A New Team at Locals Restaurant

I first met Chef Jonathan Frazier in 2016, when I moved to the Comox Valley and joined the North Vancouver Island Chefs Association. Jonathan was on the board directors at that time, and was one of the first local chefs I met on the Island. 

He was also the first person I called when I was asked to organize the Chef’s Shellfish Showdown event at 40 Knots Winery for the BC Seafood Festival—with only three weeks’ notice! In fact, I think one of the very first recipes of his that I tasted was the oyster ice cream he made for that event. Yes, oyster ice cream. It was fabulous, of course!

We rocked that first event and went on to work on several more projects together, from Long Table Dinners to Chef’s Association fundraisers, cookbooks and conversations on the Edible Valley Podcast that he and Darren Howlett created. And all this was long before he left his position as the Head Chef at Atlas Bistro to open Blue Spruce Ice Cream. 

Chef Ronald and Tricia St. Pierre were also involved with the North Vancouver Island Chefs Association—all one big happy family—and it wasn’t long before Locals Restaurant became one of my favourite dining spots in Courtenay. 

Flash forward a few years and it makes perfect sense that Frazier, Howlett, and their partners Erin Kenny and Sean Poole, take over as the new owners of Locals Restaurant. All of them “locals” in their own right, having lived and worked in the Comox Valley for many years (or decades for some), the four of them are honoured and privileged to carry the culinary torch that has been passed on to them. 

The new team looks forward to continuing to promote the heart of Vancouver Island where Chef Ronald and Tricia have left off. They are excited to showcase fresh, local, sustainable food and to support the farmers and producers of our community. 

Learn more about their journey at www.localscomoxvalley.com, and be sure to congratulate them on their new adventure next time you visit.

Chef Ronald and Tricia, from the entire community, we sincerely thank you for all you have done for local food on Vancouver Island. I would also like to share an article by Joanne Sasvari that we published in 2019 about you as one of the “Pioneers of Vancouver Island’s Enviable Food Scene”, along with your Seafood Chowder recipe. We wish you all the best for your retirement!