Ken Gene remembers his father, Gene's Restaurant founder Larry Gene, for a work ethic that was unrivaled and unyielding, but that's only part of how he'll remember him following his death January 3.
“He was always very driven, his work ethic is legendary,” said Gene. “He’d come into work at 10 in the morning, then come back after a quick break, work until 10 at night, take another break and then maybe come back from 11 until 1 a.m. and he did this six days a week until he retired at 70.”
Larry Gene was born in a village called Bo-Wa-Lai in the Guangdong Province in China. In 1952, He emigrated from Hong Kong, and made the 19-day boat journey to Vancouver. Five years later, he brought over his wife Rae, before bringing over his sons and daughter. In that time, he began the long journey of honing his culinary craft.
“He worked all over developing his skills,” Gene said. “He worked in restaurants in Windsor, New York and Stratford before purchasing Gene’s Restaurant (current home) in 1975.”
Five years later, he opened another restaurant, a 200-seat buffet restaurant that stayed in business until 2000.
While the loss of Larry has been hard for the family, the messages of remembrance and support have been pouring in on social media and through messages directly to the family. All the messages speak of how well Larry treated people.
“He was very well-regarded by his staff,” said Gene. “We have gotten lots of messages on Facebook and through text messages from people who worked for us for many years, in some cases decades at a time.”
Gene says his father was still very active in the business even after his retirement, even if he just came in to visit.
“He was a restaurant guy, always working hard,” said Gene. “It would always be you who should get back to the restaurant. I'm sure you have lots of work to do. That hard work ethic has been instilled in me.”
According to his son, Larry Gene leaves a positive legacy that is as much about family as it is the culinary world.
“He’s definitely a restaurant guy, and when it comes to Chinese food; he’s a staple in the business,” said Gene. “On the family end, he really took care of his family. When he first moved to Canada he would send money back to relatives in China. Even this Chinese New Year he sent $3,000 for the maintenance of a home he helped fund in his early career. Even when he started the restaurant in 1970, he had bills to pay for, but he always sent money back to relatives in China.
Like all chefs, Larry was very guarded about his recipes. While he showed his children his many secrets, Gene says maybe 95 percent of his father's original recipes still exist at the restaurant today, but his special desert is something he kept a secret.
“When we used to serve dessert, someone asked me what was the recipe for the unique pies, and I would tell them that only dad knows, but he has forgotten,” said Gene. “We carry a lot of his traditions into the food, but my process may be a bit different than his. One example is we used to use peanut butter in our egg rolls but due to allergies we have changed how we do that.”
Larry was an avid sports fan and would always follow the latest basketball, hockey and baseball games.
The visitation for Larry Gene will take place at W.G. Young Funeral Home on Saturday, Jan. 11 from 10 a.m. until the funeral service at 11 a.m. Anyone looking to make donations in his memory are asked to make them out in Larry’s memory to the London Health Sciences Centre’s Kidney Care Centre or the Stratford Perth Rotary Hospice.
