On Tuesday evening, the news began to circle that 33-year-old local chef Jonathan Sobol lost his life in a car accident just outside the city. It was news that was hard to grasp and gut-wrenching for hundreds of people whose lives he had touched.
Mr. Sobol spent most of his life, culinary and otherwise, in Alberta. He grew up in Fairview, Alta., and his first real sparks in the kitchen ignited at the Rimrock Resort Hotel in Banff, where he spent half a year after high school before attending the culinary arts program at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology.
After that, he worked in Ottawa, most notably at the small-plates restaurant Play, located in the ByWard Market.
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Missing his Alberta roots, Mr. Sobol returned to work in Calgary and after a stint as a private chef and several other positions, he began to make his mark as the executive chef of Farm – a farm-to-table restaurant that closed earlier this summer – and, most recently, at Starbelly.
Mel Lafleur, corporate chef of One Horn Developments, had known Mr. Sobol over the years and watched his career flourish with natural progression. "He was nice, caring and genuine. A gentle giant that was so passionate about what he was doing," Ms. Lafleur said. "He loved being in a leadership role and teaching people."
She went on to commend his growth as a chef and how true he stayed to embracing a "local" state of mind, regardless of trendiness.
In a world where many young chefs seem interested only in thousands of Instagram followers or instant fame, Mr. Sobol's focus remained solely on making his diners' experiences the best they could be.
"Wherever he was working, he honestly cared about every, single thing that he was serving to his guests. That never changed," Ms. Lafleur said.
Mr. Sobol was killed on Aug. 30 along with filmmaker Alec Bracegirdle, 20, in a collision involving three vehicles on a highway northeast of Calgary, near Irricana. The pair were travelling together for a film shoot, according to a memorial page set up by Mr. Bracegirdle's family and friends.
Mark Carrillo, one of Mr. Sobol's close friends, worked alongside him as the operations manager of Farm and saw his true love for the culinary arts first-hand on a daily basis. "Jon had a big heart. He genuinely took interest in his staff whether it was in their personal or professional lives. He would often take extra time to teach and mentor his staff because he truly cared. [Being a chef] wasn't just a paycheque for him, it was a true passion, and that was so evident while he was at work."
Dan Clapson
Local-food beliefs aside, when Mr. Sobol came on as the executive chef of Starbelly in the summer of 2015, he began to involve himself deeply in community outreach. Since last year, he had planned a variety of events at his restaurant to help raise funds for a mix of projects, including a neighbourhood playground and, most recently, a community garden for the South Health Campus in the Seton community.
Outside of cooking, Mr. Sobol spent a large part of his spare time this summer working with the students of Haysboro School through their gardening program. The chef was fixated on helping a younger generation understand where their food could come from and how rewarding it could be to reap the benefits of ingredients you can grow yourself.
"He had a special connection with children," Mr. Carrillo said. "I asked him to cook hot dogs at my daughter's birthday party for a bunch of four-year-olds, which would scare most guys, but not Chef Jon."
He continued, smiling: "When I looked over at him, he had a grin from ear to ear while explaining the fine details and the art of grilling a dog to a group of kids. He was in his element and comfortable doing so."
There is no doubt that many people will remember Jonathan Sobol for a myriad of wonderful things: a great friend, a loving son, a mentor. Myself? I am always going to remember him as the kind of chef that I sincerely hope every starry-eyed apprentice coming out of school will grow up to be.
