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There are many paths leading to ART, the restaurant in the new Four Seasons Hotel. Paths leads to the lounge, dining room and counter dining. Some are quick, others leisurely and all provide options—go solo, share plates, mix and match. Executive Chef Kerry Sear has followed his own path back to the Four Seasons. And the Four Seasons is modifying their path to create a new, smaller model of hotel.

Photo: Executive Chef Kerry Sear

Seattle has just 146 rooms plus residences. The Four Seasons owns only one hotel and manages the rest. A modern, Northwest approach was used for the Seattle location. For the restaurant, that means a lovely but casual lounge, dining room and three counters: a raw bar, a pastry/wine/charcuterie deli, and a hot bar.

Executive Chef Kerry Sear explains the concept. "We have to satisfy a diverse crowd—families, locals, travelers. People move faster; they don’t necessarily want a 7-course meal. They want options. With the counters and regular menus, people find what they want. For lunch and dinner, along with the regular menu, we offer TV Trays, three courses on a platter."

Chef Sear is known for his Northwest-centric menus. That influence is in place here, but dishes have global twists. "We may have a local salmon and then add a touch of India," he explains. "We don’t want to over-complicate things. And we’re on the same block as Pike Place Market and want to focus on that seasonality with daily market menus and the TV Trays."

Another departure from the formal path of the Four Seasons is toned-down service. Wait staff handles wine; there are no sommeliers. Linen coasters and napkins are about to be phased out. While not inexpensive, prices are surprisingly moderate: appetizers start at $5 and no entrée is over $22. "People want to create their own meal and share plates," explains Sear. "We want to dispel that perception that it’s $25 to get through the front door. We’re trying to offer the best of both worlds—Four Seasons quality along with Northwest casual."

Kerry’s culinary path started at age 11, growing up on a farm, then moving into the town of Rugby near Stratford-upon-Avon. A manor house was converted into a hotel; his parents knew the chef. Kerry’s mom said Kerry was "always messing around in the kitchen" and the chef said "send him down." The first Saturday they made minestrone soup. At the end of the second day, he was given an envelope with money in it. "Cash for fun—it was done!" laughs Kerry. By the end of high school, he had worked with two chefs in five different hotels around England.

College options were full-time or hold a formal apprenticeship, working in a hotel and going to college on days off. He chose the four-year apprenticeship program, completing it in three due to his experience. His mother knew he would have to leave England to continue. "This was in the late 70s and England was not known for great cooking. We boiled everything to death. I can say that now," he laughs. He was offered a summer job and six-month work permit at Jasper Park Lodge in Canada. "I planned to go home after, but ended up staying in Canada, moving to Ottawa for five years. I then joined Delta Hotels and had my first executive chef job at the age of 21. The GM moved to BC, I followed and worked at a Vancouver Delta Hotel for another five years. I opened the second hotel in Whistler and was put in charge of Winnipeg, Calgary and Edmonton hotels as the West Coast Regional Chef."

He moved to the Four Seasons Vancouver, reaching a persona goal. "In the early 80s, they were the pioneers of 5 Diamond hotels, food and the hotel dining scene." He was there 3-1/2 years. "It was great career development—I was on the Team Canada Culinary Team and we traveled all through Asia doing competitions." He was asked to redevelop the Toronto Four Seasons restaurants, but found he missed the West Coast. His wife was from Vancouver and commuting to work. When he gave his notice, they told him the chef in Seattle (then the Four Seasons Olympic) was leaving. They moved to Seattle in 1989 and stayed with the hotel until 1998.

He had always thought about owning his own spot and the pieces finally fell into place. In 1999, Cascadia was born. He and his wife ran the restaurant. "Like any small business, it was a roller coaster," he says. "I’m glad I did it. But if I knew then what I know now… I would always tell someone who wants their own place to talk with someone who has done it."

His concept was local and sustainable before it was popular. "We used items from the Cascadia region; we didn’t even use lemons," he recalls. "People would tell me they didn’t care if the beef was local, they just wanted a good steak." His customers were travelers, not locals. After 9/11, people weren’t traveling. The now-famous miniburgers saved the day. They packed people into happy hour and that spilled over into the restaurant.

Six years ago, he was approached about the new Four Seasons. At first, Cascadia was going to move into the hotel. That changed, but Kerry wanted to maintain control by being the Food and Beverage Director and supervising chefs. They agreed and opened to the public on November 3, 2008. "I learned as an independent that you always have to evolve," he says. "There are things we started with that we’ve booted out. We’re the first Four Seasons hotel to have an independent website. We have a good mix of employees—about 75% of the Cascadia staff got jobs here. I’d like to see more locals coming in, but we’ve only been open 7 months. We’re building a sustainable model that can be used elsewhere and it will take a year to settle in."

Paths are rarely straight, but that makes them interesting. And now it’s time to beat a path to ART and enjoy what Chef Sear and his team have created.

Connie Adams/July 2009
All photos by Steve Sanacore

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