This restaurant is celebrating three decades of perogy excellence

It all began with a bet that he could make better perogies than the ones he was served at a pub.

Thirty years later, and Cecil’s Perogy Palace is a physical testament that the bet was most certainly won.

“The recipes are exactly the same. We have people that come back [after] ten years and say it's exactly the same,” owner Darlene Warwaruk told Kelowna10. “We haven’t changed anything.”

Though her husband Cecil unfortunately passed away in 2016, she and her grandson Jonathan have been carrying on his legacy.

“I have a very big passion for what I do, and I love it,” Jonathan Wawaruk said. “I just love perogies, and really take it to the next level, keep my customers and keep anybody I can happy. And comfort food is always good, key to the heart, right?”

The Warwaruks credit the popularity of their fare to the sauce the perogies are served in.

It’s a secret that has been under lock and key since the restaurant began.

“People just love perogies,” he explained. “It’s something different that people don't have in Kelowna.”

With the clientele that the unique perogies draw in, Jonathan estimates they will typically make 900 perogies on a good day, and that number could be as high as 1,800 on a particularly busy day.

He expects their 30th anniversary celebration on April 22nd will be booming.

“I’m thinking maybe 500 people,” he said. “This should be a really big day for us.”

Jonathan, who is colloquially known as ‘The Perogy Prince’ said that he would like to continue the legacy of his grandfather Cecil, ‘The Perogy King’, for at least another 30 years.