
Meet the Chef
Alan
Crosby has been the Executive Chef at White Point Beach Resort
for three years. As a proud native of Liverpool, Nova Scotia,
his life thus far has been a true Canadian culinary adventure
with experience in kitchens from one coast to the other
After obtaining a Bachelor
of Arts degree in English and Theatre from Mount Allison University
(and a brief stint as a professional tennis instructor) Alan realized
that his real creative passions were actually in the culinary
arts. Alan enrolled at the Culinary Institute of Canada and there,
he decided that he wanted to pursue a career as a chef. His first
kitchen was in the Church Restaurant in Stratford Ontario. With
150 to 200 dinner guests each evening, it was a challenge to say
the least. There were 20 cooks on the line each evening and Alan
says that seeing it all come together made it "an inspiring
place to work." From there, he continued his westbound journey
and ended up in British Columbia at Hotel Vancouver where he had
the opportunity to work under acclaimed chefs Robert LeCrom and
Jerimiah Tower whom he assisted with the opening of 900 West,
the hotels flagship dining and lounge operation.
With these rich experiences
under his belt, Alan returned home to Nova Scotia in 1997 where
he took on a position as Executive Chef at the Delta Barrington
Hotel in Halifax. His journey finally came full-circle back to
his hometown of Liverpool, Nova Scotia with his wife and his young
son. "There are so many nice things about living in Nova
Scotia; the pace of life, the quality of life, the friendliness
of the people around the province. We have a son now and my wife
Jacqueline and I are delighted to be able to raise him in this
environment."
So what philosophy does
Alan bring to the White Point kitchen? "Be true to your ingredients.
Some cooks can get carried away by taking a beautiful chicken
breast and then stuffing it with all sorts of different ingredients
to the point where you dont even notice the chicken anymore.
I prefer to start with good products and bring out the best in
them, minimizing their impact on other parts of the meal. When
youve got great ingredients, be true to them."