A Short History of The Rocky Raccoon as you know it…
The story of Owen Sound’s Robin Pradhan and the Rocky Raccoon Café actually begins in Amsterdam in the early 1990's. After nearly a decade working there as a waiter at 5-star restaurants and hotels, Robin perchance met Shelley Bentz, an adventurous Canadian lady who would become his wife. Fast forward to 1996, when Robin and Shelley had moved to the Bentz’s family cottage near Dyer’s Bay, on the Bruce Peninsula. They had been working as a waitress and dishwasher at a small, summers-only restaurant there, the original Rocky Raccoon Café, when the chance came up to buy the restaurant and name. After customizing the fare to reflect Robin’s native Asian and global cuisine, it didn’t take long for them to start acquiring fans from near and far. A second location in Gore Bay on Manitoulin Island followed before both were closed to focus on a new location in Wiarton. With the opportunity to purchase their own building in Owen Sound, Robin and Shelley were on the move once again, opening the current Rocky Raccoon Café on February 16, 2008, at its more central location on 2nd Avenue East in Owen Sound.
The menu brings the “100 Mile Diet” to life through a large network of local farmers and food producers, allowing Rocky Raccoon Café to serve some of the freshest and best foods available in Grey and Bruce Counties. Local fish, elk, bison, beef, lamb, and chicken, plus organic vegetables, cheeses, wines, and many others provide endless inspiration. The intention behind every dish served at Rocky Raccoon Café is ‘local and living’, a combined effort with local food producers to fill a desire to nourish both body and spirit.
“When you come to eat in my place, I see your life, literally”, says Robin. “You are handing it over to me and saying, ‘Here I am. Here is my body, here is my mind’ … and I am feeding you this meal and telling you that it is good and that it is going to benefit you and you are believing me.
“It doesn’t take much to cook good food. Pots and pans are my canvas, vegetables are my paints and, as an artist, what I try to do is find a balance. Compassion for appetite is the greatest meditation at Rocky Raccoon Café.”
This philosophy is part of what has won Rocky Raccoon Café critical acclaim, earning them a place in Anne Hardy’s “Where to Eat in Canada” guide each year since 2003. 2008 marked the addition of a coveted “One Star” rating to accompany their review, a distinction that Anne admits is extremely difficult to achieve. Her 2008 review raves, “Pradhan is Nepalese and the momos (dumplings with pork, beef, elk, or veggies steamed in rice pastry) he makes … are better than anything you’ll get in Nepal, or in Tibet for that matter.”
Combine the food with an Asian-inspired ambiance; quiet, warm, relaxed and inviting, yet professional and upscale, and you’ve got a great dining event you’ve just got experience!
