little spirit, sugar, bitters, and water. By helping other establishments spread the word, the end result is so much brighter for all.
Tomorrow is the start of Art of the Cocktail 2011 in Victoria. A massive and amazing collection of seminars and tastings that happen throughout the city over the next three days. With cocktails in the air, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank some of those responsible for the transformation of my cocktail program here at Sauce.
Victoria, if you haven’t seen what’s possible with cocktails, do yourself a favour and check out this weekend’s Art of the Cocktail. You won’t be disappointed.
Steve Hof
In August of 2004, as a bartender with six years experience, I showed up for my first training shift at Sauce Restaurant & Lounge. It was supposed to be a side gig for me, some extra cash in a fun environment while I was still eager enough to work three jobs. That shift changed my life. I guess that’s kind of obvious due to the fact that I now own the place, but bare with me. While, after finishing that first training shift, I obviously did not foresee owning Sauce or any other restaurant, I did know for a fact that I had stumbled upon something special. My trainer, a girl with five years fewer experience than myself, opened my eyes to a level of service I had never before seen. That girl’s name was Jennifer Werk, and today is her last shift at Sauce Restaurant & Lounge.
In my opinion there are four levels of customer service. Although the lines are often skewed, I believe all service falls into one of the following categories:
So you may be asking how it gets much better than that. In all honesty, this is the best that anyone can ask for. I’d be a rich man if I was able to guarantee this level of service to every single diner, every single time. Many people rarely receive service that good, let alone better. Many people have never been served by Jen Werk.
On that first training shift I watched Jen get truly giddy over making her tables happy. I have seen a lounge full of people who don’t know each other, chant her name in unison. I do not have the brain capacity to count the number of people who came up to my bar in those early years asking if Jen was working, and then walked out when I gave them the bad news. Jen taught me that servers and bartenders sell an experience, not a meal or a drink. She showed me that no matter what the task, striving to be the best at it is an honourable and noble endeavour.
Two weeks ago I received a phone call from a large and respected company looking for a reference check for one Jennifer Werk to fill a sales position. Jen told me I may be receiving this call and I must admit my feelings were split. I, of course, didn’t want Jen to leave, but I knew that this was a phenomenal opportunity for her. On top of that, I can promise you that I was and am 100% convinced that there simply could not be a better contender for this position. That is exactly what I told the person on the other end of the line. ”Seriously, you won’t find a better salesperson than Jen. It’s not possible. If you don’t hire her, you will make me happy by being able to keep her, but you will be doing your company a great disservice.”
Jenny, we’ve been through it all together. For seven years we’ve rocked that Sauce bar and it’ll never be the same without you. Thank you for everything you’ve taught me about service and kindness. I owe you most of everything I have today. I know I’ll see lots of you. I’ll probably cry at your wedding. Sauce will carry on; you’ll excel at your job, and everything will turn out spectacularly I’m sure. But tonight Jen, I’m so very sad to see you go.
Rob, take good care of her. You’re one lucky S.O.B.