Word on the street, and by street, I mean the Vancouver Sun and Globe & Mail, is that the relationship between Rob Feenie and David and Manjy Sidoo, majority owners of Lumiere and Feenie’s is terminated.
With the tension caused by the hiring of Feenie’s heir apparent, Dale MacKay, pundits have speculated that the end was near for months now.
Personally, I’m excited to see what restaurant ventures Feenie will busy himself with now that all of this unpleasantness is behind him. I don’t want to take sides, but it’s hard to sympathize with Mr. Sidoo, who apparently garnered fame during his time in the CFL. I mean, anyone who gets popular for playing amateur football has to be seriously questioned. Back in 1992 I averaged two rushing touchdowns a game in my peewee football league over at the Y, and you don’t hear me bragging about it. True story.
Seriously, however, I do think it highly unlikely that Lumiere and Feenie’s will be successful without being associated with Rob Feenie. MacKay sounds like a talented chef, but let’s face it, much of the appeal of these restaurants is their relationship to the celebrity chef in the public mind. I’m unlikely to get upset about this change as I, like 98% of Vancouver can’t afford to dine at Lumiere more often than once every few years and my last few visits to Feenie’s have been mundane.
Urbandiner is reporting that Rob Feenie hired a high-powered public relations firm recently, which ensures his victory in the ongoing PR battle. This may be so, but it strikes me that the Sidoos seems more than able to hire their own big guns. It shouldn’t be difficult to paint a picture of an self-absorbed chef, who ignored his kitchens to manage his own career, what with Feenie’s public image having taken several hits over the past several years, probably caused by his numerous TV and bus ads. In the interest of dealing with facts, my experiences have been quite the opposite. I’ve dined at Feenie’s about six times over the past two years and Feenie was in the kitchen for at least four of these visits. On the most recent one, I saw him very pleasantly give advice to a teenage diner who expressed interest in becoming a chef.
The only clear winners here are Vancouver diners, who can expect Feenie to attack whatever kitchen he ends up in with a new-found vigor in attempt to prove himself again. If that’s Feenie’s/Lumiere, then great and if not, then frankly, it’s not a huge loss at this point.
47 responses so far ↓
1 armida spada-mcdougall // Nov 3, 2007 at 11:42 am
You can be sure I will never set foot in either Lumiere or Feenie’s. The actions of his partners are beyond disgraceful.
Good luck Rob. Im sure you’ll open up elsewhere and be very successful wherever you go. And thats the restaurant I’ll visit.
2 Per Christiansen // Nov 3, 2007 at 12:39 pm
I am a fan Rob and do wish you the best for the future. I am hoping the future will be a new restaurant and/or a new TV cook show.
Chances are you are better of without partners that treat you in such a manner – Good Luck!
3 chickeee // Nov 5, 2007 at 10:21 pm
unfortunately for us his next stop may not be Vancouver
4 Jason // Nov 5, 2007 at 11:13 pm
there’s a world outside Vancouver?
5 colleen // Nov 6, 2007 at 5:32 pm
Feenies is not Feenies without Feenie.
You have made your hometown proud Rob
and you will continue to do so in all
your endeavors. Feenies and Lumiere
in my mind are officially closed.
6 Justin // Nov 7, 2007 at 8:57 am
I feel bad for Dale Mackay who is taking over the helm is right in the middle of this and may not get a fair shake. Local boy who has paid his dues working for Ramsey for the last 3 seasons. I am hoping he finds a voice in all of this.
7 Anonymous // Nov 7, 2007 at 5:21 pm
Anyone know the name of this high powered PR firm? Last I heard, he was being represented by Cate Simpson.
8 Jason // Nov 7, 2007 at 5:35 pm
my sources say Hill and Knowlton
9 Jankay // Nov 7, 2007 at 5:38 pm
Rob, come to Saskatoon. We’d love to have you.
10 Anonymous // Nov 8, 2007 at 1:11 pm
Ack… Hill and Knowlton? That’s no joke. Has anyone heard anything else about who his “people” are? I just love how they spin everything
11 Bill S // Nov 9, 2007 at 3:44 pm
Why don’t we all ask why Mr. Feenie ended up with partners in the first place? The writer of this article couldn’t possibly understand what Manjy and David Sidoo have done for Mr. Feenie in terms of the actual running of a restaurant. Wake Up! You need to be responsible for good food and good business and Feenie can’t do both. Wish him all the luck you want but there’s no way he succeeds without people like the Sidoos.
Good luck is right – he’ll need it.
12 PaPure // Nov 14, 2007 at 1:05 am
“my sources say Hill and Knowlton”
You mean Urban Diner.
13 Jason // Nov 14, 2007 at 11:22 am
i have my own sources that don’t include the urban diner
14 Janice // Nov 18, 2007 at 3:40 pm
I wish Rob Feenie all the best. I took a cooking class with him. Something came up and he had to reschedule. He relocated the class to Lumiere on the day it is closed. We were wined and dined in appreciation for accomodating his need to change the date.
He was a wonderful host, personable, friendly, I can’t say enough about the wonderful time we all had.
I wish him all the best.
15 mark // Nov 27, 2007 at 11:11 am
Hey Jason, the guy who wrote this article. Firstly, sidoo was a pro football player and would still kick your butt up and down any sports arena. He’s become extremely successful in a business where 99% of guys fail. He bank-rolled feenie on more than one occassion because feenie couldn’t manage his own vegetables, let alone become one. Sidoo has become a powerful businessman in this city and wanted to take rob to new places in his career. But Rob became a diva far too quickly and is now talking out is a_ _! I hear subway needs a sandwich artist…..
16 Jason // Nov 27, 2007 at 11:31 am
Oh hi Mark,
Really? What team did he play for?
-Jason
17 mark // Nov 28, 2007 at 11:41 am
played 6 seasons for the saskatchewan roughriders….and u..what pro league did u and feenie play in????
18 Jason // Nov 28, 2007 at 2:15 pm
oh so the CFL? that’s only pro in the sense that they got paid. otherwise it’s a complete joke, full of people who aren’t good enough to play real football (NFL). gimme a break with this cfl bullshit.
actually, i’d respect feenie less if he played in the cfl.
19 mark // Nov 28, 2007 at 5:39 pm
hey jason your a fuckin bullshit writer get off feenies jock buddy…..come up for some air! Maybe you and him can open a little cafe together. Lets see you come up with any amount of money to bankroll his ass. I am sure your culinary arts columns are helping you live the good life!
20 Jason // Nov 28, 2007 at 5:43 pm
well played, sir. my money was on a sean taylor jab, but you certainly came through.
21 Carol // Nov 29, 2007 at 1:29 pm
I think that Rob Feenie should just kiss the restaurants goodbye, and move on. I wouldn’t want to be somewhere that they don’t want me. My new idea for Rob would be to go back and to get back to his roots and where he came from. He needs to open a bistro in North Burnaby, somewhere along Hastings Street. Perhaps he could find an investor, that would be nothing but a silent partner, and would want nothing more than a tax write-off.
22 gerald tritt // Dec 2, 2007 at 9:26 pm
Hi Jason;
Whether or not you like sidoo, or cfl for that matter, they are (were) professional athletes and deserve respect for that kind of dedication
(the same respect you afford feenie for his dedication). Alot of NFL players have come to canada and failed, alot of cflers have gone to the nfl and suceeded, vice-versa of course, but. I hope rob lands on his feet and I hope that dale mckay is afforded the opportunity to show whether or not he has the chops.
23 Jason // Dec 2, 2007 at 9:43 pm
I also hope McKay and Feenie are given their respective chances to shine.
CFL players are not professional football players. If they were, then they’d play in the NFL. I respect the CFL players that are fathers for their dedication to their families, and those that are gardeners for their dedication to their gardening, and so on. But I’ll never respect them as professional football players until they play in a real football league with real football rules. This is for the same reason I don’t respect drug dealers for dedication to their craft. It’s simply not a respectable craft. Why anyone who could watch the NFL or NCAA watches this abomination is beyond me.
by the way, “alot” isn’t a word.
24 gerald tritt // Dec 2, 2007 at 10:21 pm
Do you live in Canada, the CFL is the Canadian Professional Football League. You are right, it is not the nfl, it actually has athletes, not people that grade out well. Either you have never played the game, don’t understand it, or you are being a contrarian, just because.
ps. give it time “my sources” say alot will be in the merriam-webster dictionary next year
25 Jason // Dec 3, 2007 at 12:16 am
The reason a player grades out well is because he is a good athlete and good football instincts. thanks for making my point for me.
I can understand a Canadian watching the CFL if a real football league is not available to watch, but when there is real football on TV why watch a bunch of guys who weren’t good enough to play in the NFL? If these guys were good enough to play in the NFL they would, unless they hate money. Yeah once in a while a CFL player will come over and do well, but that’s definitely a very rare case. There’s no one in the CFL as interesting to watch as a Peyton Manning or Randy Moss, and so why watch it when there is better shit on? It’s like watching minor league baseball, except a lot worse because the rules are fucked and you know 99% of those guys will never play real football. AT least minor leaguers have the talent to be signed by a pro team. some CFL guys might make the practice squad of an NFL team, but let’s be honest, that’s not the greatest achievement in the world.
if you like the cfl, i would say that you have a very warped understanding of entertainment and football. Ask yourself this, why does no one in the US care about the CFL? And here’s a hint: because it sucks.
26 gerald tritt // Dec 3, 2007 at 7:28 am
The grading out is based on athletics (not football instincts, see Vince Youngs, wunderlick score) and a physical comparison to the “ideal”, (ie. qb must be 6 foot 3 or larger, 220 to 240lbs, to take the punishment and see over the line, doug flutie would be an example of grading out great on everything expect size, so he played 7 years in the cfl before getting a shot, in the nfl. PLayers play in the nfl, because of the money and flash, they play in the cfl because of the game.
27 Jason // Dec 3, 2007 at 12:34 pm
that’s not true. several drills in the “pro days” assess football skills. those are certainly reflected in scouting reports – as is NCAA performance. Vinny Young’s Rose Bowl performance is the major factor that led to him being the 3rd overall pick. combine drills are there because they are correlated with football skill (agility, etc).
i can understand that being a canadian, you want to think the cfl is relevant, but it really isn’t. players play in the NFL because they can. they play in the CFL because they can’t play in the nfl. that’s just fact. i’m sorry.
28 gerald tritt // Dec 3, 2007 at 6:39 pm
football skills are not instincts, running and catching to determine agility and speed have little to do with instincts.
Further, the fact that I played pop warner in FLA, have gone to 5 orange bowls, been a lifelong nfl fan (the chargers no less), lived in the states, know more about the college game than most americans, would indicate that I can speak abou this objectively. Players play in the nfl because of the money, if the money was better in canada they would play here instead. They play in Canada because they were a tweener and had to do something to showcase their skills.
29 Jason // Dec 3, 2007 at 7:30 pm
“football skills are not instincts, running and catching to determine agility and speed have little to do with instincts.”
So you are telling me that with billions of dollars on the line the NFL has been assessing the wrong skills all long? I guess they should have hired a burger-maker from Canada all along! What a waste of money! Seriously though, just because you don’t get it, doesn’t mean it’s wrong. And NCAA performance has nothing to do with NFL performance? What?
Give me a break. I don’t care how much of a fan you are or how much pop warner you played, you’re talking out of your ass. Objectivity has nothing to do with experience, and like most Canadians you have some emotional attachment to your useless league. It explains why pretty much everything you’ve said has been blatantly false and why you systematically ignore all of the points I’ve made.
“Players play in the nfl because of the money, if the money was better in canada they would play here instead.”
And if they money were better in Canada, they would be playing there for the money.
I am sorry about Norv Turner though. We learned that lesson in Washington a few years ago.
30 gerald tritt // Dec 3, 2007 at 9:04 pm
Norv Turner is the best coach in the NFL
“So you are telling me that with billions of dollars on the line the NFL has been assessing the wrong skills all long?”- No what I said was, if they do not fit the mold then they chance of getting a shot in the NFL is less. The combine is 90% physical, 10% mental. Your family rooted for a guy that never got a shot in the nfl until he proved himself in Canada, and had a pretty good career, it was too bad he didn’t grade out very well physically (too short, too slow).
Look your uh-merican, I understand that, you have to root for the NFL, you have nothing else.
But seriously, Norv Turner best coach ever, EVER (ok maybe I’m drinking the KOOL-AID, but the chargers are winning), better than the geriatric roaming the sidelines, couldn’t remember he just called a time-out
31 Jason // Dec 3, 2007 at 9:24 pm
No one here is happy about Hall-of-famer Joe Gibbs. Most of us have been calling for his replacement for weeks now, and unfortunately that entire coaching staff is geriatric.
I still can’t agree with you about your comment on fitting the mold. One is that the mold tends to be that of a good football player. Regardless, teams will take risks on players that don’t fit the mold perfectly, like Marques Colston on the Saints for instance – yeah he was drafted in the last round, but he’s worked his way up to their number one receiver. And of course, some good players will slip through the cracks, but if they are good enough, they will play in Canada for a while and then get a chance to come to a real league.
32 gerald tritt // Dec 3, 2007 at 10:12 pm
And some will come to canada and do squat trying to prove how good they were ( gastineau, manley)
33 gerald tritt // Dec 3, 2007 at 10:25 pm
And some will come to canada and do squat trying to prove how good they were (gastineau, manley, ricky williams). Then they find out that this is real football. Look at doug flutie for the mold issue, at BC all he did was win, never got a real shot at the nfl, did great on every “smarts” but was considered “too small to play with the big boys”. Now look at vince young, all he did was win at texas, dumb as a post according to the tests, but graded out perfect in terms of size (him and flutie had comparable numbers in straight speed, flutie a little faster). Agility flutie killed him, vert, beat him. Yet young is taken 1st rd. That is a mold over mind issue
34 Jason // Dec 3, 2007 at 10:43 pm
Maybe part of the problem is that these players found out that it wasn’t real football. Like taking someone who is good at one game, then changing the rules to make it something altogether different and being surprised when they aren’t as good.
And Flutie and Young played in different eras. Scrambling QBs are much more accepted now. Who is to say how Flutie would have been drafted if he came out 2 years ago.
And this is all not to mention that of course there will be outliers. Maybe Flutie was one and he slipped through the cracks, until he crawled out of it and decided to come to the NFL (I guess you would say all he cares about is money and not football, since he left the CFL?). No one ever said the system was perfect -Romo was undrafted- but I’d say it’s pretty good and separating the good/great (NFL) from the mediocre/poor (CFL),
35 gerald tritt // Dec 4, 2007 at 7:02 am
Not real football, gastineau and manley were out after their stints in the cfl, they didn’t go back down afterwards, ricky williams is prob done. Yeas fluites went down for the money and to try to prove people wrong about himself.
I think your boy manning would argue the comment of mediocre poor-kenton keith. If scrambling qbs are more accepted now, then why are they trying to put young in the box, vick in the box, why was chris leak un-drafted, why was was penn st. qb undrafted as a receiver, like hines ward, antwan rendel el ( and many many many more). The nfl is the best marketing machine in the world, frankly I’m surprised that and educated person like yourself would allow yourself to be brainwashed like this
Romo was undrafted, why, couldn’t grade out. Tom brady 6th round, why couldn’t grade out. Ryan leaf drafted number 2 why, Great grading. Jeff garcia, too small to play with the big boys. Now I you, who do want to start your team Leaf or any of the above.
The nfl puts way too much emphasis on the physical mold and not enough on the football instincts. Do your homeowrk and you will find the “outliers” outnumber the norm.
36 Jason // Dec 4, 2007 at 11:23 am
Sometimes it’s amazing what people will ignore when they are so attached to an emotion-laden position.
1. Ricky Williams has many other issues and was probably done well before he came to the CFL.
2. Don’t forget Manning was drafted ahead of Leaf, despite Leaf’s physical superiority. Evidence right there of valuing instincts over the physical.
3. I said scrambing QBs are more accepted now, not the norm, and not the prototype. But with guys like Young and Vick getting drafted so high, it’s clear teams are willing to take a chance on guys that don’t have proven accuracy but can run and have big arms. And who have shown great instincts at the college level, evidenced by winning. Both were very successful college qbs.
4. Of course Ryan Leaf was an exception, why do you think everyone makes such a deal about him? If busts like that were so common, then he wouldn’t stand out.
5. Brady is a great example of a guy who didn’t quite fit the mold, but he was drafted based on his instincts and he worked his way up. Had he not had the insticts at all, he’d probably be playing for the Alberta Knights or something.
6. At the end of the day, yeah there is too much weight placed on upside and not enough on things like devotion to the game. Everybody knows that. Kwame Brown, first overall pick for the Wizards is a great example. Some of that is captured by NCAA performance and interviews, but definitely not enough. But overall, better players are picked in the earlier rounds, and I’ll take a team that was drafted over one that was undrafted anyday. The outliers are real but they stand out in the mind, because they are so unusual and demand attention.
37 gerald tritt // Dec 4, 2007 at 1:54 pm
Sometimes it’s amazing what people will ignore when they are so attached to an emotion-laden position.
TOO TRUE
Wrong about brady, fit the mold, concern was pt, and arm strength
wrong about manning drafted 1 because of last name, went to manning football camps from 7 years on, it was an acknowledged coin flip
wrong about williams why did miami allow him back, he was off the charts for their physical
wrong about leaf, more 1st round qb busts than any other round, has to do with the expectation that the mind will catch upto the body, “you can’t teach size”-Jimmy Johnson
wrong about scrambling qbs, vick, young,akili smith, eric crouch, all told to succeed they had to learn to pocket pass, it cost jim mora jr his job.
ask any pp guy in the nfl, if the qb has jack rabbit instincts, they do not want him. If he has instinct to stand in and take a look downfield and take the hit, if he has the size they can teach him the skills.
“prototype” quarterback in every sense of the word. He is 6’4″ and 222 pounds, he has a strong arm, he can pass accurately, and he has demonstrated the ability to run-nfl.com
Height: 6-4 Weight: 225 Age: 30- Tom Brady, hmmm
Height: 6-0 Weight: 205 Age: 28- Eric Crouch won the heisman
kwame brown-high school player, jordan drolled over his grade outs not his skills, hmmm
38 Anonymous // Dec 6, 2007 at 12:32 am
Looks like this blog has become more TSN than about
the Sidoo-Feenie split.
Everyone…..come up for air and breathe!!!!!!!!!
I suspect there’s a whole lot of EGO play happening
and all the cards will fall if and when they want to.
Have met Feenie before he was FEENIE…. determined
,humble, considerate, skilled culinary artisan. Got
pretty “uptown” for a while…. arrogant & condescending. Challenging, BUT like to think of Mr. Feenie as a creative
culinary master…needs to get some humility back to
redefine his highly creative culinary skills. Let’s all share your
talents & gifts. It can only get better for you & in the
world theater, for Vancouver
Never met the Sidoos, but my perception indicates a whole
lot of smarts, street-sense, impeccable networking, stylish,
and they want to have a medium where they can play and
have fun. He probably is a hard ass individual (I stand corrected)
and she as well (stand corrected on that one, as well)
After all, they proven to themselves that they’re successful
Let’s deflate the big heads and think about our mutual
enthusiasm & respect for food
39 gerald tritt // Dec 6, 2007 at 6:56 am
Sidoo, Feenie, Who do they play for, how did they grade out at the combine.
Seriously, My personal opinion is that this was a power struggle and unfortunately feenie didn’t have any. I hope feenie lands on his feet and I hope the general public DOESN’T take sides and lets the merits of Mckay be their judge. At the end of the day call the sidoo’s whatever you want, they came in, they bailed out a sinking ship. and at a minimum gave Feenie 2 more years in the kitchen he built then he would have otherwise had, for that they should get a little credit
40 Joy // Dec 21, 2007 at 11:33 pm
well, this is a pity, i must say.
feenie’s has been one of fave restaurants, and to hear that this happened is quite sad, i must say.
i haven’t been in the restaurant for a while, and don’t know if i ever will, given these current circumstances, but much luck to both parties, i guess.
41 Ben // Jan 4, 2008 at 12:37 am
Was at Lumiere days before the news came out that Feenie left. Was disappointed, especially in the signature squash ravioli. Have been there many times before with never a problem. As soon as the news came out, I knew why this visit just didn’t measure up. Will not be back.
The only good thing Sidoo has done is hang on to the Sommelier/Director Le Goff. Hands down best in the city.
42 sooz // Jan 12, 2008 at 11:44 am
typical……
dudes on-line, joining in on a topical issue….
and melting it all into their own petty b.s.
being a restaurant owner in this town 4 the last 14 years, i wish both sides of this situation the best 4 the new year.
thats it-thats all.
they know what it takes ( or should) and know how skilled they have to be. (or should)
if the rest of you condo-chefs don’t really give a flying f–k, other than ya maybe have heard a tidbit of smarmy gossip here-or-there, lay off this crew of folx.
if you really support the local scene, stay POSITIVE, frequent your favorite haunts and let the big fish be.
…..sidebar- go Patriots. ! New England rules.
43 mark // Feb 5, 2008 at 3:19 pm
LOL LOL, so now feenie is going to be making rice bowls and gourmet fajitas…..garlic mayo for my fries please!!! that dudes a joke!
44 Dave // Feb 5, 2008 at 4:59 pm
I have heard nothing about horror stories about Rob Feenie. He treats his staff and people like dirt. His huge ego is the only reason he is not at the Lumiere any more. I do agree that restaurant might suffer, but that’s only because Vancouverites don’t know who this new chef is. He is very talented. I will actually step back in that restaurant now…
45 Diane // Feb 24, 2008 at 12:37 pm
It is sad to see Rob Feenie depart Lumiere and Feenies.
To all those people who have vowed not to return to the restaurants, do not forget the wonderful food other chefs, employed at the restaurant, produce for your pleasure and have done with consistent quality. You are punishing them. Rob was certainly inspirational to everyone in the kitchen, but he did not prepare everything you enjoyed.
46 Anonymous // Mar 19, 2008 at 1:43 pm
My family, co-workers, and friends will no longer be dining at Lumieres and Feenies due to Rob’s departure. He was the only reason we kept going back there.
47 What a Shame // May 22, 2008 at 8:30 pm
This reminds me of a series I saw a few years ago about a young upcomming chef, Rocco and his investor opening Rocco’s in New York City. Rocco could keep track of food costs, lease costs, staff costs, etc and the resturant lost money, month after month. Finally the investor( who’s name I have forgotten) gave Rocco an ultimatumn and put his management staff in place to try to turn things around. Rocco’s arrogance and inability to manage got the better of him and he was tossed out. End of series although Rocco had started court proceedings.
Sounds like similar circumstances. Rocco went back to his own small resturant and Feenie has gone to Cactus Club. How humbling.
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