| Address: | 1 York Street | | Ottawa, Ontario | | K1N 5S7 | | Telephone: | 613.667.9207 | | Fax: | 613.667.9233 | | General Email: |
| | Follow me on Twitter | | Facebook Page | | Stephen Beckta, Owner | |   | Stephen Beckta is proprietor of Play, and its sister restaurant, Beckta dining & wine, one of Ottawa’s premier fine dining restaurants. After graduating with honours from Algonquin College’s Sommelier program, Stephen departed Ottawa to hone his skills in New York City for four years with the top players in the restaurant industry. Stephen started at Café Boulud working for the celebrated chef, Daniel Boulud, followed by two years with renowned restaurateur Danny Meyer at Eleven Madison Park before returning to his native city. Stephen has been named Top Independent Restaurateur in Ontario by the Ontario Hostelry Institute (2007), won the Bill Joe Restaurateur of the Year Award by the Ontario Restaurant Association in 2011, nominated for the Ontario Premier’s Awards in Business twice (2006, 2010), named one of Ottawa’s Top 40 under 40 by the Ottawa Business Journal (2008) and Algonquin College’s Alumni of the year (2010).
| | | Michael Moffatt, Executive Chef | |  | Michael Moffatt is the Executive Chef of both Play, and its critically acclaimed sister restaurant Beckta dining & wine. Michael’s cuisine has been described as “consistently inventive and delicious”. He spent many years working in renowned kitchens including The River Café, one of New York’s most iconic restaurants as well as the CAA 5 Diamond Award winning kitchen at the Rimrock Resort in Banff, AB. Michael is a proud Algonquin College Culinary Arts Graduate and now chairs the Advisory Board for the Culinary program. Michael began his tenure at Beckta as Sous-Chef in 2003, before taking over the reins as Chef in 2006.
| | | Katie Brown, Chef de Cuisine | |  | Katie Brown started her career at age 13 as a dishwasher at a pub in her hometown of Brockville, ON. Being promoted from dishwashing to prep cook, Katie managed to work her way through every station in the kitchen and front of house before following her true passion and enrolling in culinary school at Algonquin College, where she graduated with Honours and made the Dean’s list. Since then she has worked at an upscale Italian Bistro, as well as holding down a sous-chef position at Smuggler’s Run, an upscale destination restaurant in Gananoque, ON. Katie then came back to Ottawa to work at our acclaimed sister restaurant Beckta where she impressed the chef and earned a spot with our opening management team as sous-chef. In 2010, Katie received the Top 30 Under 30 award from the Ontario Hostelry Institute and also proudly assumed the position of Play’s Chef de Cuisine.
| | | Kate Clark, Office Manager | | | Kate Clark
| | | Brian Deponte, Sous-Chef | | | Brian Deponte
| | | Sarah French, Service Manager | |  | Sarah French grew up in the upper Ottawa Valley where she was raised with an appreciation for food that was organic and local, and home cooked meals were prepared fresh from the family garden. Her career in hospitality began a decade ago when she started serving in a restaurant near her home. Here, the chef, who was also dedicated to using the freshest possible ingredients, obtained most of his produce from his family farm mere kilometres from the restaurant. These beginnings formed a lasting impression on Sarah. Since then, Sarah has enjoyed continuing to expand her keen sense of taste for nuance of flavour combinations. As well, her experiences have broadened and developed, resulting in a well-rounded and caring manner. Sarah joined Play in 2009 where her appreciation for fine dining, paired with sensitive and responsive service, has blossomed. Sarah became Play's newest Service Manager in January 2012.
| | | Richelle Hudspeth, Sous-Chef | |  | Richelle Hudspeth comes from a family that loves cooking. When the other kids brought their parents to career day, Richelle insisted on bringing the family friend who wore a chef's coat. She later started in the restaurant business with a job as a dishwasher in her hometown of Toronto. After high school, she trained in the culinary management program at George Brown College. She continued to work in the business throughout school working in kitchens like The Healthy Butcher in Toronto. As a cook, Richelle discovered her passion in the endless path in learning about food. Richelle moved to Ottawa and started working at Play in 2009. Her mission in life is to continue her commitment to keep learning as much as she can about the beauty of cooking, and to always keep a healthy consciousness about where food comes from. Richelle joined Play's management team as Sous-Chef in 2011.
| | | Grayson McDiarmid, Wine Director | |  | Grayson McDiarmid is the Wine Director at Play and is responsible for all that has to do with beverages. In addition to being the sommelier on the floor during most services, he also helps the management team run the day-to-day operations. Grayson got his feet wet in hospitality in Calgary where he worked at a number of restaurants and a wine shop. It was in Calgary that he discovered a deep passion for wine, food, and service. Grayson graduated from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust’s Advanced Certificate and moved home to Ottawa where he immediately took over as Sommelier for Kanata’s AAA/CAA Four Diamond property The Brookstreet Hotel. He worked there until Steve Beckta decided to look for a Play's Wine Director. Grayson was Play’s first employee and helped out (sometimes comically) with it’s construction. Grayson is also an instructor at Algonquin’s Sommelier program, a Wine Judge at Ottawa’s International Wine & Food Show and received the Top 30 Under 30 award from the Ontario Hostelry Institute in 2011.
| | | Jordan Sabourin, Head Server | |  | Jordan Sabourin was born and raised in the rural farmlands around Ottawa. His mother was a high school food and nutrition teacher, so Jordan has always had strong memories of knowing good food and where it came from. His parents made sure to include him in their pursuit of great restaurants, inspiring him to develop an appreciation for great hospitality at an early age. They frequently joked about his palate and his tenacity for checking the nose on all things at the table as a young boy. While studying at Ottawa University, Jordan started waiting tables and found his calling in the industry. He transferred into the Sommelier program at Algonquin and joined Play as a waiter with our opening staff in 2009. Jordan is very proud that in his work at Play he can continue to learn about the local food we use, participate in the intense search for wines we pair, and be dedicated to our mission in caring about guests. Jordan graduated from Algonquin's Sommelier program in 2010, and moved into the role of Head Server at Play in Spring of 2011.
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