Al Price
Food & Beverage Manager
Growing up in the lower mainland, amid the family business, Al has been working in the Food and Beverage/Hospitality industry for 20+ years. An avid snowboarder, Al moved to Whistler BC at the age of 18 years old to hit the slopes whilst expanding his culinary knowledge. Once the snow melted each year, Al discovered a new passion, hitting the links. Learning to swing the clubs amongst some of BC’s best backdrops, Al was hooked. He moved back to Vancouver to own and operate his own Sports Pub in Yaletown for 5 years forging new relationships and experiences he will never forget. After having started at University Golf Club as our Banquet Manager, Al’s current chapter in his biography is as our Food & Beverage Manager. Al is a loyal Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Blue Jays and San Francisco 49’ers fan. You can currently find Al with his wife Paulina either on the slopes in Whistler, on the golf course, at a bar stool watching his favourite teams or, at University Golf Club.
Joni Martinson
Assistant Food & Beverage Manager and Events Manager (Wedding & Banquet)
Joni is a local, born and raised in the Vancouver area (how rare is that these days). She has been in the Food and Beverage industry for over 35 years and has spent much of that time (33 years) at University Golf Club as a member of our Food & Beverage team. She has worked in a variety of roles in F & B, but most currently as our Event Coordinator for Banquets and Weddings and now as our Assistant Food & Beverage Manager and Events Manager. Joni has her WSET Advanced Certificate in Wines and Spirits and enjoys wine and wine education (aka ‘market research’). When not working she can be found spending quality time with family and friends, traveling as time permits (when travel is permitted again post COVID) and playing the occasional round of golf. She’s looking forward to a great summer in 2021 with the Food & Beverage team!
Andy Scharffetter
Executive Chef
Andy’s passion for food is legendary. Whether he’s creating a cup of hot chocolate for heli skiing guests, fresh from the sea lobster for resort guests in the Seychelles, or perfecting a recipe for beer soup at a brew pub, Andy’s passion for food and cooking infuses every dish he creates. When he’s not in the kitchen Andy enjoys photography, particularly photographing vintage cars and the colours and textures that make Vancouver an amazing city. He’s recently created a line of delicious take home comfort food, our Westward Ho! To Go!, available every day in our restaurant!
Steve (Seve) Sheridan
Restaurant Manager, Westward Ho! Bar & Grill
Steve was given the name Seve by the door crew at Kits Pub in 1988 after he got all excited after his first game of golf and has been known as Seve ever since. Seve has over 30 years experience in the hospitality business as an owner and General Manager in Vancouver and Calgary pubs, night clubs and restaurants. His interests include all sports, especially golf and NFL, and he has a passion for fine food and wine. For the record, his name does not reflect his golf game.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
TESTIMONIALS
Your satisfaction is our goal
Candy & Keon, Bride & Groom, February 2020: Feedback from their event survey. 5 out of 5 reviews. Working with Joni is always a breeze and flexible, super helpful.
Hi Joni, Jeff and I would like to sincerely thank you for all your effort and diligence working with us from start to finish of our wedding event. We truly appreciate all the assistance you have provided us and you have contributed to a lot of smooth organization on our wedding day. There has been many ongoing changes the last couple of months due to the pandemic yet at the end our event turned out very well plus exceeded our expectations. Our guests very much enjoyed the ambiance with the outside gazebo as well as inside the Westpoint room and all had a pleasant and enjoyable time plus we received many compliments for the food as well. We would also like to extend our gratitude to Al and the remaining staff whom assisted us on our wedding to make our day special and memorable. Dora & Jeff, Bride & Groom August 2020
Marialejandra Bride, September 2020: "We had a 5 start experience while planning and hosting our wedding at UGC. We value the flexibility and willingness to attend to our specific needs. The attention to detail was remarkable. High quality food and a beautiful environment for a reasonable price. We had a first booking experience with another vendor for our wedding and during that planning process we felt tense because of the many demands of the venue. at UGC we had a totally different experience. We felt the support of the staff to create our special day just as we wanted, and working side by side with us to overcome the challenges of COVID and weather. Thanks for providing an excellent events/banquet service with a high sense of empathy and sensitivity"
Event Survey Feedback from a June 2019 Bride & Groom: Our #1 reason for choosing UGC was the beautiful ceremony site - we loved it so much and so did our guests! The Banquet Team was great, especially the banquet manager who was an amazing help to us at the wedding reception. We also enjoyed the food and appreciate that there were so many options/substitutions available. Overall, our experience was wonderful and we're so happy we went with UGC for our wedding venue.
Joni was an incredible event coordinator who helped us from the very first day meeting with her until the date of the wedding (checked to ensure everything was running smoothly before my ceremony). Joni made sure that all our questions were answered, provided us with creative alternatives and options and was flexible and responsive. The banquet manager and all of the staff were there for all of our needs the day of the wedding and my guests were so impressed with the service on the day. The venue was so professional but also felt friendly, relaxed and a natural for a golf club. The gazebo was such a beautiful ceremony location, with a pathway leading through a gorgeous maintained garden and winding stream (that even had frogs singing their little hearts out during the ceremony!). The Salons reception space is an elegant room which has lots of space and a great dance floor! I loved the layout of the room and the private patio to cool off. The food was top quality and buffet service so much delicious food that my guests were raving about throughout the night! Joni was so flexible and we could choose the exact customized menu with all the dietary specifications we needed. I would highly recommend anyone to have their wedding at UGC - they are in great hands working with Joni and the professional staff at the golf course. 5 out of 5's on their Event Survey. Sara & Alex, August 2019
Hi Joni, Thank you again for everything. You did an amazing job and we had nothing but wonderful comments from all our guests. It was a seamless, beautiful day. Thank you and kind regards, Raymond & Adella, July 2019
Dear Joni: Thank you and your team so much for looking after us so well for our wedding and reception. You were always accessible, reassuring and so helpful, and we really appreciated your efforts shifting your schedule on the wedding day to help facilitate the last moment decision about whether to hold the ceremony inside or outside. The setting, food and staff were all wonderful, and made the event really enjoyable and memorable for us, and our guests were really impressed with the venue and raved about the delicious food. Please send our compliments to the Chef and the staff who were all incredibly friendly and supportive. Thanks again Joni. Peter & Willy, September 2019
Everything's perfect! My guests were all raving about the food selection. The location was perfect and the crew were really good! Joni has been really accommodating and quickly responds to all my inquiries! I am soo happy that we chose UGC for our wedding reception! I have a small wedding and the size of the Westpoint room as just perfect! I had my cocktail hour set up in the Gazebo garden, and everyone enjoyed the canapes served, and we were able to have the live music set up in the Gazebo, and lawn games for everyone to enjoy! Thank you again Joni!! Leilani & Franz, August 2019
Hi Joni, I appreciate all the hard work that UGC put into making our wedding a special day. We were very impressed by the professionalism of the whole staff, the beverages, and the food - everyone complimented us on the food and said it was truly amazing! If I could have rated the UGC's staff work and the food a 6 over 5 I would have done so (but the highest was 5 lol). Staff was very on point on keeping our guests happy, were extremely friendly, professional and available. The whole night ran quite smoothly. Thank you very much and I won't hesitate in recommending UGC to future brides and grooms and people who are looking to have great events! We have nothing but amazing things to say about UGC. Kind regards, Paola & Chris, July 2019
Thank you Joni. It was a beautiful wedding. Thank you and your team for everything. You all did a fantastic job. Great food! Thank you! Casey, Bride July 2019 Joni, thanks for going above and beyond, I am beyond grateful. Thank you so much for all your work in making Casey's wedding so wonderful. The venue, the food, the staff. Everything was above and beyond! Guests are saying "BEST WEDDING EVER". Thanks for all your work, Missy & Vic (Bride's parents) July 2019