Professional Spotlight – The Chefs of the

The Chefs of the 61st Canadian N ational Meeting

Martin Luis Salvador, Maître Rôtisseur

Executive Chef/Owner, the Beach Pea

Jason Lynch, Maître Rôtisseur

Executive Chef, Le Caveau Restaurant

Born and raised on a poultry farm in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley, Jason studied at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts Institute in Ottawa. Having grown up on a farm in a rural community, product and quality were always important to him. After working in Toronto and Ottawa, he was given the opportunity to move back to Nova Scotia and train with some of Canada’s most respected restaurateurs, David Barrett and Nicholas Pierce .He was part of the team at Acton’s Restaurant in Wolfville before joining Domaine de Grand Pré Winery’s Le Caveau Restaurant in 2003. In 2007 he took over as Le Caveau’s chef.

He dedicated himself to working with local farmers, meat purveyors and fish mongers to build a supply chain that would be able to supply the majority of the product he would need to run his restaurants. At the forefront of the local food movement in the region, Jason sources roughly 80 percent of the restaurant’s Despite his Spanish name, Martin Luis Salvador is a Nova Scotia boy through and through: his early years were divided between Nova Scotia’s South Shore and Halifax. After high school, he worked as a cook for a few years, and spent some time working in Banff, Alta, where by chance he reconnected with Sylvie MacDonald, who he had known since he was 12 years old. They renewed their friendship and eventually married. “Sylvie certainly pushed me toward getting involved in cooking more seriously,” says Martin, noting that she encouraged him to study at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Not long after, he got a job at a Michelin-starred French restaurant in Dublin, Ireland, where he developed a passion for French cooking; later, he moved to Lyon, France, where he did stints with crème de la crème chefs Jean-Paul LaCombe and Frédéric Côte. He also explored the culinary traditions of Corsica—an experience that strongly influences his cooking style today.

ingredients locally. His philosophy is Terrior, using all of the ingredients before him with in a season. Jason is also Chef at the Black Spruce Restaurant in Gros Morne National Park.

Originally from Cape Breton Island, Andrew Shannon got into cooking because of a love for nature and his surroundings which inspired him to use local ingredients to make creative dishes. He moved to Lunenburg to attend the NSCC Culinary Arts Program. He then got an apprenticeship under Terry Vassallo at the restaurant Trattoria Della Nonna in Lunenburg. After travelling around Canada to gain further experience he moved back to Nova Scotia and got a job at Janes on the Commons restaurant in Halifax. He became the Day Time Manager and was in charge of their award winning busy lunch service. It was there that his love of local ingredients really came through. He then moved on to become the Sous Chef at the Battery Park Beer Bar where he helped opened the now very popular restaurant in Dartmouth. He eventually got promoted to the Head Chef position at the Brooklyn Warehouse and has been running the kitchen for a few years now bringing creative and approachable dishes to the menu for everyone to enjoy.

Jeremy Beeton, Executive Chef

Eliot and Vine

Executive Chef Jeremy Beeton started his apprenticeship in 2012 under Chefs Luis Clavel and Brenan Madill, Chef Rôtisseur at the Atlantica hotel in Halifax. He was able to take part in many competitions such as gold medal plates and even as a junior alongside Team Nova Scotia. Jeremy “was lucky enough to be a part of their team for 7 years, helping open new restaurants, elevate existing staples within the city and eventually working my way up to sous chef of Eliot and Vine with Chef Brenan”. In 2018, he competed in the Canadian National Jeunes Chefs Rôtisseurs Competition in Edmonton, receiving the Bronze Medal. About a year after that Jeremy left Eliot and Vine to become head chef of a French restaurant called Bistro le Coq. Within a few months, he had also taken over its sister restaurant East of Grafton tavern. During COVID, the bistro was rebranded and turned it into an Italian style aperitif bar allowing Jeremy to gain experience opening a new restaurant. Today, he has returned to Eliot and Vine as head chef, changing the menu regularly and trying to compete with the other great chefs and restaurants Halifax has to offer.

Lawry Deneau, Executive Chef

Hermitage Restaurant Chef Deneau’s early love for cooking was sparked on his family’s farm in Stewiacke, Nova Scotia. He was introduced to his first ‘master chefs’ in his grandmother’s kitchen. Travelling across Canada and embarking on culinary expeditions to New Orleans, Charleston, and Mexico. Lawrence eagerly learned from each of the many French, Spanish, Italian, Creole, and Mexican Chefs he encountered and worked alongside. In 2004-05 he joined Martin RuizSalvatore, as Sous chef, at Fleur de Sel in Lunenburg, NS Lawrence moved on to back up Renée Lavallee at Il Mercato in Halifax, NS. He then moved into an Executive chef position within the Bertossi Group for 11 years at establishments LaFrasca Cibi + Vini and The Bicycle Thief. In addition, Lawrence travelled to Italy for training with Chef Giovanni Tavolaro at the Michelin starred La Taverna in Friuli in 2013. In 2017, he opened a small food operation within Chain Yard Cidery in Halifax’s North End. In 2019. with a huge risk under his belt, he eyed a unique property on Barrington St. in Halifax. Julep Kitchen + Cocktails opened to fanfare and is considered one of Halifax’s most unique and well-loved restaurants. In October 2020, Lawrence, and his business partners, opened Hermitage.