LITTLE CURRENT—Manitoulin Island sushi lovers rejoice! The Japanese rolls made with vinegared shari (sushi rice) are the main dish at Bear LC, the new restaurant that has opened in the old Island Jar location in downtown Little Current.
The Expositor sat down with executive chef Art Donskov, late of Ukraine and now a new addition to the Canadian melange to talk sushi, managed growth and the start of a new life in a new land.
Mr. Donskov notes that although sushi in its many iterations is the main dish being offered at Bear today, in the coming months he plans to expand the menu into other Asian cuisine offerings. “I like the…fusion…of different dishes,” he notes. For hundreds of years sushi was (and is) the fast food of Japanese cuisine. That makes sushi the perfect startup menu for the new restaurant. But the future holds “just about everything except French cuisine,” he said.
The executive chef has nothing against the French, he emphasizes, but French dishes tend to be long and drawn-out affairs when it comes to preparation and execution. Sushi and stir fries are fast, delicious and a niche that really hasn’t been fully explored on Manitoulin.
For now, sushi and ramen soups in their various incarnations rule the roost (along with an amazing cheesecake), but offerings will grow as time goes on.
Those who have been enjoying the perogies and other Ukrainian dishes being offered by Mr. Donskov’s wife Yuliia and her friend Yuliia Zelenko need not despair. Although not planned for the immediate future, those dishes might yet make their way onto the Bear menu sometime in the future.
“Baby steps,” said Mr. Donskov. “We are taking things step by step.” Managed growth is the name of the game when starting a new business, especially a restaurant.
Mr. Donskov does not regard himself as political. “For me, it is food,” he said. He describes the feeling he gets while watching someone try a new dish for the first time, or how their eyes brighten as they bite into a favourite dish. “When a person bites something, their eyes light up,” he said. “It is happiness in the moment.”
His stock in trade is the different flavours, textures, the nuances that come together to ignite that light.
Mr. Donskov worked for over six years as an executive chef in Ukraine and was just starting a new project in Kyiv, Ukraine when his world was rudely interrupted by global events.
“I never thought of coming to live in Canada,” he admitted. “I had heard of Canada, of course, but I did not really know much about it other than it was supposed to be a nice place.”
Like many people across the globe, Mr. Donskov did not believe the Russians would invade his country. He has many Russian friends and, like many Ukrainians, considered that nation to be close friends before the rockets and bombs began to fall.
“Before February, I did not believe it,” he said.
Canada lies 8,000 kilometres from where he once lived and it has taken some adjustment. “It is a different culture, a different people,” said Mr. Donskov. “People are different here, absolutely. But it is good, in fact, it is pretty great.”
His expectations of Canada were that he would meet a taciturn and stoic Northern people, what he discovered was a culture where people greeted each other and engaged. “Almost all of the people I have met have been talkative, kind, filled with good will,” he said.
Mr. Donskov speaks both Ukrainian and Russian quite fluently, and although he had not practiced English much since his school days, he is quickly mastering the language, even if he must occasionally resort to his smartphone to source the correct word to express his meaning.
While Ukrainians generally celebrate Christmas on January 7, with January 6 (King’s Day) functioning as Christmas Eve, Mr. Donskov and his family celebrated Christmas this year with Canadian friends. “Good people,” he smiled.
“Things happen for a reason,” said Mr. Donskov. “Looking back, we can see how it was good.”
Bear restaurant remains a work in progress as the new Canadians discover the patterns and rhythms of life on Manitoulin, but one thing seems clear, he and his family are here to stay.
As for how the restaurant came to be named Bear LC, perhaps an odd choice given the current situation in Ukraine. Mr. Donskov smiles. “It is like a bear,” he said. “Like a fuzzy comfortable bear.”
Bear LC can be found on Facebook and Instagram at at bearkitchen.ca.
Yuliia Zelenko and Yuliaa Donskova of Bear LC.
