2006-05-01 - Vancouver Magazine
By: Danielle Kasimer

Premier Crew of the Year

In Vancouver, we’re overwhelmed by choice. There are several thousand eateries to choose from, and countless variables therein: cuisine, ambience, location, price. But the one variable, more than any other, that determines who’s a one-timer and who becomes a regular is service. Nobody recognizes that more than this year’s collection of stellar servers, the people we collectively call our Premier Crew.
Donna Park has a service ethic that astounded members of our panel. As a part of Cactus Club’s Opening Team for the past three years, a job she describes as “the granddaddy of public relations,” Park brings “spirited good humour, speedy delivery and confident training skills to her role.” Although our judges found her at the new Kelowna location last fall, Park currently works at the Cactus Club on Broadway near Granville, “spilling good advice, but nary a drop of our cleansing ales.” Park’s sprightly sense of humour once earned her a 100 percent tip, with an accompanying note that read “I love your excitable spirit and hope you never change.”

Also listed:
Habbit’s Jacques Thibodeau
Savory Coast’s Dee Anand
Lumière’s Gaston Baillargeon
Aurora’s Kurtis Kolt
And Sommelier of the Year, CinCin’s Sebastien le Goff