Stir Q&A: Vancouver chef David Hawksworth on his Vancouver restaurant’s 10th anniversary, patios, and the pandemic
To celebrate a decade in business, the fine-dining downtown spot is offering half-price bubbles till the end of July
David Hawksworth.
A DECADE AGO this summer, Hawksworth Restaurant opened its doors in (but separate from) the Hotel Georgia. Since then, chef David Hawksworth has gone on to open Bel Cafe and Nightingale; launch the Hawksworth Young Chef Scholarship Foundation, which awards $10,000 and an international stage annually to a young professional chef; strike a culinary partnership with Air Canada; and write a cookbook.
Stir caught up with Hawksworth for his take on operating a fine-dining restaurant during a pandemic, the local dining scene, and what items will never come off his menu.
Just prior to opening Hawksworth, you had been working at West. How long had Hawksworth been in the works? What made you want to open your own restaurant?
I had a burning desire to open my own restaurant since I was 19 when I left Vancouver for Europe to learn with the best and most talented Michelin starred chefs. For the next 20 years I was laser-focused on learning as much as I could and absorbing as much knowledge and experience as possible. I returned to Vancouver in 2000 as opening head chef of West. After seven years I met Tony Hii and Bruce Langereis of Delta Group, the new owners of the Hotel Georgia, and started to talk to them about taking the restaurant space at the property. The deal was done before the 2008 financial crisis hit, so that slowed things down, but we finally opened in 2011.
Looking back over the decade, what have been some of the greatest changes you've seen in the local restaurant industry positive and/or negative?
Lots of great restaurants have opened over the past decade and there are so many places to find amazing food in the city now. St. Lawrence, L’Abbatoir, and La Quercia are some of my favourites—they are hands-on, intense, and owner-operated—but really the choices are multitude. Vancouver has become firmly recognized as a culinary destination and I’m so proud of our industry for that.
Since the pandemic, our industry put pressure on the government to finally succumb to allowing wholesale pricing for restaurants, which they should have done 50 years ago. I’m grateful for that along with the expanded patios. I love the vibrancy it brings to our streets – it feels very European to have everyone congregate outdoors.
The pandemic aside, what has been the biggest challenge in running Hawksworth?
Being part of a hotel property. Although Hawksworth Restaurant is owned and operated separately, this required us to be open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and this has proved to be quite challenging. Breakfast is not profitable and is very unpredictable depending on hotel occupancies, and maintaining a level of consistency and a highly trained team to deliver excellence throughout the day and at different meal services is extremely challenging. We were also damaged by the hotel strike, which did not involve our staff in any way; however, picket lines were outside our front door and the public perception was not good.
Hawksworth Restaurant’s ceviche.
Will any policies or practices to arise out of the pandemic be in place permanently at Hawksworth? Any lasting lessons in terms of running a fine-dining restaurant?
I think it’s too early to tell, but I can say that attention to detail has always been a top priority for us with the highest levels of cleanliness and guest service leading the way. Our staff are highly trained, knowledgeable, and hospitable, and our tables have always been quite well spaced and our dining room well ventilated.
Expect the unexpected, nothing is for certain, we were on a trajectory and then like that, everything changed and was turned on its head. It’s no surprise, but our style of cooking with more intricate, labour-intense dishes does not generally convert well to take-out and delivery service. At Hawksworth we are about more than the food, we offer an experience that includes one of the most stunning rooms in the city, the best cocktails, a deep and carefully chosen wine cellar with expert advice on hand to guide you, and of course outstanding dishes and the highest levels of service. I am very happy to be getting back to who we are and feel privileged to be able to serve Vancouver again in this way.
If you could go back, what would you do differently in terms of opening Hawksworth?
Nothing really, aside from finding a way to avert that long delay pre-opening. I know I had the best team alongside me: Kristian Eligh, Chad Clark, Terry Threlfall, Cooper Tardivel, and Wayne Kozinko helped me put the place on the map and I’m eternally grateful for the role each of them played and for having shared that experience with them. Alessandro Munge of Studio Munge collaborated on the restaurant’s interior design and I still feel as proud of that today as I did 10 years ago: it’s timeless, elegant, and playful. I love the room to this day.
Any advice for others embarking on a similar venture?
Get great legal advice and look very carefully at your lease. Get advice from others who have been though something similar, talk to as many people as possible, and learn what you can from them.
Hawksworth’s KFC, on the bar menu, isn’t going anywhere.
Many diners get very attached to specific menu items they love. Have any dishes on the menu been on there since Day One? And if so, what are they? Will you ever take them off?
The Hawksworth Burger, believe it or not, has been on since Day One and is not going anywhere! We grind our own meat in house, make our own brioche bun and signature special sauce… Sometimes it’s the only thing that will satisfy the craving!
The KFC (Korean Fried Cauliflower) is another staple on our bar menu. This dish was developed after myself and the team travelled to cook at Sevva in Hong Kong for two weeks. We explored the city and its culinary treasures in our time off and were inspired to put this on the menu when we got back to Vancouver. It’s hugely popular and I can’t imagine we would ever take it off.
Our a la carte and tasting menus, on the other hand, are seasonal and often spontaneous. We are primarily led by what ingredients are at their peak. We consider the season, the weather, and even the general mood of the city as well paying close attention to new techniques, flavour combinations and presentations.
What's the best thing about the local dining scene?
Diversity, I think. Aside from being home to some of the world’s best sushi at decent prices, we have some really wonderful, affordable, hole-in-the-wall type places. Some of my favourites are Chinatown BBQ, Phnom Penh, Noodle Arts, and Temaki.
What is Vancouver's dining scene lacking?
Access to wild game. I really miss not being able to serve that. In the UK I loved to cook with partridge, grouse, woodcock, hare, and wild venison.
Work-life balance in the restaurant industry is, or has been, notoriously difficult if not impossible to maintain, particularly for kitchen staff. Where does this fit into Hawksworth's operations?
In any profession when you’re trying to excel and be the very best at what you do its going to be hard work and it can be difficult to achieve a good work-life balance. I always advise budding career chefs that following this path is more of a lifestyle choice then a job per se; it for sure isn’t a 9-to-5 job. That said, within Hawksworth I know that our staff are our most important asset and we want them to thrive in a healthy workplace. Our managers and leaders check in regularly with their teams to ensure their well-being and we also offer provide integrated employee support in partnership with Humanacare, an outside resource that offers mental and physical wellness and HR service support.
What's next?
We are currently celebrating our 10-year anniversary with a 50-percent off bubble list with a curated selection of Champagnes and sparkling wines available [to the end of July], a thank you to Vancouver for the past 10 years and an invitation to come celebrate with us and raise a toast. In the fall we will be launching a guest chef series kicking off with chef Michel Hunter from Toronto’s Antler Kitchen + Bar on October 6 followed by Chef Ryan Campbell from Il Covo.
Milk Chocolate Fondant Bar with Mandarin orange sorbet and toasted hazelnut.
This interview has been lightly condensed and edited.
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