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Industry Award - Back of the House: David HawksworthPoised to launch his first independently owned restaurant at the newly renovated Hotel Georgia late in 2009, David Hawksworth firmly established himself as one of Canada's leading chefs during his seven-year tenure at the helm of Vancouver's West restaurant (2000-2007). Winning rave reviews from the country's top food critics he has been recognized across North America with endorsements from leading culinary publications such as Food Arts, Bon Apetit and Food & Wine magazine. He has showcased his cuisine at the prestigious Masters of Food and Wine in California and cooked twice at revered James Beard Culinary Institution in New York City. A native Vancouverite, Hawksworth's career catapulted after returning home from a decade spent in Europe working with celebrated Michelin-starred chefs such as Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir aux Qaut Saisons, Marco Pierre White at L'Escargot and Philip Howard at The Square. His cooking style emerged as classically grounded and ingredient driven. He maintains a relentless drive for perfection while demonstrating an innate ability to excite the senses with imaginative combinations and exquisite presentations. David Hawksworth is currently consumed with research and planning for his highly anticipated restaurant opening. He is studying the ISG wine diploma and scribing recipes for his first solo cookbook. Hawksworth is an active board member of the Chefs Table Society of BC In 2005 he was named Vancouver magazine's Chef of the Year. This year he is honoured to be an inductee of the BC Restaurant Hall of Fame. Interview with David HawksworthWhat was your first job in the industry? Probably a dishwasher somewhere. Multiple dishwashing jobs that I was probably doing when I was about 15 or something like that. What is the most memorable moment of your career? Besides being inducted into the BC Hall of Fame? One would be my first day working over in the U.K. at a Michelin-starred restaurant. The second would be being a part of West, winning Restaurant of the Year [Vancouver Magazine, 2005-2008]. What advice do you have for people just starting out in the industry? I would say start as young as possible and be very passionate about learning. Don’t get sidetracked – stay very focused. Go above and beyond every day. What do you think is the biggest issue facing restaurateurs today? Raising food prices, probably, and being able to compete with other trades. What’s the next step for raising the bar in the B.C. foodservice industry? Being able to work with farmers and being able to get better products – we have issues with things like infrastructure, so there’s no sort of day boat fishery and this type of thing, so it’s a different style of product that we have to use. Interview by Jessica Scharien Click on the images below to start videos Introduction movie shown during the BC Restaurant Hall of Fame Gala, April 2008. Interview and award acceptance speech recorded during the BC Restaurant Hall of Fame Gala, April 2008. |