About the Owners
Tracie Zahavich Pastry Chef and Owner of Fox & Monocle Café
Tracie's baking journey began at the young age of 10, when she made cinnamon buns for her father to take to the golf course, to share with his friends. Some of those friends just happened to be instructors in the Baking and Pastry Arts (BPA) Program at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT). Chef Volker Baumann, was one of those instructors and he took Tracie under his wing to teach her the basics of baking. After graduating high school she wanted to continue learning and mastering the art of Baking and Pastry, so she enrolled in SAIT's BPA program where she earned her journeyman and red seal certificates.
Tracie's love for travel and desire to see different kitchens lead her to Chicago to stage at NAHA , a Michelin Star restaurant, under pastry chef Craig Harzewski. She then packed her bags and headed to the United Kingdom where she worked at Restaurant Gordan Ramsay, a 3 Michelin star restaurant. During her time in the Ramsay group she won the Commis competition. After two years of honing her craft in England, she made the trip back to Calgary to lead the pastry kitchen at River Café. Never one to rest on her laurels, Tracie returned to the UK to stage at Core By Clare Smyth, a Michelin 3-star restaurant where she honed her skills in another challenging world class kitchen. Tracie returned to Calgary and brought her talents to Teatro Restaurant, where she lead the pastry team and helped with the startup of Holy Cow Donut and Gelato Shop. Now achieving a life long dream Tracie is thrilled to share her baking at her very own project Fox and Monocle Café.
Ross Bowles Chef and Owner of Fox & Monocle Café
Ross began cooking in a small family owned restaurant in Calgary and fell in love with the industry at the age of fifteen. Ross continued to pursue his passion for cooking and went to work at River Café (Canadas top 100 restaurants) for four years working his way up from prep cook to Sous Chef.
Looking to gain some international experience Ross moved to England and was part of the opening team at Core by Clare Smyth and was there just over two years during which time they won two Michelin stars. Wanting to understand more about sustainable dining Ross staged at Amass in Copenhagen and Blue Hill at Stone barns in New York. After traveling Ross returned to Calgary where he returned to River Café as Executive Chef. Ross is ecstatic to be able to showcase his cooking at his own project Fox and Monocle Café
