Profile

Tristan and Melanie Foucault

Preservation Hall

Photos by Ian McCausland

Preservation Hall’s name immediately calls to mind Chef Tristan Foucault’s reputation as Manitoba’s progenitor of the house-cured charcuterie board featuring his pickles and preserves. However, once you hear the full story of Tristan and Melanie’s dream restaurant opening, you might be tempted to hear an echo of another theme in there: perseverance.

The pair began their new culinary adventure in 2019 with an ambitious renovation to turn what was a craft beer pub into a French-inspired eatery that focuses on sustainable farm-to-table fare. Tristan brings over 20 years of culinary experience, including education at the Dubrulle Culinary School in Vancouver and stints at The Four Seasons Hotel, and Thomas Keller’s two California restaurants: Michelin 3-Star The French Laundry and Bouchon Restaurant. During his tenure as chef-owner of Peasant Cookery, Tristan met Melanie. Melanie’s background in marketing and managing the front of the house were the perfect pairing for an auspicious start to a new restaurant concept. Then COVID hit. Following its launch in June 2020, Preservation Hall was open for only 26 of its first 52 weeks. The pair has persevered with grace and positivity that is enviable, emerging with an exciting menu that balances fresh and traditional, meat and plant-based options. In addition, their wine list recently won the prestigious Wine Spectator Award of Excellence, which recognizes the breadth of choice of quality producers and how it pairs with their food.

On the unique challenges of being partners in business and life:

Surprisingly, there are very few challenges—or not as many as you might expect. We get along extremely well, and we are both working toward a common goal. The only real challenge is finding the right work/life balance and allowing ourselves a mental break from the restaurant from time to time on our weekends.

The secret ingredient in your fridge:

Tristan: My not-so-secret ingredient is pork. It’s the most versatile protein we work with. We can honour the animal effectively. We use all different cuts and have almost no waste: we can use the off-cuts to produce our charcuterie; the front legs become fresh sausage, pâtés, and tourtière. That leaves us with chops, pork belly (which we dry brine and smoke into bacon), and ribs, all of which we serve on our menu.

Pork Chop with herb spätzle, kraut slaw, and mustard crème fraiche

The most interesting current food trends:

Being as local as you can be. With all the supply chain issues, it’s in all of our best interests to keep it as close to home as we can. A second trend is taking what you can at the height of its flavour and preserving it for the times of year you can’t get great local produce. We’ve been preserving meat and pickling for a long time; however, we are always looking for ways in which we can do more. This summer will be our first attempt at preserving enough brandied cherries to last us the year for our craft cocktails.

If you weren’t in the restaurant industry:

Melanie: I would likely still be working in marketing. I was a marketing professional for six years before I fell in love with the hospitality industry. Ten years after I made the career change, my dream of opening a restaurant was fulfilled.

Tristan: My dream job would be a professional offshore fisherman, ideally based out of Cabo.

House-Made Charcuterie

Favourite wine:

Luca Old Vine Malbec. The wine has a lush nature, with its concentrated black fruit aromas, hints of oak, and silky tannins. It has a wonderful freshness and pairs beautifully with our house-made charcuterie. We are lucky to have the same taste in wine. It makes it so much easier to share a bottle!

Favourite kitchen gadget:

Tristan: The Grillblazer Su-V gun that Melanie got me for Christmas two years ago. It’s a flame thrower that can sear a steak in 30 seconds. And it’s fun!

Favourite cookbook:

Tristan: Anything from Thomas Keller, but especially The French Laundry Cookbook. It was my first fine dining cookbook bought for me by my late mother, and it’s still one of my favourites. After spending time working at The French Laundry in 2005, I started to understand what it takes to deliver that calibre of food. No tricks, no fads, just trying to elevate ingredients to the best that they can be. I also love how they treat everything in the restaurant, from their guests to their suppliers. They spare no expense or time to deliver an amazing experience.

Pacific King Salmon Tartare

Favourite place to eat on your day off:

Melanie: We love the food and ambiance of Scott Bagshaw’s restaurants. He was a childhood friend of Tristan’s, and Mâqué was where Tristan and I had our first date, Enoteca was where we celebrated our first year of dating, and Passero was where we went the day Tristan proposed.

Favourite food travel destination:

San Sebastian in Spain, where you can go from some of the world’s best Michelin 3-Star restaurants to walking around the streets eating pintxos, going from one place to another drinking Txakoli, a dry white wine. Also, the cider is amazing. Any chef that visits San Sebastian makes the journey to Etxebarri, where they cook each dish over a freshly cleaned grill and charcoal they make themselves. Their prix-fixe menu features the greatest from the ocean at that time.