Tuc Craft Kitchen

“I was in and out of restaurants in high school and university just to pay my bills,” says James MacFarlane, co-founder of Tuc Craft Kitchen. “I stuck with it for a year while I took some time out of university to figure out what I wanted to do ‘professionally’ and realized not only did I enjoy the business, but I actually had an aptitude for it.”

James worked his way up the management ranks in the corporate environment to franchise ownership with Colin Ross – a fellow restaurateur with a similar background – before the two decided it was time to take on the small-scale independent venture they’d been talking about for years and approached talented chef Roy Flemming.

“Roy worked his way up a multitude of different high-end kitchens in Montreal and got his Red Seal before moving out to BC in the late 1990s. We all met working in Milestones, became acquaintances, some would argue friends. Roy was the only guy I felt I wanted to partner with from a chef standpoint,” says James.