This chef is biking across the planet – and cooking in Yellowknife

“These last few years, I’ve been working in the winter and cycling around the world for the rest of the year. That’s what brought me to Yellowknife.”

Hippolyte Delcher had cycled from Vancouver to Tuktoyaktuk and was working his way through Alaska when someone told him Sundog Trading Post needed a chef in the NWT capital.

That’s how he found himself spending this winter as part of a team looking to upgrade Sundog’s evening dining experience, including a brand new tapas menu with table service.

He paused his cycling trip down the Pan-American Highway in Whitehorse “when it became too cold” and flew to Yellowknife to join his new colleagues. Next summer, he plans to resume his journey toward the United States and, ultimately, Patagonia.

“Cooking lets me travel when I can’t,” he said of how he’ll spend the intervening months.

Some of his contributions to the Sundog tapas menu reflect that, incorporating influences from places where he has already been a chef – like Japan – as well as flavours from other destinations.

“My goal is trying to pick up the best product from each area of the planet and then trying to mix them together to make something interesting and creative,” he said.

One example he selects is the lamb kefta, one of more than a dozen dishes on the Sundog tapas menu.

“It’s a nice trip to Middle East. If you don’t have the money to fly there, just eat a little bit of this, and then you will feel like you’re in the middle of Lebanon or Syria,” Delcher said.

“The coriander, the lamb meat, the almond, all of that is coming from the Middle East. So when you eat it, you can feel like you’re already there.”

There’s also a tuna crudo inspired by Delcher, featuring raw fish with a grapefruit ponzu dressing, a type of sauce used in various forms of Japanese cooking.

When he gets to Patagonia, Delcher hopes to derive some culinary inspiration from Argentina’s legendary obsession with grilled meat. He’s excited to pass through Mexico, too, noting that Europe – he’s from France – “doesn’t have that many good Mexican restaurants.”

“I’m hoping just to try at least one dish from every single country I’m going to,” he said.

Delcher isn’t the only new face in the Sundog kitchen.

Julian Ayala, from Colombia, says he has spent 15 years working across the United States, on cruises, in Michelin-starred restaurants and most recently at the Toronto Hilton before arriving in Yellowknife.

“I grew up with my grandmother and some uncles who introduced me to this wonderful work. They used to have restaurants in the old times, and that’s where I fell in love with food,” Ayala said.

The first dish he remembers trying was an asado, the Colombian name for a dish featuring grilled chicken.

He says he’s now more interested in seeing which vegetarian creations he can pull off.

On the Sundog tapas menu, he highlights the homemade ricotta cheese salad, on top of which sits roasted beet with pickled onions, lemon and champagne vinaigrette.

Meanwhile, Sundog is the current home of Chris Zouboules, a veteran of former Yellowknife institutions like The Office, Thornton’s and two restaurants of his own creation, including most recently The Cliff Café at the Legislative Assembly.

Zouboules now handles Sundog’s catering.

“I enjoy learning new things, new techniques. It’s always a pleasure when you get a chance to end your shift and you’ve learned something new from someone else,” he said.

Zouboules has been a chef in Yellowknife since 1987. His colleague Harpreet Kaur came to Canada from India in 2021 and helps take care of Sundog’s daytime menu, which remains in place as the expansion into evening tapas dining begins.

“I like to work here. Everyone is very good and I love to work as a baker, said Kaur, who previously worked in a Rainforest Café at Niagara Falls.

Asked what she likes to cook the most, the answer is easy. “Me? I love to make the cinnamon buns here,” she said.

Sundog Trading Post offers its tapas dining from 5:30-9pm on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday. On Friday and Saturday, tapas is offered from 5:30-10pm.

Discover the full tapas and daytime menus and more information on the Sundog Trading Post website.