Stefan Mahon, Executive Chef of Silvertip Resort in Canmore Alberta, is a lyrical and most quotable man. He is a mixture of a cup of artist, a dash of poet and ladle of philosopher. That he also creates magic in the kitchen makes him something of a culinary wizard as well.

Born in the Caribbean, his was a youth imbued with the tastes of the tropics. Both parents loved to cook, so his culinary education combined art, science, home economics and common sense. Mahon understands the chemistry of ingredients, but he also has the passion needed to put them together to create something that will take your breath away.

A move in his teens to Toronto and subsequently Vancouver put him on the West Coast. Mahon was planning a career in radio broadcasting. An “after school” job at a local hotel took him from front-of-house in the dining room to a move to a “hell’s kitchen” life changing experience on-the-line (way down the line) at the Alabaster Restaurant. It changed his path in life.

His mentors are many. He apprenticed at Le Crocodile in Vancouver thus learning the best and basics of classic French cuisine. From here, his lust was for knowledge and notoriety. Like all good recipes, his career is blend of hard work, good teachers and myriad opportunities. He worked as Sous Chef at The Homestead, a much-lauded Relais & Chateau in Greenwich Connecticut. From there he traversed the country once again and came back to Vancouver to wrestle a few kitchen demons and work with some of the brightest on the west coast. Mahon was making a name for himself and came to the attention Holland America Cruise Line.

Three years working with Holland America took him from Sous Chef, to Chef, to Executive Chef, with responsibility for serving over 7,000 meals per day, working from sun-up to way past sundown, seven days a week. It also took him around the world, from one pole to the other, and over the Equator more times than he can recall. It also introduced him to the love of his life, his Canadian wife Kayt.

Head-hunted to open the F&B side of two new hotels in Hong Kong, Mahon headed to China. This gateway to Pan-Asia opened up his palate, sensibilities and methodologies to new ways to combine flavours, textures and presentation.

Life is serendipitous and sometime it puts you in the right place at the right time. Mahon and his wife attended a wedding at Silvertip in the October 2006. Both fell in love with the region, the scenery and the location. One month later, via a series of extraordinary circumstances, Mahon was offered the position as Executive Chef for Silvertip Resort. The decision was an instant and his response a resounding, “Yes!”

Mahon is intensely focused on his plans for Silvertip Resort’s fine dining restaurant, Rustica. Having had the reins since November 2006 his influence can be felt in the creativity and inventive direction the menu has taken in such a short period of time. Elements of classic French cuisine pair with Canadian regional specialties and ingredients. This is a man who is not afraid to pull the world into his kitchen if it works to his advantage.

His signature style is one of layers of flavours and multi-cultural technique. He believes Canada has some of the best the world has to offer in meats, wild fish, vegetables and fruits. His connection to the farmers and growers of Western Canada is extensive and he shops at "the local markets of Canada's heartland." That being said, if a dash of lime, a dollop of coconut milk or an infusion of fresh mango froth will heighten the excitement of a dish, he's all for it. His will never be a dining experience that will bore or falter.

Mahon’s dream is to build a dining experience where returning patrons arrive and do not ask for the menu. They merely state, “Whatever Stefan is serving, we’re having.” To him there is not more profound trust, nor bigger challenge.