Like many great chefs, one of Stanley Coelho’s greatest attributes is his imagination.

The ability to think outside the box enabled him to adapt quickly from a planned career in the hotel industry to creating culinary masterpieces in the kitchen.

“At school I quickly realized that I had a flair and gift for cooking, creating, multi-tasking and executing menus for small and large groups,” explains Coelho. “The natural choice was to specialize in cooking.”

Through his skill and vision, The Healthy Chef Services Ltd. on Bathgate Way in Richmond routinely serves up a selection of dishes to satisfy even the most demanding or importunate food critic.

“I took the basic culinary and management skills that we learned, and created my own brand of work style, culinary skill and management philosophy,” says Coelho, whose basic mantra is to start with great ingredients and use his culinary skills to turn them into great dishes—while producing large quantities in a narrow time frame..

He is grateful for the vast variety of ingredients that are almost always at hand.

“Local or B.C., we have an abundance of ingredients to work with that are fresh. We are blessed to live in a community that still has a strong dependency on farming. And supporting our local businesses, whether it’s the plumber or the printer, has always been our company policy (and) has served us well.” 

During his post-secondary studies, which he completed in 1982, Coelho learned to appreciate the variety of the subject matter—from international cuisine to regional foods and from fine dining to bulk cooking.

“We had great emphasis on theory, combined with the business aspect of managing and running front and back of the house operations. Combined with practicums in hotels, I established a strong foundation of basic culinary arts, work ethic and work flow management which has helped shape me into the professional (I am) today.”

Today, he continues, his role as a chef has evolved into a creator, entrepreneur, teacher and mentor. He looks back each day at what he and his team have accomplished, how many lives they’ve touched, and is left with a good feeling.

But the path hasn’t been easy. In fact, as with many in the fast-paced and competitive kitchen environment, Coelho was weaned in the school of hard knocks.

“I was brought up in the old chef’s system—a shade worse than the Gordon Ramsay style,” he confirms. “Now it is a combination of collaboration, delegation and a firm hands-on approach. I entrust my staff with their jobs, provide them with the best tools and resources needed in order for them to succeed, and at the same time demonstrate to them that I am physically getting the job done with them—guiding, correcting, teaching and adjusting as we go along. It is very rewarding to see people that I have trained, or (who have) worked for me, established in prominent roles in the industry.”

As for his kitchen “creations,” Coelho says his favourite dishes are always changing depending on what part of the world he’s in.

“I like to adapt to local flavours,” he explains. “Currently, working in B.C. and the cultural melting pot that we are in, I utilize Mediterranean flavours, with influences of South and East Asia and the Middle East. I love cooking with bold flavours and combining ingredients into dishes that have some spice, sweet and tanginess.”

Coelho’s culinary talents, and those of his team, have combined to consistently create culinary excellence for more than two decades. That, as much as anything, could explain that in these challenging times his business continues to shine.

But it’s not just a well-earned reputation that has enabled Coelho to succeed. During a period of unprecedented challenges for the food industry, he’s not only also adapted to the times but been even more creative in the process.

“We did three things,” Coelho explains. “As soon as the pandemic hit, we quickly turned our entire catering menu into an individually packed feature. Instead of regular buffets and platters, we now offered customers the same items, individually packaged and labelled to avoid any excess handling.

“We also launched an online store offering ready-made meals delivered to your door. These are culinary gems that were featured in our catering menus, now cold packed. Future offerings will be freshly prepared frozen soups, sauces, condiments and a line of frozen family entrees.

"And instead of consolidating, we expanded...and built a food manufacturing facility. We launched an entirely new company—High Altitude Foods—a food manufacturing company dealing in cold packaged sandwiches, salads and entrees for the grocery, retail and airline industry. We also pack for various brands that are sold in grocery and retail stores."

An executive chef with more than 20 years of experience with major international hotels, Coelho has not only maintained but built upon a healthy approach to cooking (no deep frying and low sodium) and choice of ingredients. This vision is fully reflected in The Healthy Chef’s mission statement: “To promote health and well being by offering our customers excellent culinary fare, using healthy alternatives and methods of cooking. And to provide a service that continuously exceeds expectations and consistently strives for perfection.”