- CA-BC-WJ002
- Persoon
- fl. 1989-present
James Walt is a renowned Whistler chef and the current head of Il Caminetto Restaurant. He has been cooking since the age of 12, when he got his first job at a family friend's restaurant in Kanata, Ontario. Walt graduated from the Stratford Chefs School in 1991 and worked at restaurants in various places including Switzerland and Los Angeles. He arrived in Whistler in 1997, at which point he became Executive Chef at Araxi. Walt would hold this position for the next two decades, taking brief interludes to work at other locations such as Sooke Harbour House and Blue Water Cafe in Vancouver, the Canadian embassy in Rome, and the James Beard House in New York City. He is the only Whistlerite ever to cook at the latter restaurant, and has done so on three occasions. In 2017, Walt became the Executive Chef at Il Caminetto, though he also oversees Araxi, The Cellar by Araxi, and Bar Oso.
Walt has been voted best chef in Whistler by Pique Newsmagazine, inducted into the BC Restaurant Hall of Fame (2011), and been the Celebrity Chef in Residence at Stratford Chefs School (2017). He is a great supporter of local produce, working closely with Sea-to-Sky farmers to select the finest ingredients for his restaurants. He has authored several cookbooks. Walt currently lives in Squamish.