Scott Jaeger is far from alone in having had an unusually challenging year.
But the owner and head chef of the Pear Tree Restaurant is taking a moment to celebrate some good news – seeing his Burnaby fine-dining favourite named one of Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants.
The Pear Tree checked in at number 80 on the sixth annual list of the country’s top dining destinations. The annual Canada’s 100 Best publication showcases the country’s best places to dine, as chosen by a team of 103 judges from coast to coast.
“It’s a great list. It’s always amazing to see,” Jaeger said.
He added he’s always happy to be included, especially since many of the restaurants that make the list are new and current – unlike his own, which he opened up in the Heights with his wife, Stephanie, in 1997.
“We’ve been here a long time,” he said.
Nothing in those going-on-24 years could have prepared him for what he’s been facing since the COVID-19 pandemic brought life grinding to a halt in mid-March.
Not that he sat idle, mind you. He took the chance to cater for some private events, cooking out of his truck for a variety of backyard occasions, and the restaurant itself turned to takeout and pickup service from the back lane.
As of a couple of weeks ago, it’s reverted to dine-in service again, albeit with some modifications. Jaeger and the whole staff wear face shields, tables have been pulled out to leave the appropriate two-metre distance between parties, and one Plexiglas shield has been installed to protect the most heavily trafficked table in the restaurant (on the way to the washroom).
The maximum capacity of the restaurant now is 25 diners, though Jaeger noted even that is unlikely – there are only six tables, and six diners is the largest individual group that can be accommodated. Mostly, he said, he’s finding people dining in twos.
He’s happy to be back to providing in-restaurant service for some of his regulars, although he’s modified the menu offerings to provide a more limited, fixed-menu-style experience.
And he’s also taking some private bookings as people return to celebrate occasions that got left behind in the pandemic – birthdays, anniversaries and even Mother’s Day celebrations.
“It is great to have people back again,” he said. “It’s definitely different. It has its challenges trying to make a mostly empty room feel like it has some energy and life.”
It’s helped that Jaeger has been able to bring his whole staff back, with only one full-timer seeing a reduction to part-time hours simply because of physical space issues in the kitchen. Employees are also now working in shifts, with less overlap of hours, and Jaeger’s other cook is now working Sunday and Monday hours doing a variety of prep tasks for the restaurant’s regular Tuesday to Saturday hours.
“We’re really happy that everybody’s back,” he said. “It’s a much better feel now that the team’s here.”
The Canada’s 100 Best list is available online at canadas100best.com and on magazine newsstands on July 6.
The Pear Tree is at 4120 Hastings St. in the Heights. It’s open Tuesdays through Saturdays, starting at 5 p.m. See www.peartreerestaurant.net for more information or to make a booking.
