Open Fire!
An Interview with Andrea Alridge
Head Chef, Osteria Savio Volpe

The embers in Andrea Alridge’s fire pit lick the charred brocollini aglio e olio — the smoke infuses, just as on her turn of a thick, grilled Rocana Farms pork chop. Both of these centrepiece ingredients underscore her devotion — not just to buying from local suppliers and growers, but also to her love of the primal flavours driven by her wood fire.

That smokey, joyful devotion is imprinted in her childhood memories and also in her more recent past. For almost a decade, Chef Alridge worked her way up in the kitchens of CinCin, where the Infierno wood-burning grill and rotisserie are a signature of the large West End restaurant. Her fire pit at Savio Volpe might be just half the size (and her kitchen barely one-quarter), but — counterintuitively perhaps — her much smaller team might serve 230 evening covers compared to CinCin’s 250 to 300.

Andrea is still in her early thirties; she studied at VCC 12 years ago and her later résumé includes a stint at RainCity Grill with Jen Peters and CTS co-founder Rob Clark, recently honoured with the Order of Canada. If being a Top Chef Canada competitor taught her the value of standing on her own feet, her time at CinCin, she says, “really taught me the importance of teamwork, resilience and adaptability.” That held especially true during the onset of the pandemic, when Top Table chefs banded together to provide meal kits and provisions from the Elisa steakhouse kitchens. “We pulled that off in just a week,” she says, “and it was all about meetings and ideas, and the power of collaboration.”

Andrea was raised in Richmond, but her family provenance runs to the Philippines and Jamaica. She fondly recalls her grandmother, ‘Auntie Vie’ in Jamaica, whom she visited on holidays. “Auntie Vie was my childhood force of nature, she butchered her own animals (often goat) for enormous curries, and often it was my job to start the wood fire under the pot — a very large pot. That’s because it was all about sharing,” she says, an ethic that underscores both her cooking and brand of hospitality today.

She also maintains that other things became ingrained. “Buy local—we take this very seriously— the best source is your backyard,” she says, “and use it all. “I like to think that we do the familiar but changed up. That’s the same with dessert chef Jessi Morton too, and our housemade breads and pastas.”

Twelve years into her career, Andrea notes how the industry has changed since she entered it. “There is a younger chef mindset now,” she says. “It’s not as harsh or abrasive. It’s a lot more forgiving, more nurturing, not as mean. That’s encouraging.”

When she joined the team of Savio Volpe last January, Scout Magazine said this: “Culinary Director Phil Scarfone believes Chef Andrea to be ‘a natural choice as head chef and someone with whom he can collaborate and make magic. With her sterling reputation, strong work ethic and friendly demeanour,’ says Chef Phil, ‘Andrea is the total package of a leader.’”

She has some advice for young chefs just entering the trade. “Don’t run before you can walk,” she says. “Always think of the bigger picture—you are part of a team, one of many moving parts. Keep your head down, and do the work. Think about how you can improve upon the tasks you are assigned, and seek advice. And above all else, be patient. Patience should be your mantra.”

On her days off, Andrea drinks in the fresh sea air: she enjoys riding her bicycle to distant points: Richmond, for old times sake, or a long loop around the Stanley Park Seawall. Her bike has one fixed gear. “So there’s no stopping,” Andrea says. And there’s no coasting either— on ‘a fixie’ the pedals are always going to spin.

The same direct drive — no stopping, no coasting, lots of joy — might be said to follow her into her kitchen at Savio Volpe, too.

Jamie Maw is a Co-Founder of Chefs’ Table Society.

Photo credits: Zenaida Kwong