STOUGHTON - Whether you’re poppin’ in for a quick lunch with friends or out for an elegant evening meal with your better half, Stought’s Eatery is the place to be.
Coy Delorme is sole owner and head chef at Stought’s Eatery, which opened this summer in Stoughton.
He says the idea of owning a restaurant wasn’t necessarily in his plans but circumstances led him to southeast Saskatchewan, in particular to Stoughton.
“It’s every chef’s dream to do so,” says Delorme, explaining the idea of owning his own restaurant. “It’s a neat experience.”
“I was approached to come on board with a team who had the idea of the project, and they needed a chef.”
Delorme moved from Saskatoon to Stoughton specifically to run the restaurant as head chef. He decided on the name Stought’s Eatery because he somehow wanted to include the town’s name to be more meaningful to the locals.
“It’s truly their restaurant,” says Delorme.
Other than being the head chef and sole owner of the restaurant, Delorme says he does have a great team behind him who saw his vision.
Delorme has had a lot of experience as a chef. He worked at Dakota Dunes Casino for the past nine years, eventually becoming head chef. He did the hotel circuit. He also worked for a few independent restaurants and steakhouses, as well as working in the education sector.
Delorme says he doesn’t particularly have a ‘specialty’ in his repertoire of recipes.
“Honestly, it’s all over the map.”
“When I cook, I like to use natural flavours…I don’t like to mask the products too much. I like to pair things that naturally go together.”
But of course there is a lot of experimentation as well.
“You’re always learning…always learning.”
Delorme may sometimes create those ‘out there’ dishes but explains that he started with comfort food.
That is the gist of this restaurant…is the comfort food.
“I want people to feel like they’re out and about but yet still have the flavours of that home-cooked meal.”
Since the opening of the restaurant, Delorme has heard a lot of positive comments.
“I think we’re on the right track,” says Delorme. “We’re going in the right direction.”
“Unfortunately the COVID restrictions are holding us back somewhat.”
It’s tough to make the decision to open a restaurant but COVID has made it that much tougher.
Delorme welcomes everyone to stop in for a bite to eat at Stought’s Eatery, regardless of whether you come in work boots or suit and tie.
Delorme also has plans of changing up his menu to suit the season.
“In the future I’m looking at doing some daily features,” explains Delorme. “There’s a lot of options.”
You can take the chef out of the kitchen but when you do, he’s still thinking about new recipes to add to his menu on his time away from the restaurant.
Delorme has intentions in the near future of searching out local vendors to bring in local produce and such.
Stought’s Eatery has new winter hours, being open six days a week from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., with the restaurant being closed on Tuesdays.
The Christmas season is near and the restaurant is open for Christmas bookings.
