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or Chef David Hawksworth, the new year truly signals a new beginning. After seven successful years at South Granville's award-winning West Restaurant, he is breaking out on his own to open a signature room in the completely remodeled Hotel Georgia - a project he describes as the defining statement of his culinary career. Over a beer across town at Chambar, he talked with Chris Mason Stearns about his years at West, the joys and sorrows of cooking locally, why "Pacific Northwest" cuisine is a fallacy, and dishes details on his upcoming first solo restaurant, scheduled to open its doors on the eve of the 2010 Winter Olympics. EAT: You were at the helm of the West kitchen for seven years. You guided it during its opening, growing pains, re-branding, and a mounting pile of accolades. The restaurant stands at the acme of Vancouver's fine dining scene, and has gotten stronger as the competition has stumbled. Why leave now? David Hawksworth: It's time. It's been the greatest experience. I've learned tons about the business, and I couldn't have asked for anything more. I've worked with really great people, really passionate people. I was waiting for that exactly right property. I didn't want to go and be a hero somewhere else. I'm 50% owner in the restaurant [at the Hotel Georgia], along with the hotel's owners. I wanted a place that had great architecture. I want to make a statement. I looked at other things, but this was it. You know when you see something, and...you know, this is where I want to be. EAT: Have you chosen a name yet? DH: There's a shortlist of names and we're working it out. I have some time to think about it.
over to the UK, probably to the Fat Duck. Everywhere. EAT: Vancouverites associate you with haute cuisine, but I know you don’t eat like that every day. What's your favourite lowbrow meal in the city? DH: Ramen noodles. There are three noodle shops I'm partial to: Legendary Noodle on Main & 24th -- they make hand-made noodles right there, and it's very good -- Kintaro on Denman Street, and Ezogiku Noodle House on Robson. Now is the right time of year to go; I can't do it in August. I had noodles today, at Ezogiku. You've got everything there: vegetables, meat, noodles, spicy broth. I'm a bit of a carb fanatic.
Onwards and Upwards: David Hawksworth leaves West for a room of his own EAT: Have you sensed a retreat from fine dining in the last several years? It seems to me that the culinary scene here isn't trying as hard to prove itself lately. If you look at the new restaurants which have been successful, they're more casual, more comfort-food oriented. What does that mean? Have Vancouverites lost interest in fine dining? Or have we reached a point where we're more comfortable with our tastes?
DH: It's on the shortlist.
DH: I think people want to go to a fun restaurant, to a place with a lot of atmosphere, and go to a couple of different restaurants [in one night]. You can't really do that with fine dining. You couldn’t go to Lumière and then West in one night – it would be weird. I think people want to have more fun when they go out. More younger people are going out in the downtown core now, restaurant hopping. If you go out in Montréal, you'll hit four different restaurants in one night, which is a great night out.
EAT: Tell me a little about your plans for the new restaurant - the style, the concept you’re planning.
EAT: Are we naturally averse as West Coasters to “no elbows on the table” dining?
DH: I want this place to be a lot of fun. The room is going to be sexy, incredible. The kitchen will be outrageous. It's going to be a busy, busy spot. There's going to be a fine dining aspect to it. My idea of fine dining is the French Laundry, or [Alain] Ducasse. It's not going to be that [laughs]. Is it going to be great food? Yes. I'm going to have to find a balance. I want people to go before and after the hockey game, business lunches. We'll be open for breakfast too. There are going to be four different experiences inside: a bar and lounge, the dining room, and a private room which will seat 30-40.
DH: No, but I think that fine dining has a lot to do with your business clientele. If you go to Toronto or New York, into the fine dining rooms where business is getting done, 80% of the clients are paying through their business accounts, whereas in Vancouver the reverse is true. It's maybe 10%.
EAT: The rumour I've heard is that you're calling it “Hawksworth.” DH: [laughs] Yeah, that's a rumour. EAT: But it's on the shortlist?
EAT: You said the kitchen was going to be outrageous. What are you doing? DH: In the last five years I think low temp cooking has really come on, as far as equipment goes. [We’ll be doing] low temperature 100% humidity cooking in a drawer, just drop a vacuum-packed stuffed rabbit loin in there and it's the same as putting it in a water circulator - but just with wet air. I've got time to do a lot of travelling next year, so I'll be able to spend some time in other kitchens to see how it's best done.
EAT: Right. It’s special occasion dining. Birthdays, anniversaries, engagements. And wealthy tourists from out of town. Let’s talk a bit about your background. You cooked in Vancouver for a time before going overseas to train. Where did you get your start? DH: The Beach House in West Vancouver was my first real restaurant job, back when Andre Skalbania owned it. Then Le Crocodile, Il Giardino and Villa del Lupo - I actually had three jobs at one time. I was working weekends at Villa del Lupo, lunches at Le Crocodile, and dinners at Il Giardino. That was a good mix, because everyone I was working for was from Europe. That's when I got the idea that there was just no way I could stay in Vancouver and learn what I wanted to learn. EAT: Has that changed?
EAT: Where are you planning to go? DH: Probably to Joël in Atlanta; Joel Antunes is a French chef who I worked in Asia and London. He's very good. [I’ll go to see] David Kinch at Manresa, a two-star Michelin place [in Los Gatos, CA]. He's a really good friend and we talk a fair bit. He's doing something quite unique: he's opened up his own garden and is doing a lot of his own vegetables. Then I'll go to Singapore and
DH: You still have to go away now. Even if you grow up in Paris you still have to. If not, you're just going to be an imprint of what's happening around you. You're never going to be able to stretch and do something else. You need to travel and see things. EAT: Let's talk about Pacific Northwest Cuisine. Five years ago when questioned on the subject, you said "I
don't really have a handle on what Pacific Northwest Cuisine is." How do you feel now? DH: I still don’t. What is Pacific Northwest cooking? What do you mean by that? Obviously there's an Asian influence - that's definitely strong. But I still don't think it's kind of there yet. It's not defined. You can immediately tell when you're having French food, you can immediately tell when it's Italian. Modern British is basically using English products with French techniques... EAT: Isn't that what chefs are trying to do here -- cook with local products and techniques they've imported from other places? DH: That's what is happening, lots of Japanese & Chinese techniques are being used. And there's that British influence too. EAT: You and your wife Anabel have a new son, Heston, who is five months old. Is he named after the Heston I'm thinking of? DH: [laughs] No. I used to work with Heston Blumenthal at The Canteen [in London] and we were friends for a while. I've known him for years. But I have not named my son after him! [Blumenthal has since opened The Fat Duck, an internationally famous three-Michelin-star restaurant in Berkshire] EAT: What will it take for Vancouver to earn it's first Michelin star? And do we even want one? DH: It's a good question; they come with a lot of baggage. I know restaurants in London that have said "not interested." Once you enter that game, and get your first star, you're always in a battle to keep your stars. If at any time you ever lose a star, it puts a huge black cloud over your restaurant. Is it really worth it? I don't know. I really enjoyed working in Michelin-starred restaurants. I loved the pressure, the intensity, and the focus of everybody. They were there for one reason: perfection for each and every service. It was very competitive and a lot of fun. But from a business standpoint, do you really want it? Again, I don't know. There are certain things that you can't do. I don’t know of anyone who's been to a 'fun' three-star. I think the Michelin Guide will eventually come here, but I can't see it happening for three years, maybe. I've heard talk of it happening in Toronto. We'll see. EAT: You've embraced the sourcing of local ingredients. What are some of the joys and sorrows of cooking locally? DH: Some sorrows: I guess not having day-boat fishing is one. It's such a vast coastline, so getting anything on the same day it's been caught is a struggle. Another thing: we can't serve wild game in restaurants here. If you could, you might see more of a true local cuisine emerge, because there might be species of grouse that are only in this area, for example. In the UK, August 12th is known as the "glorious twelfth," when all the grouse are fair game, and they go back on the menu. That is one of the highlights of the season, along with local wild deer and wild rabbit. We used to get pheasant, feathers on and still warm, delivered to the back of the kitchen. You really appreciate what you're doing. It becomes an art when you see the whole process. EAT: And some joys? DH: Scallops. Just in the last year we've been able to get fresh, live scallops on a regular basis. Spot prawns, mushrooms, Polderside chicken - a very similar bird to Poulet de Bresse. Their duck is unbelievable! Every couple of months, somebody comes out of the woodwork and does something new. I've been back here seven years and things have progressed significantly in that time. David Hawkworth's as-yet-unnamed restaurant in the Hotel Georgia is slated to open in late 2009.
www.eatmagazine.ca JAN | FEBRUARY 2008
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