One of Jason Strohan’s favourite sayings is “waste not, want not.” It’s a sentiment that guides the co-owner of St. Tropez Bistro in downtown Saskatoon and its upstairs cocktail bar, Parlor, every day.
He and his co-owner and wife, Cher Diller, are always looking for new ways to make the most of the ingredients on their dinner and drink menus to reduce waste. That attitude has not only earned the family-owned business kudos for its environmental consciousness but has also recently helped establish Strohan as one of the world’s top mixologists.
From Saskatoon to the global stage
This past April, he finished in the top three at the Torres Brandy Zero Challenge in Barcelona, an international competition that challenges competitors from across the globe to create the world’s most sustainable cocktail bar project. Strohan earned the right to represent Canada in Barcelona after finishing first at a national qualifier held in Montreal this past February. He was one of 12 contestants at the international event, which drew mixologists from as far away as Finland, Mexico, Norway and the United Kingdom.
His Forgotten Fruit project included a pitch to set up a website and a social media presence that community members could use to let staff know if they had excess fruit from trees in their yards. That excess fruit could then be turned into preserves, juices and cordials for use at Parlor and other businesses participating in the project. Although he didn’t win the competition’s $55,000 CAD grand prize, Strohan was thrilled to finish among the top three contestants.
“I was definitely very excited to make it into the top three, given that we’re from Saskatoon, and I was rubbing shoulders with some really well-recognized icons in the industry,” he said. “The other two [top finishers] were from bars that were on the World’s 50 Best Bars list and were in the top 20, so I was in very good company. Of course, I go into these competitions always striving to win, but getting recognized and making the top three is a pretty good accomplishment.”
From dishwasher to mixologist
St. Tropez Bistro is a second home for Strohan. He started working there as a dishwasher in his teens and held a variety of roles before eventually becoming head chef. A few years ago, he and his wife took over the restaurant’s day-to-day operations when his parents retired. They decided to open Parlor in a 1,100-square-foot second-floor space previously used for larger gatherings. Most of his time is now spent behind the bar, creating and serving cocktails. “I think part of what’s kept me … here is that I’m always picking up and learning something new,” he said.
Building a business around sustainability
A large part of the couple’s focus for their bar and restaurant is sustainability and minimizing the operation’s carbon footprint. As part of that focus, the bar sources local ingredients whenever possible for all the cordials, syrups and cocktails it serves. These include the city’s namesake Saskatoon berries as well as apples, raspberries, apricots, sea buckthorn and chokecherries. Some of the fruit is donated by neighbours who don’t know what to do with it all. The rest comes from trees or bushes on the couple’s property or from Strohan’s mom, Terry, who provides 100 to 150 pounds of raspberries from her backyard each summer.
Something we have really put an emphasis on … is utilizing small, local producers. The product is typically a little bit more expensive, but it’s of better quality. It’s part of that circular economy that’s proving to be more and more important every day.
Jason Strohan, St. Tropez Bistro
Strohan says the inspiration for his bar and restaurant’s environmentally conscious approach has been twofold. As small business owners, he and his wife are frugal and always look for ways not to waste product or money. They also want to be environmentally responsible by maximizing the use of the ingredients they require and creating less food waste.
“Being here in Saskatchewan, we have to import so much of our produce, especially in the winter months,” he said. “By taking our local products and using some preservation techniques and freezing juice, we can really eliminate a lot of those transportation [CO2 emissions] that come from the big trucks or ships that send it across the world or just across the country.”
Not only is the couple’s approach helping preserve the natural environment, but it’s also creating high-end cocktails that can’t be found anywhere else.
Turning local ingredients into signature cocktails
Parlor uses citrus peels in combination with a neutral grain spirit like vodka, adds sugar, and lets the mixture sit for a couple of weeks to create their own version of limoncello (a sweet Italian liqueur) called citrus-cello. “It turned out fantastic,” Strohan said. “I think it’s as good as any commercially bought limoncello that you can get.”
In addition, some not-quite-ripe apples are picked and run through a cold-press juicer to produce a liquid that closely matches the taste and acidity of lemons, which is used as a lemon substitute in some cocktails. This not only saves money on supplies and transportation, but it also reduces CO2 emissions. “With the cost of produce … it’s starting to actually make financial sense in terms of the amount of labour you have to put in to utilize these local ingredients in various ways,” he said.
Strohan acknowledges that such a focus on hyper-local and seasonal ingredients has its challenges. For one thing, he can’t plan his cocktail menu too far in advance because he’s not always sure which ingredients might be available, when he can acquire them or how plentiful they will be. For example, chokecherries might be readily available one year but hard to come by the next.
It can also be a labour-intensive affair. Raspberries must be simmered in a pot for several hours, then pressed through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any seeds and finally processed in a steamer juicer that separates the berry’s juice from any skins or pits. The skins are then dehydrated and ground into a powder that can be used as a garnish for the rim of a glass, leaving virtually no waste. It’s not unusual for Strohan and his wife to spend up to 20 hours every few weeks foraging for items such as Saskatoons, chokecherries and currants on a piece of property they own just south of Saskatoon.
“I don’t even know how many hours of labour we put into it … but I think it shows that sense of pride in our local ingredients,” he said. “And it really showcases some of our local ingredients here. The out-of-town or out-of-country travellers really love to see a product that uses something local, and they’re interested in trying it.”
That hyper-local approach has required Strohan and Diller to develop and maintain close relationships with local suppliers, such as producers and distillers.
“Something we have really put an emphasis on … is utilizing small, local producers,” he said. “We have some great relationships that we have built. The product is typically a little bit more expensive, but it’s of better quality. And it’s important to keep that money in the community…. It’s part of that circular economy that’s proving to be more and more important every day.”
Beyond the bar
As much as Strohan is enjoying today, he is also keeping a keen eye on what lies ahead for the beverage industry. He believes that the attention being paid to the use of local ingredients will continue to grow over the next five to 10 years, especially on the Canadian Prairies.
“People are really trying to utilize local ingredients. That’s something that I see popping up with bartenders in other countries, but especially here in Canada. With Canada being such a large, diverse landscape, we’ve got so much interesting variety across the country, and that’s really helping us stand out on the global market.”
