‘The Olympics were a great lesson
in creative problem solving’ says Doug Crewe
 DOUG CREWE: Owner of Sharky’s Chophouse and Sausage Emporium and Austin Gourmet Catering.
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By CATHOLINE BUTLER
COQUITLAM – Sharky’s Chophouse and Sausage Emporium and Austin Gourmet Catering are all located in the one building in Coquitlam....it’s a busy place!
Austin Gourmet Catering successfully supplied and served all the food at Irish House during the Olympics.
I recently dropped in to Sharky’s to speak with owner Doug Crewe about how he and his staff survived their unique experience of feeding thousands of people daily from all around the world.
He said, “before the Olympics, no one really knew or could estimate as to how busy it would be at Irish House,” said Doug.
“We knew it would be busy, but it went way beyond that,” said Doug. “Originally, we were contracted to close the kitchen at 11 PM and just serve light food until 3 AM, but it never slowed down, and so the cooks and the ovens were going around the clock.
“Really, the working conditions weren’t ideal for our staff and the working hours were brutal, but they were absolutely great and everyone learned a lot about feeding hoards of people. It was really a great experience!”
Doug said working with the Granville Entertainment group was absolutely amazing. “Any problem that we had, they were right there and had it fixed as soon as possible.
“So were George and Tony from the Irish Heritage Society. Everyone was so professional and our working relationship with all of them couldn’t have been better....they really are a great bunch of people.”
Some of the big sellers throughout the day included mountains of Irish stew, corned beef and cabbage, along with and steak and Guinness pie. At night it was more of a pub crowd, and Doug and his crew cooked up enough Dublin burgers, pub fries, chicken wings and wraps to feed an army.
The logistics and organization beforehand was astounding and “really,” he said, “we had to adapt as we went along.”
First, Doug had pre-arranged to have deep fryers for the fries but there were no deep fryers to be found throughout the Lower Mainland. In fact, he even tried as far away as Calgary. “Finally,” he said, “a club that we do business with lent us theirs.”
The fire inspector approved the fryers and then, on opening day, city inspectors turned around and banned the deep fryers. Meanwhile, Doug was left with 100 cases of fries in the freezer – what to do?
He said, “Doolin’s graciously bought all the fries from us and we switched to the wedge cut roast potatoes and they just went ballistic.
“We served 500 to 600 pounds a day. The sheer volume of food was absolutely amazing. I believe we served about 4,500 steak and Guinness pies, about 6,500 of the Dublin burger, and 2,000 pounds of corned beef....the sheer volumes were staggering. We think we served about 30,000 people.”
Every day there were lineups around the block to get into Irish House. But Doug said the best publicity Irish House received was when the news media reported that there were complaints about the noise coming from Irish House. The crowds and lineups just increased from then on with waits up to three hours to get in – it became the place.
Sharky’s now has two locations on the main floor at Lonsdale Quay Market in North Vancouver. The newest location is called Sharky’s Artisan Sausages and Savoury Pies. Doug said that the meat pies are going absolutely great guns. They have about 40 different varieties and he is continually working on new recipes.
He mentioned one unusual meat pie recipe that they tried at Christmas, called turducken meat pie and it was a great hit. Sharky’s also takes orders for turducken, which has started to become really big. It’s a turkey stuffed with a duck and chicken. It’s a lot of work for the butcher to prepare and can be expensive but people seem to love it.
Austin Gourmet Catering are coming into a very busy summer season with lots of weddings booked, boat cruises, banquets and corporate barbeques.
 EXTERIOR of Sharky’s in Coquitlam.
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“You know, the Olympics was a great barometer for our staff in problem solving,” said Doug. “You really have to think on your feet and the Olympics was really a lesson in problem solving. You have to solve the problem right now, 10 minutes is too late...but catering is like that.”
Austin Gourmet will once again have their tent back at the B.C. Highland Games in Coquitlam on June 26. Drop around for a meat pie or some delicious Ayrshire bacon on a bun.
Sharky’s Chophouse and Butcher and Austin Gourmet Catering are located at 1046C Austin Avenue in Coquitlam. For more information, call (604) 939-4110.
Sharky’s Chophouse and Sharky’s Artisan Sausages and Savoury Pies are located on the main floor in Lonsdale Quay Market in North Vancouver. Call (604) 980-9870.
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