Q: Coming home

[Junior]

Hi Chef Hawksworth !

What was it that brought you back to Vancouver to work with/for Jack Eversal ?

Which chef(s) in Vancouver do find interesting or exciting ?

Thanks

[d.hawksworth]

Well Junior,

It all started one drunken night in Whistler....sounds familiar?. I'm a bit of a ski nut and came back to see some friends, and show Annabel (my lovely wife) the area. We were introduced to Brian Hopkins who is an accredited sommelier who was at the time running Araxi. After a few beers we traded stories about life in Europe and future plans, then we didn't speak for 2 years. Then the phone call, he hunted me down and asked if I was interested in returning to Vancouver to open something special? I was listening, after opening Isola in Knightsbridge in central London (an experience that made me question everything culinary, as well as life and my sanity every moment awake or asleep, which was never). It sounded very intriguing, so we all talked on the phone for minutes even hours over several days discussing ambition, style and the future. It all seemed to fit, I needed a change so in 6 weeks we planned a wedding, packed up and shipped out.... military precision !!!. So here we are and the answer about other chef's in Vancouver that I find interesting ? Don Letrende is opening a new restaurant Exilir at the Opus Hotel which I'm really looking forward to, I find myself at late Japanese restaurants way to much. I just haven't had the time to try a lot of restaurants here in a long time.

D. Hawksworth