Sam Bullock dishes on 24 years of fish and chips in Yellowknife

It was the late 1980s when Sam and Renata Bullock found themselves drinking her father's homemade red wine one evening and talking about food.

"Renata was always suggesting starting her own restaurant," Sam says.

At the time, he was working on his science degree, and doing some work with what is now the N.W.T.'s Department of Environment and Natural Resources.   

The couple had made a deal that he would either finish his degree or they would start a restaurant.

"Needless to say she won," he says.

Sam is reflecting on the beginnings of Bullocks Bistro — the iconic restaurant he and Renata opened in Yellowknife's Old Town 25 years ago, which they recently decided to sell.

That night they were trying to decide what food might work in Yellowknife. A recent ad in the local paper was calling for food vendors for the upcoming Caribou Carnival spring jamboree.  

"And we got drinking this wine and talking," he says. 

"We had friends over and no one seemed to come up with any useful ideas. So I said, 'Well what about fish and chips? I mean, you have fish coming from Great Slave Lake? And isn't potatoes something we could easily cook?'"

It seemed like a natural fit.   

Renata had culinary training and Sam, whose mother was Gwich'in, was born at a fish camp near Tsiigehtchic, a place where he spent time each summer as a boy.  

So in 1989 the couple started serving fish and chips at Caribou Carnival and other local events to see if there was an "appetite" for what they were offering.

As it turned out, there was.  

After a few years of serving food at different venues in the city, Bullocks Bistro opened in 1992 at 4 Lessard Dr., in the log building that currently houses CKLB radio station.   

In 1999 it moved to its current location on Weaver Drive, the home of the original Weaver and Devore trading post that was built in 1936.   

Fish proved challenging

Renata's recipes, for everything from fish batter to salad dressings, turned out to be hugely popular.   

Sam modified his cutting technique to process fish that would be suitable to be served in a restaurant: removing fillets from the fish with the bone out.

And fish, he says, turned out to be one of the biggest challenges of running the place.  

"The supply would stop in the spring and the fall."

They eventually developed techniques of freezing fresh fish whole to take them through the down time  — sometimes between 4,000 and 6,000 pounds of fish.

Sam says it could be a stressful time.  

"Because when the last load of fish comes in and the lake is melting and you know the fishermen are basically putting their lives at risk trying to go get fresh fish, it's anxious moments."  

Reputation grew

Bullocks Bistro quickly grew a reputation for more than just the food. 

Customers were often subject to Renata's enthusiasm (and loud yelling) from the kitchen.

Service could sometimes feel, well, non-existent. Customers were expected to help themselves to drinks from the cooler (which until recently included wine and beer). And the food may have been good, but you had to be prepared to wait for it. 

And wait they did — people packed the place. Over the years royalty, celebrities and dignitaries pulled up a stool at one of the wooden tables, including Prince Andrew and well-known CBC personality Rick Mercer (who Sam says visits Yellowknife more than people know).

So with all that success, did they ever consider expanding?   

Sam admits it can be tempting, especially for new restaurateurs who get a taste of success and think about doing it differently or going bigger.

But he says he knew better.

"I always maintained to Renata that if you could do one thing well, that is what you stay with."

'People come for the taste'  

That's what he hopes the new owners will do. The couple has handed over the recipes for what Sam calls "the magic four"" the teriyaki sauce, tartar sauce, feta dressing and herb and garlic dressing.

The couple also coached the new owners through a two-week "break in" period, showing them Sam's filleting technique.

"People come for the taste, they come for the food, and they come for the experience. And we know without those elements it won't be the same place," he says.   

He and Renata plan to stay in Yellowknife, but will be spending more time away. A few years years ago they bought an old farm house in Nova Scotia and plan to devote more time to restoring it.  

This past week Sam spent time wading through the last 20 years, dealing with paperwork and other loose ends at the restaurant.  

"It's been fun and challenging and it's been richly rewarding," he says. 

"It's our local people who are the real celebrities. We owe a debt of gratitude to everyone in Yellowknife."