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Chef Andreas |
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After more than 19 years of preparing four-star meals
in elegant European restaurants, aboard luxury expedition ships plying the
waters of the Amazon, Arctic or Antarctic, or at the Olympic Four Seasons
Hotel in Seattle, Master Chef Andreas Wurzrainer came to a couple of
realizations. One was that he wanted to raise his children in a
small, friendly town like the one he grew up in Austria. The other was that he wanted to open his
own restaurant and prepare meals that were more about substance, style and
taste, than trends. So Andreas and his wife Lisa chose to relocate to
Coupeville on Whidbey Island and not long after in January of 2002, they
purchased Christopher’s Front Street Café. Ever since then, patrons of the quietly stylish,
comfortable restaurant have been rewarded for those decisions with sumptuous
servings from Andreas’ kitchen. Whether tempted by the succulent, bacon-wrapped pork
tenderloin; the Penn Cove seafood stew; the raspberry barbecued salmon; the
ever-popular daily specials; a delicious variety of salads and pasta dishes,
or the mouth watering home made desserts, Christopher’s customers inevitably
leave with their taste buds and appetites well satisfied. Andreas says though he has enjoyed and learned from
every cooking position he has held, he knew he would never go home and
prepare the same smallish, artistically presented and expensive meals for
himself or his family – nor would he do so in his own restaurant. “I wanted to own a place where every dish I had on my
menu would be something I would be happy to serve to friends in my
home.” That said, every meal he
prepares still must meet five key criteria:
It must be high quality, as fresh as possible, delicious, ample and
affordable. Andreas’ early culinary career experiences include a
three-year, traditional cooking apprenticeship in Austria; several years as a
Sous Chef in Munich; Master Chef certification, graduating with honors, in
Germany; and stints as Executive Chef aboard globe-circling luxury expedition
ships where diners feasted on multi-course meals. It was aboard one of these ships in the Antarctic that
Andreas met his future wife Lisa.
After a couple of years of traveling together, the two decided to quit
working at sea and to return to Seattle – Lisa’s home – to begin a family. Andreas quickly
landed a position at the Olympic Four Seasons Hotel in Seattle and from there
was involved in the grand opening of the renowned Cascadia Restaurant in
Seattle’s Belltown. After a couple
of years, he and Lisa tired of the fast pace and crowds of Seattle and the
couple decided that the future for them and their children was on Whidbey
Island. Now
Christopher’s is drawing rave reviews and loyal regulars. The couple’s two children, Sebastian and
Tia, are happy little landlubbers living in sight of the sea, and dining in
Coupeville has never been better. |
