Le Crocodile has been a beacon of the local fi ne dining scene since Michel Jacob opened its doors, shortly after he arrived in Vancouver in 1983.
The acclaimed chef named his venture in honour of what he fondly describes as the fi nest culinary expertise he had ever personally experienced: ‘Au Crocodile’ — the three Michelin-starred restaurant located in his hometown of Strasbourg, France. Le Crocodile in Vancouver was originally on Thurlow Street and off ered a refi ned French cuisine menu with west coast flair.
When it was announced earlier this year that Chef Jacob was stepping away from Le Crocodile after forty years, demand for reservations went into warp drive; with patrons clamoring to have one last experience at the fabled eatery under his leadership, prior to its conclusion on April 30
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It also coincided with news that Le Crocodile would indeed live on, albeit in a revised version, helmed by none other than Rob Feenie. A food star in his own right, Feenie’s list of credits and acclaim is vast.
He was at the helm of an internationally accredited high-end restaurant among other positions, which included creating the signature dishes and overseeing menu development for the Cactus Club Restaurant chain
The crowning achievement on Feenie’s resume’ of accomplishment was most certainly winning the coveted ‘Iron Chef America’ competition title in 2005 in a highly viewed Food Network TV battle against the legendary, Masaharu Morimoto.Feenie was the fi rst Canadian to earn such a distinction.
Michel Jacob was looking forward to a well deserved retirement but uppermost in his mind was the next phase of succession and the transitional choice of Rob Feenie to take the reins could not have been more obvious. As a Burnaby boy, Rob Feenie’s fl air for food creativity developed early on.
“ Earning the title of ‘Iron Chef America,’ while taking down a legend — took his status to the stratosphere.”
“I took off to Europe as an exchange student when I was 16 and lived in Sweden for a year,” he says.“I also traveled to Norway, Denmark, Belgium, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy and when I came back home a year later, I kind of switched to thinking that I may want to be a chef.”“I saw a whole diff erent side of food there.”His culinary career took many turns in the ensuing years and eventually Rob Feenie and Le Crocodile would connect.“I came here in 1992 when the restaurant was still on Thurlow and Michel hired me as Sous Chef.
“After a few years I shifted towards wanting my own restaurant.”That venture was the highly accredited Lumiere that opened on West Broadway in 1995. For Feenie, his professional life has been something of a legend, having been involved with some of Vancouver’s most high-profi le food properties over the years.Earning the title of ‘Iron Chef America,’ while taking down a legend — took his status to the stratosphere. “The irony with ‘Iron Chef’ was that I had achieved so many things prior to that in terms of accolades, restaurant-wise,” he says. “It was on the fi rst season, and I didn’t think I was going to beat Chef Morimoto.
“We filmed it at 6:30 in the morning and I didn’t think much of it. “Then later in the day, word started coming to me that we were close, so I wanted to show up at the studio to congratulate him on his win.“After that I thought our team would just go back to the hotel for a good dinner. “When they announced, “The winner is Chef Feenie,” you could see on my face — I was stunned. “As chefs in competitions, there are always bruised egos and when I was on ‘Iron Chef Canada,’ there was a lot of expectation on me, because so many Canadian chefs wanted to beat me due to that win on ‘Iron Chef America.’
Left to Right: Chef Michel Jacob, Brian Jessel, Jim Murray, Chef Rob Feenie
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“’We call it ‘Le Crocodile by Rob Feenie’ for a reason,’ he adds. ‘It’s to pay tribute to Chef Michel and I think the name makes sense because I don’t want to change it.’”
“Things happen sometimes in life and maybe I got lucky that day because Morimoto is an amazing chef, and I don’t ever gloat about it.” The relationship between Chefs Michel Jacob and Rob Feenie was cultivated over the years. “Michel is not just my mentor, he’s the Godfather of my daughter and he’s one of my closest friends,” says Feenie. “We have vacationed together with our families. “I would frequently pop into Le Crocodile when I was at Lumiere and he would pop in to see me there a couple of times per month.” As for how the idea of the transfer of power from chef to chef came about, Feenie suggests it seemingly happened naturally. “I brought it up to him a couple of years ago,” he says. “With my exit from Cactus Club, conversations started coming about and my group of partners started talking to him. “I never thought that he was going to retire, so it’s kind of a combination of both.” When we interviewed Rob Feenie in April of this year to get his take on the end of an era at Le Crocodile, the aff able and well-spoken chef simply said, “I’ve done my best to let it (the handover) be about Michel. “It’s been an extraordinary journey to watch how much people love and respect him and love this restaurant.
“It was very daunting on my side, watching this knowing that when we take over a lot of people are going to be looking at me for what he’s done. “I think that’s kind of why he picked me in a way to take over because I worked in Alsace with his mentor; I’ve worked at Au Crocodile; the original three Michelin-star restaurant where he got the name. “I’ve met his family, and the list goes on and on. “I think it’s the comfort level he has of me understanding the food of the Alsace region and what he’s done here at Le Crocodile. “His life has been involved in this restaurant for forty years. “My own kids have been around this restaurant for numerous occasions over the years and even they have said, “Dad, don’t change it too much.” Feenie notes that in this situation, it’s much more than simply a business transaction. “We call it ‘Le Crocodile by Rob Feenie’ for a reason,” he adds. “It’s to pay tribute to Chef Michel and I think the name makes sense because I don’t want to change it.
“’We call it ‘Le Crocodile by Rob Feenie’ for a reason,’ he adds. ‘It’s to pay tribute to Chef Michel and I think the name makes sense because I don’t want to change it.’”
“There is some change to the décor and the menu, but people have a feel for the old ‘Le Crocodile.’ “The menu will be half mine and half his because that’s what people are expecting. “For those that want it to be the same, I’m going to do my best as tribute to Chef Michel. “But people also want to come and see me and see what I can do.” Le Crocodile by Rob Feenie re-opened its doors in June and under his leadership, the new version refl ects respectfully on the legacy of the hallowed venue. “Even after a stylish, Art Deco renovation, Michel’s mark is still visible in many areas of the restaurant,” he says. “I’ll never be able to fi ll his enormous shoes. “I can only be Rob Feenie.”
