RauDZ Regional Table

We work with a lot of wonderful people, with two of our favourite being Audrey Surrao and Rod Butters, owners of RauDZ Regional Table.

If you’re ever in the Kelowna area, their restaurant is one of the “must stop” places in the city.  Chef Butters is one of Canada’s best chefs – he’s an artist in his own right.

This Fall, he will be competing in Vancouver in the Gold Medal Plates.  He’ll be one of 10 Top Chefs to compete in this runner up competition for the Canadian Culinary Championship.

Rod continues to be very active in the Okanagan Chefs Association, a group dedicated to raising the profile of local chefs, as well as training and mentoring the next generation of chefs in Canada.

His philosophy is simple: Eat and Drink Local.  Along with his partner, Audrey, they support local farmers and winemakers and have been doing this way before the “local” trend became as prolific as it is now.

The importance of Rod’s commitment to establishing regional BC cuisine has earned him international respect. Long before it became “trendy” to serve regional food, Rod has always been committed to this effort.  It’s because of this and his talents as a chef “at the top of his game” that in 2007 his peers inducted Rod into the B.C. Restaurant Hall of Fame. 

In the words of food and arts critic Jurgen Gothe, “Butters is the consummate Canadian-born, Canadian-trained, Canadian chef, the kind that will… create what we’ll come to call Canadian cuisine.” 

Rod rules the kitchen from “the pass” and most nights you’ll see him, head down, inspecting each, and every, plate before it goes out.  Always approachable, he pauses, as guests stop off for a final thank you before leaving the restaurant.

Audrey Surrao has built a strong foundation in the food and wine industry working in key management positions with some of Canada’s leading hoteliers.

 She was part of the opening team, with Chef Butters, at the world-renowned Chateau Whistler where she held the position of Director of Catering and Conference Services.  Her hospitality and organizational talents were challenged with coordinating and creating high-end guest experiences for clients ranging from big business to celebrity visitors at the resort.

 One of her proudest moments has been working with Chef Butters to  establish Fresco, an award-winning, critically acclaimed restaurant here in Kelowna that was a success story for 8 years and now, to bring RauDZ©to the Kelowna dining scene.

 She holds her WSET certification, an Internationally recognized wine and spirits certification. This certification is designed to give thorough and comprehensive knowledge of the principal wines and spirits of the world combined with commercial factors and a thorough system for the professional evaluation of wines and spirits.

 Passionate about the local wine industry, Audrey can be found conversing with winemakers throughout the region, constantly on the lookout for the “next great wine.”  She maintains 150+ wine labels in the RauDZ©cellar with 90% local wines.

For more info on RauDZ Regional Table, visit www.raudz.com