Oak Lake Newsletter published in May of 2008
When you think of food in Oak Lake my mind heads straight for the Gold n’ Embers or the Dandy Drive Inn. Then there is the Perogy Pantry & being a good old-fashioned polish girl you know there is a special place in my heart for them. So from a traditional diner style eatery to one of the best ice cream drive up shacks in West-Man to a great ethnic taste where else can you go. How about to the new face in town. Darryl Swiscoski!!! The owner and operator of the newest catering service this side of Brandon, D & J Catering!!
Along with his wife, Darryl is creating peoples dreams with plates of food fit for any occasion. From birthday wishes to that all-important luncheon or maybe even that biggest day in most people's lives, he is there to make everyone smile with a full belly.
Darryl is an accomplished Red Seal Chef, with an extensive background in large and small scale catering. After graduation from Assinaboine Community College's Culinary Program his instructors saw something in him that prompted them to set up a meeting on his behalf with the Chef of the Keystone Convention Centre in Brandon Manitoba. This meeting led to a full-time cooking job with the centre where Darryl was shown many new tricks of the trade and had a hand in many large scale functions such as; the winter fair, rural forum, and even catering to celebrities. At this time he began to find a real passion for baking & decorating doing assorted desserts for numerous events. This love for baking never left Darryl even after the doors of the Keystone Kitchen closed. Because of this desire to bake there was no question for Darryl when a small but profitable bakery came calling. Along with his sister he headed up to a small community in the North West Territories for a new experience and opportunity. While there Darryl assisted in all operations with the bakery. He had his hands right in the production as well as the day-to-day functions with the business. Darryl didn’t know it then but this was a real stepping-stone towards owning his own business. Half a year later Darryl was longing for his family and friends back home, he decided to pick up and see where his mixing bowl would take him this time. Thankfully, along came a young lady named Jamie, and he returned to Brandon. When they met Darryl had a few different jobs around town - a café here and a restaurant there. Soon an opportunity opened up again for him away from Brandon but he knew he couldn’t leave this special lady behind. She was a sure thing. She was the one. After all she did say yes to that all-important question. When it seemed that things couldn’t look any better for Darryl he was handed one more shining star, the chance to work for the kitchen where he got his start. Assinaboine Community College was looking for new staff and one position available was for the Cafeteria Chef. Darryl jumped at the chance to return the favour to the school that took a chance on him. As it stands he is still working at the ACC kitchen and can’t wait for the move up to the new location on the North Hill. He will then be back in cahoots with the instructors who saw that special something in him a good six or seven years ago. It also gives him the opportunity to pass on his knowledge to future students just as his past mentors did to him.
Because at D & J Catering
“We cater your need to feed”
This is a write up that was written in the local newsletter in Oak Lake
