Scott Pohorelic is the executive chef of river café

Passion and love for the culinary arts came at an early age for Scott Pohorelic and he began working professionally in the industry at age sixteen, taking over his first kitchen at age nineteen. After many years of hands on experience, and recognizing the need to further his formal education Scott completed the highly regarded culinary program at S.A.I.T. here in Calgary. In the next step of his career, Scott found his way to River Café and took over the position of Sous-Chef in 1999. Five years later Scott took over the reins as Chef.

"Simple approaches let quality ingredients speak for themselves" came from spending summers on his grandparents farm experiencing the taste that comes from fresh home grown vegetables and foraged wild saskatoon berries. "The best tasting food is made from fresh, local and naturally produced ingredients prepared in a light handed style".

Scott is dedicated to sourcing local foodstuffs from producers who are passionate about their products and who honor the land as a sustainable resource for the future. "There is a direct correlation between a person's passion and the quality of the work they do. This is as true of farmers as it is of cooks. It is the link that binds us."

Scott is always seeking out opportunities to learn and has been influenced by time spent in the kitchen with Robert Clark of C restaurant, David Hawksworth of West and Hidekazu Tojo of Tojo's in Vancouver.