HALIFAX – A new high-end restaurant opening in Queen’s Marque in downtown Halifax this fall has announced that a world-renowned chef will be heading the culinary team.

Chef Anthony Walsh has cooked throughout the world during his 30-year career, including being the executive chef at Canoe in Toronto. Now, he is excited to be moving to Halifax to launch Drift, the new waterfront restaurant that will be located on the ground floor of of the five-star Muir Hotel.

“It’s a challenge that I love,” Walsh says. “You have one chance at a first impression; I firmly believe that. That’s the reality of it right. It’s a big mountain for us to climb.”

Walsh and Drift will be looking to hire locals who are passionate about Maritime cuisine, but he will also be binging in some experienced chefs who are excited to be working at a new restaurant in a booming city. One such person will be moving to Halifax from South Korea.

“He’s been to Halifax before and he’s in love with it and he’s literally dropped everything in Seoul, Korea, and he’s winging his way through quarantines to transplant himself and his family there,” says Walsh.

“At the end of the day, I just want people who are passionate about where they’re from and what they can do in the food business.”

Walsh says that, even though the food at Drift will be of high quality, he doesn’t want to attach the term “fine dining” to the restaurant. That term, he says, has become outdated, and he doesn’t want people to think that Drift will have a stuffy atmosphere.

“I’m done with the super high-end, super-polished, pristine white linen…it’s nerve-wracking. I think people would see through it, and that’s not who we are,” said Walsh.

“We of course want it to be of a certain calibre and a certain polish to it…the design is going to be modern, inspired by the rich marine history and traditions…We want people to feel really comfortable.”

Scott McCrea is president and CEO of The Armour Group-the company tasked with developing Muir and Drift. He also dismisses the use of the term “fine dining.”

“The whole concept of fine dining in the restaurant world has changed. What we think about fine dining 20 years ago seldom exists today,” said McCrea.