Rosebud Chef Kosta Galanos glad to be back

 

Laureen F. Guenther
Times Contributor

 

Kosta Galanos, former sous chef in the kitchen of Rosebud’s Haskayne-Kenney Mercantile, has returned as Head Chef and Food and Beverage Manager.
“I’m ecstatic to be here,” Galanos said. “When I finally got the word that it was all going to work out, I was tickled pink.”
Galanos, known in Strathmore for working in his family’s Little Village Café, initially came to Rosebud in 2011. On the drive out for his interview, he almost turned around, convinced he was lost.
When he arrived, he said, “I’m like wow! I would never have known (it was here) and look at the size of this place!”
“I got thrown into the fire pretty quick,” he said, making 250 canapés for a wedding on his first day. And, “Right from the get-go, it felt like home.”
For two-and-a-half years, Galanos was Rosebud’s sous chef.
“(The sous chef is) the one who implements everything the chef wants,” he explained. “He executes it and he helps the rest of the kitchen execute it.”
When then-head chef Pat Murphy went on sabbatical, Galanos added the role of head chef to his usual responsibilities.
Then, during the 2014 off-season, Galanos took a leave of absence, accepting a contract in northern Alberta. But Rosebud called him back before his northern contract ended, so Galanos resigned the Rosebud position. When he returned to Wheatland County, he took a hospitality and housekeeping management position, but wasn’t doing as much cooking as he’d like.
So when Chef Charlie See resigned from the Mercantile this summer, leaving the chef position vacant, the timing was perfect for Galanos. As of Aug. 1, he returned to Rosebud as Head Chef and Food and Beverage Manager.
When asked what he most looks forward to on his return, Galanos said, “cooking … being out in the kitchen again and being able to come up with my own dishes. I’ve got a restaurant to show what I can do with my dishes.”
He plans to develop a consistent menu for each show’s dinner buffet, because “It gets your cooks practiced with them, so it becomes second nature.”
He may vary the Wild Horse Jack’s Bistro menu with the seasons, or maintain a basic year-round menu with seasonal or weekly specials. Whichever direction he takes, he wants to simplify it and make it really good.
“You’ve really got to be able to think on your feet in this industry,” he said. “That’s what I love about cooking, is that real thinking on your feet. It takes a special kind of crazy to do what we do.”
And he’s glad to be doing that in Rosebud.
“It’s different than any other kitchen,” he said.
It’s obviously a nice kind of different, because Galanos is “super happy to be back.”