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Renowned chef David Hawksworth passes along tricks of the culinary trade

There's no secret to success. It's hard work, every time.

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Vancouver’s David Hawksworth learned to cook in a crucible.

“I worked for the guy who made Gordon Ramsay cry,” says the 49-year-old celebrity chef, who honed his chops in several Michelin-starred restaurants in Britain and across Europe. “It’s nothing to be proud of, making someone cry… you just have to be there to experience how difficult it was.”

Hawksworth, owner of several Vancouver restaurants including the signature Hawksworth in the Rosewood Hotel Georgia, will share those red-hot experiences, and more, at NAIT next week, when he joins the culinary school for five days as the Hokanson chef-in-residence.

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The annual program gives culinary students face time with some of the best chefs in North America. Previous guests have included Vancouver’s Rob Feenie (the first Canadian to win an Iron Chef competition against Masaharu Morimoto), Toronto’s fusion specialist Susur Lee and vegetable wizard Amanda Cohen (of Dirt Candy fame in New York).

Born in Vancouver to British parents, Hawksworth was back and forth to England a lot as a child. At 21, he was keen to become a chef (good cooks run in his family) but wasn’t interested in formal training.

“I just decided to go for two years and start working,” he says. “It was a huge shock to my system. Very aggressive.”

It was the 1990s, and the United Kingdom was in a period of profound culinary change. Excellent chefs had turned the scene upside down, and customers came in droves.

“Those were probably some of the hardest kitchens to have ever existed,” says Hawksworth. “Double shifts, six days a week. When you go into the army, you can be someone who hands out pillowcases, or you can be a Navy Seal. I ended up in the Navy Seal program.”

He worked for the legendary Marco Pierre White (who trained Gordon Ramsay, plus other celebrated chefs such as Mario Batali and Shannon Bennett). After nine years, Hawksworth decided if he wanted to see 40, he would have to return to Canada. Besides, he wanted to create a “really great restaurant” in Vancouver.

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In 2011 he opened Hawksworth, named restaurant of the year in 2012 by Maclean’s magazine and consistently ranked as one of the best in the country. Hawksworth Restaurant Group also includes Nightingale, which opened in 2016 in Coal Harbour, and two Bel Café locations, plus a catering arm.

In 2013 he launched the Hawksworth Young Chef Scholarship Foundation, which annually awards $10,000 and international training and mentorship to boost the career of a young professional chef.

The Journal talked to Hawksworth about family suppers, fishing, and the joy of sharing a Kit Kat.

Q: You’ve cooked for numerous members of the British royalty. Do you remember what they ate?

A: I cooked for the Queen Mom a few times and met her, she was lovely. We did a leg of lamb. Princess Diana had fish. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, when they were in Kelowna, I remember doing a black lime sorbet. Generally, I can keep track of that kind of stuff.

Q: What’s your favourite food memory?

A: When I was 26, I went to Alain Ducasse in Monaco and I had the menu du jour and it was incredible. Guinea hen, and a chocolate dessert that was ridiculous, lots of great textures and bits of crunch. There was a champagne trolley that motored around the room. It’s a special place, completely over the top.

Q: Do you have a guilty food pleasure?

A: When I’m skiing, I’ll grab a Kit Kat bar and when we’re up on the mountain, it’s nice to be able to split those up and pass the guilt on to other people.

Q: What’s your favourite kitchen tool?

A: A blow torch. You can add char to something incredibly quickly. I get razzed about it by my friends. I did a dinner at Silver Star (ski resort) and I found an industrial-sized one that they used to light the big fires. I did all the salmon tataki in about 30 seconds

Q: What do you always have in the fridge as a go-to when you’re tired and hungry?

A: Charcuterie and cheese.

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Q: Can you share the secret of your success?

A: The training I was getting (in Europe), I knew I wasn’t going to get anywhere else in the world, and if I could bring that to Vancouver, I’d be light years ahead. You do double the amount of service and you get good at something by repetition. You get more skills faster.

And I didn’t just take any job. I also went to work for people to learn a certain style, maybe they were good at terrines or their fish dishes were incredible.

lfaulder@postmedia.com

Follow me on Twitter @eatmywordsblog.

Vancouver chef David Hawksworth’s burger is featured in his new cookbook, being released in October. Photo supplied
Vancouver chef David Hawksworth’s burger is featured in his new cookbook, being released in October. Photo supplied Photo by supplied /Postmedia

Hawksworth Beef Burger

Chef David Hawksworth has his first cookbook coming out in the fall. It will include this recipe for his signature burger. At Hawksworth, they make their own buns, but for space reasons, we have left out that step.

If you have a scale, weigh the ingredients as noted. It’s more accurate. Serves 10.

Beef Patties

Vegetable oil

150 grams (1 cup) minced onion

1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) beef chuck, ground

500 grams (1 pound) boneless beef short rib, ground

150 grams (5.5 ounces) beef fat cap, ground

Salt and pepper

Olive oil, for brushing

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Tempura Onion Rings

500 grams (3 1/2 cups) rice flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

3 grams (1/2 tsp) salt

500 mL (2 cups and 2 Tbsp) ice cold (or sparkling) water

30 mL (2 Tbsp) sherry vinegar

30 mL (2 Tbsp) sesame oil

30 mL (2 Tbsp) grapeseed oil

2 litres (8 1/2 cups) canola oil

10 slices red onion (2 centimetres, or 3/4 inch rings)

Flour, for dusting

Salt

Tomato Jam

10 roma tomatoes, peeled and diced

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

3 shallots, finely chopped

1 tbsp tomato paste

Sachet of : 2 sprigs tarragon, 1 sprig thyme, 1 sprig basil

84 mL sherry vinegar

50 grams (1/4 cup) sugar

30 mL Sriracha sauce

In a large skillet, sweat the garlic and shallot in olive oil with no color. Add tomatoes, sachet, vinegar, tomato paste, sriracha and cook in an oven at 150C or 300F for 4 to 6 hours. Add sugar and pectin, bring to a boil. Reserve.

BBQ sauce

290 mL ketchup

290 mL cider vinegar

200 mL water

180 grams (1 cup) brown sugar

65 grams (2/3 cup) onions, minced

50 mL Worcestershire sauce

3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1 ancho chili, toasted

1 tbsp herb de Provence

1 tbsp sweet smoked paprika

1 tbsp Worcestershire

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1 tbsp black pepper

1 tbsp salt

Sautee onion and garlic in olive oil until slightly browned. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer until thickened to desired consistency. Cool. Blend everything and strain through a regular chinois (sieve).

Beef Patties

Heat the vegetable oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Sweat the minced onion and garlic until totally translucent, about five minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the onion and garlic from the oil and transfer to paper towel to soak up grease. Allow to cool. Grind all the meat and fat in a meat grinder or have your butcher do this for you. Place the ground meat in a mixing bowl and add the onion and garlic. Season generously with salt and pepper and mix by hand until combined.

Divide the meat into 10 equal portions and pack, one at a time, into a 10-centimetre (4-inch) ring mould to form 10 patties. Place the patties on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and brush liberally with olive oil to avoid oxidation. Wrap the tray in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least four hours before cooking.

Tempura Onion Rings

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Whisk together the rice flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the water, vinegar, sesame oil, and grapeseed oil and whisk until smooth. Pour the batter into an ISI gun and charge with three cartridges. If you do not have an ISI gun, use sparkling water in place of the cold water and keep the mixture in the bowl. In a large pot, heat the canola oil to 175C (350F). The pot should be large enough so that it is not more than half full.

Place the onion rings in a bowl, and lightly flour them, shaking off any excess. Squeeze some of the tempura batter out of the ISI gun. Using a fork, roll a few pieces of onion around at a time, to fully coat each piece within the batter. Fry the onion in batches until crispy and golden brown, three to five minutes per ring. Transfer to a paper towel to soak up any excess oil. Season with salt.

Burgers

Preheat the oven to 200C (400F). Using a non-stick skillet or cast-iron pan on high heat, sear each patty on both sides until dark brown and crisp. Place the patties on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and finish cooking them in the oven to your desired doneness. Hawksworth recommends medium (an internal temperature of 60C–63C/140F–145F).

Build your burgers, starting with the barbecue sauce and tomato jam on the inside of each half of the bun, and then adding the patty and the onion ring. Fill it with your favourite toppings. At Hawksworth, burgers are served with lettuce, tomato, aged Canadian cheddar, crispy bacon, pickle, and a side of fries.

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