WINNIPEG – Raw Almond is only in its third year, but the event has gained enough popularity to completely sell out in just a few days. Dozens of people contribute to putting the restaurant on the ice together, including different teams of chefs, designers and architects.
“I thought it was a fantastic competition, designing a restaurant on a frozen river,” said Matt Pearson at OS31. The fairly new design firm based in Sheffield, England had their design selected for the restaurant. Two of the three members of the firm arrived in Winnipeg on Tuesday night and said they are excited to see their design come to life.
“It’s been really good for us to get our practice going off the bat which is fantastic,” said Ross Jordan. Os31 has been getting international attention with their design.
A separate firm based here in Winnipeg is working on the design of the vodka bar. “It’s kind of like a vodka pit if you will,” said Sean Radford of 546 Architecture. “Where people sit around the edge of the hole in the ice and enjoy a drink.”
There is also quite a bit of physical labour that goes into the build as well, but the workers who brave the cold say it’s an incredibly rewarding experience.
“It’s like a big lego piece without instructions,” said Andrew Courtmage who has worked on building the pop up restaurant the last few years.
Raw Almond will also be serving brunch over the next two weekends on a first come, first serve basis.
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