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Chef Moira Murray brings composure, creativity, and kindness to The Ostrich Club, a space where food, drink, and people move in easy rhythm. Her cooking reflects a career shaped by contrast; memories from Michelin-starred kitchens, remote lodges, and the intensity of Top Chef Canada have become distilled into small plates that feel thoughtful, generous, and grounded.
At The Ostrich Club, Murray cooks with a quiet sense of intention, creating dishes designed for sharing and discovery. Flavours lean both familiar and unexpected, inviting guests to linger and engage with the table. At its heart, Murray’s food is about connection; inviting guests to experience excitement through flavours and textures, both novel and nostalgic, that light a spark and make dining at The Ostrich Club a meal worth remembering.
You’ve cooked everywhere from remote lodges with limited resources to heli-ski retreats where every dish is tailored to a single guest. What did those experiences teach you about improvisation, hospitality, and the art of making food feel personal — less like performance and more like care?
I think there is something extremely valuable in diversity of work experience. Doing everything from all inclusive resorts, fine dining Michelin tasting menus, private chef work creating custom menus, to small plates à la carte restaurants. It allows you to see (almost) every possible expectation a diner may have of you as a chef and establishment, and understand how to adapt accordingly. Having to shift and adapt whether it is because of a guest’s preference or something on the back end surprising you-as chefs we all need to remind ourselves of why we are here: To provide a delicious meal, and memorable experience.
The Ostrich Club blurs the line between restaurant and bar, offering an experience that’s intimate, eclectic, and quietly soulful. When you’re developing small plates for such a fluid, collaborative space, what guides your decisions? What do you hope guests feel or discover when they share your food?
The Ostrich Club has been a really fun new experience for me. In most restaurants I’ve worked in previously, the food has always dictated the beverage program — or stood entirely apart from it. Here at The Ostrich Club, we have one of the best wine and cocktail programs on this side of the country, and learning to work much more collaboratively has been a real joy. It has also broadened my previously basic understanding of wine pairings considerably. The focus is on seasonality and local products, and on designing dishes that hit the fundamental pillars of our senses — ensuring there is something to pair with every bottle in Alana’s vast cellar. This past fall, Alana had a wine she was excited about, and for the first time in my career, I created a dish based solely on her description of it.
I want guests to experience flavours and textures that excite them — whether new to them, nostalgic, or simply delicious. My favourite thing a guest can say is how remarkable something seemingly simple turned out to be. It’s my favourite opportunity to talk about the difference quality ingredients make, and why everyone should be visiting their local farmers’ market. And for those who partake, there’s something really special about discovering how the right wine pairing can completely transform the experience of a dish.
With such an eclectic career behind you, how do you stay connected to your own point of view as a chef? In other words, what feels unmistakably ‘you’ when it shows up on a plate?
My career has been fairly eclectic, but I think all of those experiences shape how I work, not who I am. Above everything I’ve learned as a chef, understanding the importance of quality ingredients — and the relationships with those who provide our food — remains paramount. I like to showcase exceptional ingredients with minimal manipulation, letting sneaky techniques and inspiration do the work beneath the surface; the kind you might have to think about, or ask about, before you recognise it. I like to have fun with that.
A closing thought beyond the questions
No chef has all the answers, and I certainly don’t claim to. I’ve had the great fortune of working for some of this country’s best chefs, and my peers from all of my formative kitchens are at the top of their game right now. The one thing every single one of those individuals had in common was a genuine love for this industry and a desire to give back to it.
The driving force in my day to day is the example I want to set for my teams. I want to be the kind of chef who gets excited by a single ingredient, by a new idea that arrives in the middle of the night, or by a really satisfying deep clean. I want to be the chef who is there to hear an idea and help bring it to life. It’s so important to hold onto the qualities that have inspired us throughout our journeys — and to think carefully about what we want to pass on to our teams beyond how to cook a good steak.
