A Place of His Own: A Profile of Chef Michael Noble

Driving along a near-empty street bordering downtown Calgary, I pass a strip mall, a gas station, a series of lonely fast food joints, the windowless brick face of a recreation centre and the vast, dirty parking lot of a Tim Hortons

Yet another strip mall appears on the left hand side of the road, beyond four empty lanes of freeway and a massive parking lot, and I see it: the sports pub Kayne’s on 17th Avenue S.W.. This is where Michael Noble — celebrity chef, mentor, man-about-town, Iron Chef contestant in Japan and Bocuse d’Or competitor — has asked to be interviewed.

Inside, the music is too loud. Large-screen TVs hang from every corner of the room and around the bar. There is no waitress, so I sidle up to the bar and lean between the surly patrons to ask for Noble. We are yelling back and forth, the bartender and I, but somehow the message is relayed.

Moments later, I am flipping through a stack of oversized plastic menus heaped on a small table next to the door. They are well designed, with big, bright lettering and alluring descriptions of the food. The text inside the front cover is all about Michael Noble — he has shaped Kayne’s menu, the design of the pub and has even been consulted on the staff. I am intrigued — and confused. Why is this hotshot chef designing a sports bar menu?

The man himself is suddenly beside me: tall and broad, with a contagious smile and firm handshake. “I’ve had to pay my mortgage, too,” he says, with a laugh. And now, Michael Noble, 48, is about to change his life — again. After a successful career in hotel restaurants from Vancouver to Nice, and a quick-ignite celebrity earned by international television spots and high-profile events, Noble went behind the scenes. By 2002, he had moved to Calgary and launched Catch, giving it one of the best menus and the best buzz in town. By 2006, Noble had transformed Earl’s from a franchise of family restaurants into a sleek eatery with a deeper level of culinary understanding.

Now, with a roster of high-profile friends and 29 years of experience, the chef is finally working on something completely his own: Notable (which he writes NOtaBLE), a restaurant set to open next month. Delays on the completion of the new building caused Noble to push the opening from last August to June, and those in the know on the food scene, locally and nationally, have been in a protracted state of eager anticipation.

But like everything about this man, the new digs come with an unexpected twist. The fruits of his labour will be in the long-established inner-city suburb of Montgomery, where the latest high-profile event was a rain barrel sale and the population grew by only two percent between 2004 and 2008 (compared to a 12 percent average growth across the City
of Calgary).

“I knew that the opportunity and the space for my restaurant was here in Calgary,” he explains. “Is Calgary the best city in which to open a restaurant? You know, it’s an emerging restaurant city.” The way Noble talks about Calgary is the way you might expect a mentor to talk about a protege — he is encouraging, hopeful, but also not unaware of the weaknesses the city has. Hayato Okamitsu, executive chef at Catch, was one of Noble’s many proteges. He first saw Noble on the cooking competition show Iron Chef in his native Japan. That same year, Okamitsu was in Vancouver, begging for a shot and working harder than any line cook in Noble’s kitchen. Noble took notice, and they became friends and colleagues.

“It was an amazing journey,” says Okamitsu, as he recounts his swift rise in the culinary world. “And I wouldn’t be here without Chef Noble. It’s not just that he taught me to be a great chef, but now I am married and I have a house. He gives people room to grow.”

Pushing young talent toward a high standard of excellence is one thing, but can he do it for a whole city? Can Noble teach us to eat, to appreciate food more fully? Undoubtedly, says Okamitsu. “Eight years ago it was a challenge,” he says. “This is ‘Cowtown,’ so why open a seafood restaurant? People would not even order the catch of the day because they weren’t sure what that meant. It was Chef Noble’s idea; bringing in the freshest food and top Canadian chefs, hosting an oyster-shucking competition. And things have changed a lot over seven years.

“I get a feeling here — like it’s the next Toronto, the next Vancouver. I feel that vibe.” Noble’s culinary experience in Calgary has fine-tuned his sense of the landscape. In the past couple of years he has helped to open or shape several new restaurants, including the renovated Sirocco Golf Club, Flatiron Grill, Farm, Seven RestoLounge, O Restaurant and The District — each more chic than the next.

Backdrop in place, Noble had one neighbourhood in mind to make his scene — Eau Claire. But with skyrocketing prices, sinking soil and stalled building developments on the landscape, he looked elsewhere and found Montgomery. “Montgomery is one of the oldest communities in Calgary,” says Noble, “When I lived here as a 10-year-old boy, Montgomery was like a small town, not even part of Calgary. I really want my restaurant to have a community feel
to it. I think Calgarians are not really big on going home to the suburbs, getting changed, and driving back downtown.”

Flanked by three major thoroughfares — 16th Avenue, Shaganappi Trail and Bowness Road — and close to Market Mall, the University of Calgary and two hospitals, Noble hopes to attract the “residential” crowd. “I’ve done the downtown thing. It doesn’t resonate with me at all,” he says.

“Downtown is so ebb and flow based on how busy the hotels are and what kind of business is going on.” With that, back at Kayne’s, our food arrives — “Good beer food,” says Noble wryly, pointing at a small plate of saucy ribs. The smell is mouthwatering. Bite-sized meatballs made of perfectly spiced, moist and crumbly bison are next to them. A third plate filled with long, cream-coloured battered prawns complete the meal. The prawns are a drier, chewier version of the mouthwatering appetizer available at Catch and the Sirocco Golf Club — a trademark Noble dish. “A bit too long in the deep fryer,” he says, thoughtfully, “But wasn’t I right about the sauce? It’s about depth, that sauce.” And he’s right; it’s delicious.

Noble’s lack of pretension — a quality once called a “nice guy act” by his kitchen colleagues (a misdiagnosis that irks him still, 20 years later) — will be evident in his new restaurant. “Don’t think fine dining, think good food,” says his friend and public relations advisor Sarah Geddes about the restaurant.

“I’m going to have great sandwiches, great pastas,” Noble says. “On the other end, I’m going to have a great scallop appetizer. I’m going to have a beautiful seafood risotto. I might do a lobster. “My desire is that Notable will appeal to both people who are making a dining decision in three minutes or three weeks. It will also be a place where people can plan to splurge. They’ll come in and say, ‘Don’t give us the menu. Just tell Michael we want five courses, beautifully paired with wine.’”

It seems the public relations training is paying off — the message is completely consistent, perhaps too much so. But Noble is earnest about his goals. Yes, I want good food! It doesn’t matter what kind of food, I think, caught up imagining what he describes as the “sexy butcher-shop feel” of the new restaurant. My inner monologue is cut short by another blaring rock song and cheers around me as the Flames score a goal on the bar’s dozen TVs. Doubts begin to creep in. What’s worth paying for, I ask myself, good food or a great experience overall?

“There will be no TVs at Notable,” he says, as if reading my thoughts. “There’s going to be enough entertainment going on.” The cornerstone of Notable is a $42,000 wood-burning rotisserie and broiler, where a uniquely spiced chicken will be done to perfection each night. The bird will provide a main course option, as well as a key ingredient for soups, sandwiches and salads. “But it’s not just about chicken,” Noble insists. Lamb (Noble’s favourite), ribs and salmon may also make appearances on the fire. “And of course, it will all be focused around the open kitchen.”

The menu, Noble continues, will be “the best of Michael Noble; variations on food that has always been a part of me.” The decor will be simple, “not upscale or stiff, but high quality,” and will underscore the emphasis on “feel,” with rich fabrics and textile art. There will be booth seating, community-table style seating and intimate nooks. But it won’t be perfect, he says.

“I accept that there will be criticism of my new place,” Noble says, shrugging off his passion, fame and 29 years of experience. “I just want to make as many people happy as I can. I’m getting back to my roots — just cooking. I love it. It’s what I’m good at, and I am creating an opportunity to share my gift. I’m a well-known cook, that’s all. And I’m only as good as the last meal my staff put out there.”

I stare down at the remnants of the sticky ribs and buffalo bites in this crowded, noisy pub. Not bad, I think. If he can impress me here ... I’ve got a good feeling about this.

Notable opens next month at 4611 Bowness Rd. N.W.