HECK YEAH!

This Never. Gets. Old.

June’s Burger of the Month “The Big Catch” helped us give $1,162 to the Smiles Thru Lindsey Foundation!

The burger was co-created with local guest chef Brad Pallister, from Len Thompson Fishing Lures in Lacombe. In June, Len Thompson celebrated 90 years in a big way, with the unveiling of the World’s Largest (Unofficial) Fishing Lure painted with Len Thompson’s most popular pattern, the “Five of Diamonds”TM. With that fishing theme in mind, Brad went with a salmon summer burger, topped with pineapple salsa, and pepper bacon!

$2 from every burger sold supported his charity of choice, the Smiles Thru Lindsey Foundation. Brad and his family are close to Lindsey’s family the More’s, and he was eager to help raise more awareness of the Foundation and her legacy which supports mental health initiatives in local schools. We really do have the best guests hands down!

Thanks to their support of our Burger of the Month program, we’ve been able to give over $50,000 to local charities over the past 29 months! July’s Burger of the Month is the “Taco Burger”, an Alberta beef patty, shredded cheddar, nacho chips, pico de gallo, avocado crema, shredded lettuce and chipotle aioli on a brioche bun! It was created in collaboration with local guest chef Jenna Bell with $2 from every burger sold supporting her charity of choice, the Aspire Special Needs Resource Centre

For more information on our Burger of the Month Program, please contact :

Kim Kay  :  Owner / Community Relations 403-597-2127

Rieley Kay  :  Owner 403-782-2882

Jason Burns  :  General Manager 403-782-2882

27 months… that’s how long we’ve been running our Burger of the Month program, and it absolutely BLOWS us away each and every time!  Over $50,000 in money raised to local charity initiatives to date, and in so many ways we feel like we’re just getting started.

We were lucky to be able to meet Brad Pallister, from Len Thompson Fishing Lures – who was heavily involved with the new “World’s Largest Fishing Lure” right here in Lacombe!  Him and his family are incredible people, and amazing supporters of our community.  So of course the Burger of the Month leaned towards seafood of some kind – and Salmon seemed like best option for a Summer Burger!

When it came to a local charity, Brad thought of a few different charities that meant a lot to him, but the Smiles Thru Lindsey Foundation really struck a chord with him.  He and his family are very close with the More family, and thought it would be an incredible charity to give $2 from every Burger to – and help raise even more awareness to Lindsey’s legacy.

We had actually just worked with the More family last month for a Charity event, “Calder Takes Over” and our good friend Calder Sutton from Siding 14 Brewing got us more involved with the Smiles Thru Lindsey Foundation, and we couldn’t be more thankful.  To be now connected to more amazing Central Alberta Families, and help bring more money and awareness to Mental Health Initiatives.

Especially in our industry, we love to be able to raise awareness for Mental Health.  Having balance in life is something that we coach a lot with our own team, and remind them that if they need anything at all they have our personal cell numbers, and a team of over 50+ that has their back.

Just one HECK of a feel-good month!

We can’t wait for all of you to try “The Big Catch” and be able to hand that big cheque over to the More family with Brad, on behalf of all of YOU who continue to make our Burger of the Month program a reality.  For the last 27 months, and well into the future!

Jason Burns

General Manager

Cilantro and Chive

Lacombe Express has launched a reader submitted “The Best of Lacombe” Awards! There is an abundance of boutique shops and eateries in Lacombe that are very deserving of being named on the list!

Click the link and throw your vote down for who you think represents “The Best of Lacombe”!

https://lacombeexpress.secondstreetapp.com/The-Best-of-Lacombe

***EDIT: CONTEST HAS CLOSED – THANK YOU TO OUR AWESOME GUESTS WE TOOK TOP PRIZE IN 6 CATEGORIES AND SILVER IN 3 OTHERS!***

What an incredible staff meeting this past Sunday at Cilantro and Chive.  Getting everyone together in a 7-day a week operation now is challenging and difficult to organize, but we were blown away by the great turnout and how engaged everyone was. We started our meeting discussing the upcoming season, but we couldn’t not start without a reflection on the year that was.

We spoke on how far we’ve come this year – 2017 being a complete whirlwind of excitement and humbling attention! We’ve blown away projections from last year, we’ve doubled our employees, and we’ve exceeded ALL types of expectations.

But we’re not a success right now I told them – because today’s a new day. Success is rented, it’s not owned – and the rent is due every day. Our guest’s expectations are higher than ever and those walking through those doors are wanting us to be awesome.

Why are we popular? Well we aren’t perfect and could still do things a whole lot better, but the staff in that room believe in the vision that was started by Rieley and Kim from the beginning. Have fresh, simple, eats. Focus on local and the community. Treat a customer like a guest in your own home with engaging and knowledge service. And above all, have fun! Then make it our own personal “groundhog day” of a restaurant. Wake up, be awesome, repeat.

We are extremely fortunate to have hand picked some pretty amazing young people over this past year. Many of whom are just looking for the ability to be creative & passionate, have fun, feel respected, experienced individuals allowed to be leaders, and above all else everyone just be themselves. We as management, we are to give them the tools to be awesome, and then just try and stay out of their way.

So as we look to launch our new Autumn menu for food and beverage this weekend – we’re proud in knowing that our crew also had a hand in it. Our culinary team has helped create tasty new fall-inspired menu items utilizing locally sourced product. The service team has pushed us to develop even better systems to make us more efficient, and our bartenders have assisted us in molding creative new cocktails. All the while we have owners who constantly re-invest back into the business with their time and resources that it only pushes all of us to be better for their brand.

2017 has been an incredible ride. We are doing such amazing things at such a rapid pace, that for many of us it’s the most work, the biggest challenge… and also the most fun we’ve ever had while at work. But *never* are we sitting back and taking it for granted, because we always must be changing, growing, and evolving into something even better. All at the same time, working with 50 team members in an ever busy machine, to never forget the vision and identity of a brand and company that began with just 5 team members not that long ago.

People tell me that we’re a success, I thank them and are happy they have had great experiences – but for me the true measure of success is what you’re doing today. Yes, when you’ve worked hard and accomplished a lot, especially in developing the right people in the right places on your team – that just helps give you the ability to be more awesome on a consistent basis. But what we were successful in yesterday, the bar is (and should be) always moving up. So if you want to keep in that direction = strive for perfection. You’ll never get there, but out of that journey… what you’re left with is pretty awesome.

Jason Burns

Restaurant Manager

Cilantro and Chive

Lacombe, AB

#FreshSimpleEats

f you know the story of Cilantro and Chive, you know that we began as a dream of bringing engaging, knowledgeable, and genuine service with fresh ingredients, passionately inspired dishes, and a love to do things a little bit differently to give guests an experience that is unique.

The owners, Rieley and Kim Kay – continue to work extremely hard in managing an ever-growing business, and their own family.  It’s an extreme honor when someone hands you the keys to their business, they’re proverbial baby, and ask you to take care of it for them.  While still keeping the core values of what Cilantro and Chive has always stood for.

That is why we are excited to welcome to all of you our new Chef Jarett Talbot:

Chef Jarett Talbot, since his start in the Earl’s organization as a teenager, it’s been a sinuous and steely journey for this accomplished Chef. Talbot has invested 15 years of blood, sweat and burns leading kitchens for some of the nation’s top restaurant organizations. The Concorde Group, Points West Hospitality, The Glowbal Group, Kanke Seafood Restaurants and the Metropolitan Hotels are just a few of the organizations he has spent time with sharpening both his culinary and cultural acumen. After stretches in Toronto, Vancouver and Whistler, Chef Talbot has returned to his hometown and gastronomic roots to explore his love of regionally inspired cuisine.

A sincere and borderline obsessive foodie, Chef Talbot’s travels and experiences have helped him to cultivate a personal style that has Pan-Asian influences but a healthy respect for classical culinary traditions. He describes his cooking approach as eclectically simple. “I am inspired by so many different techniques but emphasizing fresh, uncomplicated and pure flavors are my goals.” Chef Talbot’s cuisine incorporates Slow Food and Locavore principles then accessorizes them with passion and innovation. Unique pairings, fusions of styles and distinct accents elevate familiar dishes into extraordinary experiences. Although he prides himself on his pioneering cooking approach, he adamantly states his creations are always humble and familiar as mom’s home cooking.

As a top toque, Chef Talbot is dedicated to empowering a core of chefs that are pledged, sincere and that like to play with their food – to producing savory and exuberant menu offerings.

To add more to Chef Talbot’s plate, we also asked him to design our June Burger of the month – which brought forward “The Codfather”.  This delicious dish has caused rave reviews over the month of June, exceeding our wildest expectations.  Coupled with the fact that with every Codfather sold, Rieley and Kim are donating $2 to the Canadian Cancer Society chapter in Red Deer on behalf of Cilantro and Chive.  Chef Jarett chose this cause because Cancer took his Mother and Grandfather.

We are very excited about the future of Cilantro and Chive, as we continue to push forward in creating and inspiring new dishes, sourcing out more local product, and most of all continuing to find people like Chef Jarett who believe so strongly in our core values.

There are only a few short days left to experience “The Codfather” before it’s gone.  Won’t you join us?

Jason Burns

Restaurant Manager

Cilantro and Chive