L'Abattoir's new executive chef Jasper Cruickshank is keeping Lee Cooper's foie gras terrine and oysters

Jasper Cruickshank became executive chef of L'Abattoir, the Gastown restaurant, in March 2025, taking over from Lee Cooper, who founded the restaurant in 2010 and ran its kitchen for 15 years.

The foie gras terrine and the oysters stay on the menu. The kitchen stays grounded in French technique and West Coast ingredients, with influences from further afield, and Cruickshank is adding dishes of his own. "I just want to keep that legacy of L'Abattoir alive and not tarnish the reputation that it has," he says.

One of his signature dishes is scallops cured in shio koji, served with yuzu and pickled daikon. He says the best dishes are balanced rather than needlessly elaborate, and he puts flavour ahead of appearance: "For me, obviously, the flavours are the most important. Creating something that's aesthetic to the eye comes secondary."

His chef de cuisine, Baker Hsu, has a dish of hot-smoked hamachi over Koshihikari rice seasoned with house-cultured shio koji, inspired by Italian risotto. Cruickshank is quick to credit him: "He's a very talented chef and big part of the restaurant."

Cruickshank won the 2024 Canadian Culinary Championship while working at Whistler's Wild Blue. His training includes a stint with Bruno Marti, which led to an apprenticeship at La Belle Auberge and time in European kitchens.