Author: inralnemort1976

Probably like lots of people have, I came here to meet chef Darren MacLean after watching Final Table. Seeing his passion for what he does and dedication to his craft during the show was super inspirational! Well, we had a Banff trip planned and I figured why not try to meet the infamous Darren while we're in the area!? So I asked the hostess if Darren was in, and sure enough he was! It was a Monday night and we had reservations already set so there was no wait. We decided to do omekase (chef's choice) as we were all pretty much in awe and undecided for what we wanted. There's just no way to describe the amazing experience, and the well balanced dishes Chef Darren and his team created. I cannot recall every dish that came out, the sourcing and the preparations of them (despite his team described it very well prior to setting out our plates), but everything was just so good. My favorite was the cold scallop ($16 CAD for a pair), which was was full of flavor, and so well balanced with the right amount of acidity, juice and texture to it. The sauce ignites a rush of saliva as the scallop touches and melts onto your tongue. Like drops of heaven. The fish plates were SO good and the freshness was outstanding. We had the beef tataki as well, which had a fantastic reduction on a perfectly cooked platter of medium rare sliced beef. We also ordered a bottle of sake, which unfortunately they ran out of, but Chef Darren came over to remedy the situation and gave us a much better bottle that was similar to the dryness of the sake we initially ordered. Not only that, but he also joined us for kanpai! We had maybe 10-12 courses of plates, and it was SUPER affordable given the high quality, intricate and attention-to-detail plates that were put in front of us. In total, including the drinks, our bill came out to about $415 CAD before gratuity for 5 people, which I felt was reasonable. The service was phenomenal and the team clearly was ensuring we had a great time. All in all, I HIGHLY recommend Shokunin for anyone in the area, living here, traveling, etc. I also thought it was super awesome that Chef Darren knew we (read: I) was excited to meet him, and he waited for our table to finish to take a picture together outside (I think he had already finished his shift). Super cool. I have no doubt I will be coming back to Shokunin when I'm in the area again for Banff/Jasper. Next up: visiting Chef Darren's Final Table partner, Tim in LA!