upper management.
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Wilson K Waton
Zymologist
The man, the myth, the legend, we give to you Wilson K Watson ladies and gentlemen!
Born and raised in Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, he began his brewing apprenticeship at Craddock’s Brewery before emigrating to Ontario. Upon Canadian soil he’s mashed-in at many fine establishments including Lion brewery, Farm league Brewing, and Descendants Brewing before graining-out west and joining the Kettle team in 2018.
Up the Villa!
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Courtney Koga
Ring Leader
Meet Court! A famous face of the Okanagan hospitality and food & bevvie scene. The one that keeps Kettle River and Provisions Kitchen all moving forward together, seamlessly.
You’ll immediately recognize her energy and kindness from previous business endeavours like the cult fave CrAsian Foodtruck (at KRB grand opening!) and insanely delicious Boxcar Kitchen at BNA. These two ventures awarded her the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Award for Young Entrepreneur and Social Leadership. Before that, she managed RauDZ Regional Table, Terrafina at Hester Creek and to steal Chef Brock’s heart.
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Brock Bowes
Big Board Baron
If you like to eat and you’ve been to the Okanagan, you know Chef Brock Bowes. With a resume as large as his famous weekly big boards, he was most recently named Kelowna’s top chef. I know what you’re thinking, Kelowna’s a small town—who cares? Don’t worry, he won Chopped Canada and was a top Chef Canada competitor too.
Before our taproom, he opened Oak Bay Beach Hotel and you might be familiar with his work at Toisgros and St. John’s or perhaps Burrowing Owl and RauDZ Regional Table.
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Chris Dedinsky
Managing, Generally.
Prior to starting Kettle River Brewing, Chris had zero experience in brewing or hospitality. So, despite his best efforts at sinking this ship, Kettle River carries on as the grooviest brewpub in Kelowna’s North End almost 10 years later.
In the before times, Chris worked as a creative on projects for big beer brands like Molson Canadian, Rickard’s and Granville Island, among others.
He still flexes his creative muscles behind the keyboard and you may see him round town working as a freelance designer, illustrator and horse-betting strategist. Or avoiding work altogether at somebody else’s bar.
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Russ Burnell-Higgs
Admin Assistant
There’s not much Russ can’t do. Design and build out a glycol system? No problem. Create monthly expense reports so simple even Chris can do them? Easy. A multi-talented master of most and the visionary for the brewery right from the get-go.
These days, when not on the roof repairing chilling units, he can be found working behind the scenes, making sure the brewery is making the right decisions. And on occasion, sitting at the bar, enjoying a pint of Loose Canoe.