Marcel Kauer

Signature

Breaded Pork Tenderloin Schnitzel with Spätzle is one of Marcel Kauer’s signature dishes. The plate carries the marks of technique and memory at the same time: crisp breading, familiar form, and the continuity of a dish first shaped through training and later carried into his work at Hastings House.

In Their Words “When guests say they've just had the best dining experience of their lives, I'm happy. That's perfection!”

The Recognition The Executive Chef title has defined Marcel Kauer’s work at Hastings House since 1996. He joined the culinary team in 1991, and that long continuity has become part of the record of the kitchen itself. In a trade that often rewards constant change, his standing rests on consistency, precision, and a dining room experience built to hold together from first course to last. His own standard is guest-facing and direct: "When guests say they've just had the best dining experience of their lives, I'm happy. That's perfection!" The line fits a chef whose work depends less on flourish than on the disciplined meeting of service, setting, and kitchen practice. Recognition here is tied to the role he has held since 1996. That length of tenure points to a kitchen shaped over time, with standards reinforced by repetition and a clear sense of purpose.

The Work

Behind It European gourmet cuisine is the framework, and fresh herbs, local fish, poultry, venison, and lamb are the ingredients that give the cooking its setting. Marcel Kauer’s Swiss birth and training provide the structure; Salt Spring Island supplies the materials. The result is composed and practical, with technique carrying the work while the region stays visible on the plate. Breaded Pork Tenderloin Schnitzel with Spätzle is the clearest named example of that line. Kauer brought the dish to Manor Dining from his three-year apprenticeship at Hotel Krone in Wetzikon, near Zurich, and it remains one of his favourite dishes. The plate links apprenticeship to service without needing embellishment: a precise dish, a specific training ground, and a long afterlife in his kitchen. Schnitzel and Spätzle carry Swiss training into Canada, while the broader menu keeps returning to the local ingredients around Hastings House.

The Road Marcel Kauer is Swiss born and trained. His education included Hotel Krone in Wetzikon, near Zurich, where the three-year apprenticeship that produced his Breaded Pork Tenderloin Schnitzel with Spätzle became part of the craft he later carried to Canada. He joined the culinary team at Hastings House Country House Hotel in 1991. In 1996, he became Executive Chef, a role he has held to the present. The path is compact and legible: Swiss training, a formative apprenticeship near Zurich, arrival at the Salt Spring Island hotel, then the Executive Chef post. Each step remains visible in the cooking, from European technique to the use of local fish, poultry, venison, lamb, and herbs.