After a traditional chef’s training in Switzerland and extended education in business studies 30 years ago, Chris Aerni travelled and worked in various restaurants and hotels gaining experience in the different kitchen ranks and corporate managerial positions from Australia to Toronto.

In 2001 he and his wife purchased the Rossmount Inn in New Brunswick, an 87 acre estate, set between the forest and the sea including an 18 room country Inn with a fully licensed bar and restaurant.

The restaurant at the Rossmount Inn has gained a wonderful reputation throughout the Maritimes for its creative, market fresh cuisine honouring local ingredients and the people who produce them.

In 2000 my wife Simone and I moved from Bavaria, Germany to St. Andrews, Canada to open the EUROPA Restaurant.

After gaining international cooking experience in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Royal Viking Cruise lines I earned my culinary masters degree in Baden-Baden, Germany in 1998.
It was my dream to become self employed; and after enjoying the splendor of Canada and the friendliness of its people during my cruise ship days I leaped forward and took over 'L'Europe Restaurant'.

Together, now with our three children, we enjoy living in this quaint maritime village; are well settled members of the community embracing opportunities to meet and welcome new residents and helping out with a variety of fundraisers and volunteering opportunities.

Chef Alex had started his culinary career by the age of 13, working at the Garden Café located at Kingsbrae Garden in his hometown, Saint Andrews New Brunswick. He spent 5 years there while finishing his public schooling. Following his dreams of becoming a chef, Alex enrolled in the 2 year culinary arts program at the Culinary Institute of Canada in Prince Edward Island.

This lead to an apprentice position at the Relais & Châteaux Kingsbrae Arms where he worked under Chef Mark Latulipe.

After finishing Culinary Arts, Alex took a position as Chef de Partie at the Dundee Arms under Chef Patrick Young. Before completing his term with Young, he made the decision to finish what he started and he re-enrolled at the CIC for the Pastry Arts Program.

During this time Chef Alex started competition cooking, individually and as a member of Team PEI, where he was later nominated as Team Captain under the careful eye of Chef Blair Zinck. After graduating from the Pastry Program, he became Sous Chef for Chef Victor Maclean at Stanhope Bay and Beach Resort, part of the Murphy Group of Restaurants, where he eventually became a Corporate Pastry Chef.

Alex hadn’t had his fill of the CIC, and returned yet again to be an active member on Culinary Team Canada for one and a half years. As a result, he competed at the Nations Cup in Grand Rapids Michigan and the Culinary Olympics in Erfurt Germany. The coaches that Chef Alex thrived under were Chef Hans Andregg, Chef Richard Braunauer and Chef Craig Yodale. To date Chef Alex has 12 culinary Gold medals to his name and 5 of them are international wins.

Finally moving home to St. Andrews, the talented young Chef Alex opened his first restaurant, Savour, in 2009, at the age of 22 with his wife Jennie. Here Chef Alex uses his skills to create monthly Tasting Menus using fresh and local ingredients, minding his environmental footprint by using items from his own farm and other local suppliers around New Brunswick.

Savour is a living dream where the Chef and his wife serve just a few people a night.