{"id":34306,"date":"2024-03-07T11:47:39","date_gmt":"2024-03-07T16:47:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=34306"},"modified":"2024-03-14T15:29:55","modified_gmt":"2024-03-14T19:29:55","slug":"bistro-385-brings-new-zest-fresh-outlook-to-auroras-legion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/bistro-385-brings-new-zest-fresh-outlook-to-auroras-legion\/","title":{"rendered":"Bistro 385 brings new \u201cZest\u201d, fresh outlook to Aurora\u2019s Legion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Some might have the perception that a Legion is simply a place to go for cheap beer, but this is a notion being challenged by local chef and business owner Michael Edgar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edgar, a member of the Aurora\u2019s Royal Canadian Legion Branch 385, is also co-owner of Zest Up Your Life Catering and had long been using the Legion\u2019s professional kitchen to bring his creations to life. Now, he\u2019s hoping a new venture will give the venerable institution, which has provided services to Aurora for more than 75 years, a renewed \u201czest\u201d and interest among community members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last month, Edgar and the Legion launched Bistro 385, a restaurant-style re-imaging of the Legion\u2019s dining room, one which is providing a fresh spin on favourite menu items, and additional fare that reflects Edgar\u2019s culinary passions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying to take the stigma away from what the Legion has become and try to rebrand it back into what it\u2019s supposed to be, which is a place where anyone can come and enjoy,\u201d says Edgar. \u201cThere\u2019s a perception of cheap beer, but we\u2019re trying to elevate that. The Legion is such a staple in the community, but why aren\u2019t more people here? It\u2019s not just a place for veterans, even though that\u2019s what\u2019s highlighted, but it can be a meet-up for everybody, especially with our hall, which is 3,500 square feet. People can book birthday parties, corporate events, weddings \u2013 it doesn\u2019t really matter. I am trying to show them that it\u2019s not just a Legion \u2013 it\u2019s much more.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zest Up Your Life, which was founded by Edgar and his wife, Kristina Yeo, has had the Legion\u2019s kitchen as its nerve-centre for three years. They started the business during the pandemic and that was just around that time the Legion\u2019s chef had left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI threw it out there that there is no need to hire another chef because I\u2019m here \u2013 why don\u2019t we just make a deal where I will do your events and prep your food, bring in your stuff, and then I get to use the kitchen. It\u2019s blown up into what this is now, Zest Kitchen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSometimes the first thing they (diners) think is, \u2018Legion,\u2019 and they have the thought process of, \u2018I don\u2019t want to go there because I know what to expect.\u2019 In the first year I was here, I didn\u2019t really care because I was just here existing. The second year I became a (Legion) member because I saw the potential and I saw the vision for it. Now I am in my third year, going into my fourth year, and now we can do so much more \u2013 not just from a business perspective, but community involvement. A rebrand, a place where everyone can go to enjoy and get help when needed, someone to talk to, someone to bounce ideas off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI could go anywhere and cater at many, many different places, but here is the place where it just feels like home and I am able to do more, and able to offer my services and other things that maybe the Legion isn\u2019t able to do, like maybe a more gourmet meal or elevated food.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the past month, Edgar has taken the time to see what sells, what doesn\u2019t, and what particularly hits the spot amongst Legion members and other members of the public who have come in for a bite. Some of the favourites are liver and onions, and a new burger with a special \u201cLegion Sauce,\u201d the recipe for which Edgar keeps close to his apron \u2013 \u201cthis is the only place where you can get that and everyone seems to love it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe name of Bistro 385 highlights Branch 385, but it is my food. That way, when people come in here and they get to try my food anyway, they\u2019re like, \u2018We can do this at the Legion?\u2019 Then they start to expect it and when they expect it at the Legion, now we can elevate it, add more, do more, and then the Executives don\u2019t have to be setting up chairs \u2013 they can focus on the main parts of what needs to happen around the Legion and I can focus on food and service. A year from now we want to be fully self-sufficient where the Legion doesn\u2019t need to worry, I don\u2019t need to worry, it\u2019s a machine that keeps pumping and there\u2019s a lineup down the road for everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bistro 385 is open for lunch Wednesdays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Royal Canadian Legion Branch 385, located at 105 Industrial Parkway North.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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