TINCUP WILDERNESS LODGE
"freeing the spirit"
by Birgit Moenke

"I played it by ear. I have a great sense of adventure."- José Janssen, Executive Chef and Co-owner/Operator

Her story reads like an adventure book. Moving to Canada from her native Holland at the age of 19, José Janssen’s North American experience began in London, Ontario, where she helped run group homes from 1974-1980. Burnt out, she decided to move. With plans to leave the next day, questions of where she was headed were answered by pulling out a map and explaining that her destination would become the furthest point away from where she currently lived. Her fingers guided her to the northernmost town depicted: Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory. "That’s where I’m going," José decided, and she’s never looked back.

Becoming an Outward Bound teacher working with youth outdoors once seduced José, and thoughts of moving to the West Coast often danced through her mind. But, after spending six weeks in a canoe on the Missinaibi River, she knew she wanted to explore the heart of Canada to a greater extent and discover what secrets lay hidden deep within.

Ending up in Alberta, José’s idea of becoming an Outward Bound leader was soon replaced with a position as cook at an oil rig camp. Like something right out of a Northern Exposure episode, the days saw José not only deliver the weather report twice daily, but also be on call to leave her cooking duties at the drop of a hat to refuel the helicopters whenever they landed on-site.

"You do whatever it takes to get the job done."
Stationed in Kanaskis before the Olympics, plans to develop the ski hills in the area for this international event began to take on a life of their own. As the camp where José worked was the only facility around for miles, it proved to be the most logical place to hold all the meetings. It became commonplace to share her kitchen with the thought processes of the Olympic organizers, and due time for José to take the summer off to develop her interests abroad. Finishing up her apprenticeship and armed not only with her schooling, which she had completed at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, but also with her experience of cooking for the Alberta Forestry Service, José left, well-prepared to handle the multitude of challenges that lay ahead.

1984 saw José leave for Italy, where she spent part of her culinary apprenticeship in Tuscany. Despite having a job lined up in Holland, when José discovered her passion for the new flavours she was experiencing, her original plans fell by the wayside. It was obvious to her that she needed to spend more time in Canada. Not the least bit shy to knock on doors to make herself available, the second door said, "Come in."

By summer’s end, the wind had swept her back to Alberta, where an interest in making chocolate soon took hold. Finding a Dutch chocolatier in Calgary, José did not accept his first refusal to teach her. Despite being informed that chocolate making was not for everyone, José’s persistence to learn the trade eventually paid off. Naturally, she excelled with her chocolate creations.

In 1986 José’s desire to move to the land of the midnight sun was finally fulfilled. "The Yukon has an effect on you," she confirms. When José discovered that there wasn’t anybody making chocolate there, she immediately put her skills to work: "If someone says you can’t do it, or the market is too small, I will take it upon myself to prove them wrong. My goal becomes rising to the challenge."

Borrowing money from her family, the basement of the house José purchased was quickly renovated to become the new digs for her new identity: The Muffin Lady. Waking up at 3:30 a.m. twice a week over a period of four years to bake and then load the truck by 8 a.m., ready to deliver her wares to the government offices downtown, helped José make the down payment she needed to establish a location for her new business. With additional money lent to her by a few people who believed in her, José was soon able to build a coffee shop and cappuccino bar in town. To secure herself financially, chocolate making was juggled with baking birthday cakes and operating a catering business.

Her new venture started off with a bang on December 26, 1990 with the minus 30-degree weather working in her favour. Fighting a fire in town, the weather was so cold that the Fire Department called in an order of soup and sandwiches for 30 people to help sustain their energy. José recalls: "I learned that you just keep on going, and never look back."

Before long, José was feeding movie crews from upwards of 60 people. "When the helicopters are transporting you up into the glaciers, you’d better not forget anything!" On the first day of a shoot, her competitors forgot the cutlery. On the second day, they were half an hour late, but they barely apologized. On the third day, José was asked to cater the project on her own.

At the end of 1998, José received a call from Tincup Wilderness Lodge. Larry Nagy, a geologist and owner of the destination resort, had become extremely busy with his wilderness guiding and exploration work and desperately needed help while attending to the demands of his career. Recommended by friends who knew she belonged there, José was not as easily convinced:

"After turning him down the first time, I soon realized I had made a mistake. When I contemplated the opportunity of working at such a beautiful lodge in my beloved Yukon, I knew I had to change my mind. I called back the next day to accept the position." Two summers later, José also accepted Larry’s proposal of marriage.

During the Second World War, Americans were busy building the Alaska Highway through the Yukon. It is said that one soldier with the name Tin Cup got lost in the area, never to be found again. As the legend goes, the area was named in his honour. But the area natives tell a different story. They claim that one of theirs was always seen wearing a tin cup dangling from his hip belt, and despite the fastening, was regularly observed looking for where he had last placed his drinking vessel.

Located deep in the heart of the Yukon’s Ruby Range, on the border of Kluane National Park, Tincup Wilderness Lodge is at one with the natural beauty of the area and the spirit of the wilderness. Only eight guests at a time are allowed to share this privileged experience, in respect of the great role that the wildlife plays. Barb-less hooks are the rule at all times when fishing. The catch, photograph and release of fish is advocated to ensure that this part of God’s country be enjoyed and shared by all in years to come.

Built in 1991, Tincup Wilderness Lodge is described by Larry Nagy and José Janssen as a labour of love. "It expresses the commitment we have made to our guests’ comfort and enjoyment, to the Yukon’s spectacular wilderness, and to the fine art of fishing." Best known for its abundance of Lake Trout and Arctic Grayling, additional populations of Whitefish, Inconnu and Northern Pike attract the most avid fishermen to Tincup’s shores.

Both guided and unguided day hikes take interested parties along gravel-filled creek beds or up the slopes of 2000 metre high mountains around Tincup Lake. The routes follow trails established for centuries by moose, Dall’s Sheep, grizzly bears and migrating caribou. Overnight trips up the highest peaks may be arranged for enthusiastic guests.

If guests are drawn to the water, cedar canoes, rowboats and kayaks are available for use. A day full of activities is rounded out with a gourmet meal from José’s kitchen, provided in the main lodge. A wood-fired sauna or a relaxing hot tub completes the evening. Guests retire to their own private cedar log cabin, each equipped with its own cozy wood stove, generator-powered electricity, covered veranda, and private bathroom complete with shower. In the northern wilderness, such luxuries are rare and very welcome.

José reminisces: "I will never forget my first flight in. I knew my life was changing. It’s one of those special places that makes you tingle all over. It’s a very magical place, a spiritual place, and you are aware of it right away. No matter how bad the weather is - and it can change rapidly - when you fly around the corner and see Tincup Lake, you always find it as calm and sunny as when you last left it. Setting your eyes on the lodge and the area for the first time is absolutely breathtaking."

Once described by an English writer to be in a class of its own and impossible to fit into any one category, Tincup Wilderness Lodge in many ways reflects the unique characteristics of the woman who has come to live there - a woman whose extraordinary spirit has found the freedom to express itself and find its way home.

"I’ve been exposed to more people at Tincup Lodge and have been given the opportunity to accomplish more here in this remote area than I probably could have in any thriving metropolitan center. Having been given this wonderful opportunity, I naturally want to share my experience with others, and I am so fortunate to be able to do so."

Spending the off-season all over the globe to connect with peers and to discover the latest in trends and ingredients, José finds life fulfilling. A relationship she especially treasures, is the one she has developed with Vineland Estates Winery. "Thanks to John Howard’s gracious invitation, I was able to spend time at his lovely Ontario winery. I found working with Executive Chef, Mark Picone, truly inspirational, and I have especially enjoyed learning about his philosophy of food. We have developed a chef exchange, which will see me coming to Vineland in the spring in exchange for Mark taking over at Tincup Lodge. I am really looking forward to that!"

José will then find her way back to the Yukon, back to the wilderness where the fruits of her adventures will culminate in what she puts on her table. Using ingredients native to the North, but with an international twist, guests are treated to José’s specialties, which include a signature smoked trout, goat cheese and mushroom omelet.

Guests are invited to take one of this executive chef’s exclusive cooking classes during their stay at the lodge and become part of an elite group of enthusiasts. Lifestyle guru Martha Stewart, broadcaster Vicki Gabereau, and writers and editors from various print publications have discovered José’s gift for themselves.

Always geared to succeed at her next accomplishment, José describes herself as going through life wanting to know about different things, and striving to learn all that she can. In 1994, José Janssen won the British Columbia nominations for the final rounds of the Canadian Woman Entrepreneurship Award. Perhaps her most outstanding achievement, however, is how the unconditional love in her heart for the Yukon has rubbed off on others:

"The first two days, the 24-hour sun gets people up early, and they’re gung-ho to get going. By mid-week, they’re no longer in tune with their old schedules and sleep in. By the end of the week, they don’t want to go home. It’s an emotional good-bye and happens on a regular basis."

There’s a land where the mountains are nameless,

And rivers all run God knows where;

There are lives that are erring and aimless,

And deaths that just hang by a hair.

There are hardships that nobody reckons;

There are valleys unpeopled and still;

There’s a land - oh, it beckons and beckons,

And I want to go back – and I will.

From the "Spell of the Yukon" by Robert Service