Family turns grief into support for future chefs

By Miriam Ostermann, Associate Editor

At the age of 33, Jonathan Sobol was on the fast track to an already promising career. He had graduated from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) as a Red Seal chef, created dishes with celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal during an unpaid month-long learning experience at England’s esteemed three-Michelin-star restaurant The Fat Duck, and put in 12-hour days as the executive chef at Calgary’s upscale restaurant, Starbelly.
His social life was thriving as well. He was beloved among his friends, never missed a chance to spent time with his nephew and niece, and he was working on a film project together with 20-year-old aspiring videographer Alec Bracegirdle.
But on Aug. 30, 2016, tragedy struck. Sobol and Bracegirdle were on their way to tape a meeting with a local producer, when 24-year-old Nicholas Miklic tried to pass a semi truck and collided head-on with Sobol’s vehicle northeast of Calgary, claiming both their lives.
With only days left until the two-year anniversary of the incident, Sobol’s family was recently able to close one chapter of the ordeal when the courts sentenced Miklic to serve an intermittent sentence of 30 days in jail to be served on weekends, on Aug. 16.
The family also turned the page on another chapter, with the announcement of Darian Pestell becoming the first recipient of the Jonathan Sobol Memorial Award.
“He (Jonathan) made a lot of friends at SAIT and really appreciated the type of school it was, and my wife Gina and I decided that this would be appropriate to keep his name alive in the scholastic area of cooking,” said Jon’s father and Strathmore town councillor Bob Sobol.
“What really pleased us was the understanding from SAIT that this award had to do something to bring in Jon’s beliefs and the type of person he was. It strives to identify someone who really did emulate a lot of what Jon believed in, in giving back to the community, believe in what you’re doing and farm-to-table philosophy. This young lady who was chosen, from everything that I can see, absolutely deserved to be awarded this amount because she really does believe in all of this.
“This is in Jon’s name and I’m so happy that she got the award. It’s the type of person that we really want to see receive this and for us that’s good enough.”
Over the past year and a half, family and friends rallied behind the memorial award, raising over $100,000 by April of 2017. Sobol said funds came pouring in with the donations of generous souls, fundraising initiatives at SAIT, a fundraiser at the Starbelly restaurant that raised over $25,000, and through the support of family and friends. The $3,500 scholarship is awarded every year to a student who’s excelled academically, demonstrated agricultural commitment and industry experience, and has shown community involvement and volunteerism.
Jon Sobol obtained his Journeyman’s Certification of Culinary Excellence and Culinary Red Seal in 2006, after his interest in the culinary field was piqued during a Rotary exchange to France at the age of 17. He began working as a member of the culinary staff at the Rimrock Hotel in Banff and as a result entered into the two-year accelerated culinary program at SAIT. He later accepted the executive chef position with Redwater Rustic Grille before moving on to Farm Restaurant on 17th Avenue in Calgary, and finally was hired as the executive chef at Starbelly. He was known to value the farm-to-plate concept, supporting local farmers in the area and buying local, and he volunteered at Haysboro Elementary School where he played an active role in the creation of a community garden on school grounds. Jon also volunteered at the Alberta Children’s Hospital and the South Health Campus Hospital.
But to friends and family, Jon is remembered as a big teddy bear who loved life, who never failed to impress with his culinary skills, and who was well liked and respected.
Last Thurday, Bob Sobol was one of three individuals who read their victim statements to the court before the decision on Miklic’s sentence was announced.
“There’s some belief that something like this will bring closure; I can guarantee you that there is no closure involved in this, this was a terrible set of circumstances,” Sobol said.
“Thirty days sounds like a light sentence and it probably is when you consider that two lives were taken, but there’s very little doubt in our minds that the young man who struck our son’s vehicle did not set out that day to do so. There was no intent, there was perhaps a lack of knowledge and experience in regards to driving that played a more important part, and certainly there was a huge error in judgment there.
“He changed our lives for life and we have to live with that now, but to put him in jail for two or 10 or 20 years, I don’t think would’ve changed anything for us. It was a good sentence. Nothing will bring our son back, (but) we feel that based on the judge’s comments and how this played out, through the two years since the accident, we were satisfied with the judgment.”
In January, Miklic was found guilty of careless driving under the Traffic Safety Act. In addition to the 30–day jail sentence, Judge Heather Lamoureux instructed Miklic to attend three driving courses and to share his story with course participants, so they might learn from it.