Age: 36
Occupation: Owner, Francine’s
Five years ago, Garrett Martin was literally sitting at the top of the city. As culinary director of special projects at Concorde Entertainment Group and the driving force behind the nationally renowned top-floor restaurant Major Tom, the chef had one of the highest-profile hospitality gigs in Calgary. Yet he yearned to bring the cooking chops and leadership skills he’d picked up at Concorde to something smaller and more personal. He left his corporate job and (along with business partner Nate Wry) ran a pop-up and worked service jobs to keep afloat as they worked to open Francine’s, an intimate French bar that launched in Chinatown this past January.
“It was a hard decision, in the sense it was a risk,” Martin says. “But I would rather leave money on the table and do something that felt important to me.”
The food at Francine’s is undeniably delicious — items like the steak frites, cheesy puffs and dessert French toast are already legendary — but Martin’s biggest concern isn’t what’s on the plate. Having worked at many restaurants in the city and abroad over the last two decades, he has seen it all when it comes to both toxic and well-functioning workplaces, and believes the future of a thriving local industry hinges on maintaining a culture in which staff feel respected and valued. Those good vibes are inevitably felt by guests. So, while Martin develops menus and spends significant time cooking in Francine’s open kitchen, his greatest satisfaction comes from ensuring his employees thrive in a supportive workplace with fair wages, reasonable hours and a healthy work/life balance. He’s content to give his staff the lion’s share of the culinary glory.
“Every day I become a worse chef and a better delegator and leader,” he says. “I’m actually very comfortable with that.”
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