Meet the Staff-Chef D'Arcy

Success for a chef is often defined by becoming Executive Chef for a large hotel, owning your own restaurant, or cooking for celebrities or heads of state. Chef D’Arcy Letourneau, the new Executive Chef for Campus by the Sea, chased and accomplished all of these goals believing that this would bring contentment. Having grown up in the restaurant and hotel industry, Chef D’Arcy was able to quickly rise up through the culinary ranks and at 28 became the Executive Chef of the Explorer Hotel in Yellowknife, North West Territory cooking for dignitaries such as Paul Martin, the former Prime Minister of Canada. Although his career was skyrocketing, D’Arcy’s personal and spiritual life was quickly deteriorating. Only after a small Christian camp in Southern Alberta reached out to D’Arcy did he realize that there was more to life than earning a large pay check and being famous.

Serving the Lord

After remaining at the camp for a period of a year in order to be discipled in his faith, did D’Arcy leave to once again pursue his culinary career. It is at that point, that he met his soon to be wife, Julie, a Christian school teacher. They were brought together by their true desire to serve the Lord in full time ministry. Both D’Arcy and Julie went on to achieve great success in their perspective fields, yet their calling to ministry never faded. In 2006, D’Arcy was offered the opportunity to become executive chef for Forest Home Ministries in California. It is at Forest Home, where he and his family built a bond with Dave and Kim Noble, who was at the time the General Manager for Forest Home.

Moving to Campus by the Sea

In 2009, D’Arcy and Julie returned to Canada where D’Arcy became the Executive Chef for a new four-star hotel and Julie became principal for a private Christian school. Although they were once again experiencing great career success, neither believed that they were fulfilling God’s calling for their family. It was during a casual conversation with Dave and Kim Noble that the possibility of returning to full time ministry presented itself. D’Arcy and Julie along with their three children: Mikaela (9), Nevaeh (4), and Lucien (3), sought the Lord’s will and witnessed the Lord’s hand in opening the doors for them to join the staff at Campus by the Sea. D’Arcy brings a passion for healthy and creative cuisine to a camp that has had a long standing tradition of excellent food. He looks forward to future endeavours at Campus by the Sea including creating a way to train Intervarsity staff on how to prepare fresh and economical meals for large numbers of students. He is also looking forward to training and apprenticing kitchen staff at Campus by the Sea as they strive to share the gospel through excellence in the culinary arts. The Letourneau’s hope is to remain and serve as members of the Campus by the Sea family for the remainder of their careers.