Vancouver pastry chef Kiko Nakata pours whimsy into desserts at Archer
The culinary artist dishes on the creative process behind some of her most popular menu items
Archer’s Peach Pit. Photo by Kiko Nakata
VANCOUVER EXECUTIVE PASTRY CHEF Kiko Nakata trained at Le Cordon Bleu London and has a CV that lists roles at Thomas Haas Chocolates, Miku, Purebread, and Tokyo’s Dominique Ansel Bakery. Now leading the dessert program at Archer, Nakata is open to admitting that culinary arts always seemed like it would be a good fit for her after high school—and not only because she has always nurtured her creative side.
“School really never worked for me,” Nakata tells Stir. “I never did particularly well and was always getting into trouble. I wanted to pursue something that didn’t involve years more of school, and because of how much a part food played in my life, it felt like a natural progression.”
Recently opened on Alberni Street, Archer describes itself as serving modern Canadian fare. Put another way, expect seasonal ingredients from throughout the Pacific Northwest used in inventive ways—sometimes dazzlingly so—by the knife-sharp team of Nakata; executive chef Clement Chan (Torafuku, Chambar, Fairmont Pacific Rim, and Hapa, among other spots); and chef de cuisine Sandy Chen, also formerly of Fairmont Pac Rim and Torafuku, who has competed widely in culinary competitions (and won or placed) and was once named B.C. Chef of the Year.
The menu at Archer is ever-changing, in keeping with the seasons. Some examples of dishes include sacha-infused charred octopus tentacle, savoury and slightly spicy with with pickled jalapeno, sansho kewpie, hazelnut romesco, crispy kale, baby beets, and fingerling potatoes; crab gnocchi with uni bisque, tobiko (flying fish roe), albacore tuna confit, snow crab, guanciale, sungold tomatoes, and organic greens; and smoked local oysters (served under a glass cloche with a dramatic flair—and air—thanks to the smoke essentials) with cucumber, sour apple, ikura (red caviar), and miso mayo motoyaki.
Then there are Nakata’s desserts, which have already acquired a devoted fan base.
For Nakata, her love of all things culinary-related started naturally, organically, at home.
“Food was, and continues to be, everything to my family,” says the Vancouver-born and -raised chef, whose first language is Japanese. “Whatever the occasion, we always gather around good food. As soon as I could walk, my mom and grandma would sit me on the counter to watch and ‘help’ them cook.
“My strongest childhood memories are of making food with my family, like sitting around the table making temaki sushi, or cooking and shaping mochi from scratch,” Nakata adds. “In the summers my dad would teach me how to start the barbecue in our little garden and grill the salmon that my grandparents would butcher at home. I lived with my whole family under one roof until I moved out at 18, so it was always a full house.”
Kiko Nakata.
Nakata says she feels fortunate to truly love her work, as challenging as it may sometimes be. And she adores the art of desserts.
“I grew up painting all the time with my dad and then went on to an arts-focused high school,” Nakata says. “When I had to make my choice of what specialization to apply to in culinary school, it seemed like pastry had more room for creativity. Now after over a decade in the industry, I know that creativity is wherever you choose to apply it regardless of culinary or pastry, but before I figured that out, I had fallen in love with pastry.”
At Archer—which is participating in the 2023 Dine Out Vancouver Festival—Nakata’s goal is to “take people on a little adventure”.
“The seasons and ingredients that are available are my biggest inspiration,” she says. “We are so lucky to have access to incredible local produce as well as exciting, maybe less familiar, ingredients from abroad. Pulling all those pieces together to tell a story, and hopefully making it a little interactive and whimsical along the way, is my favourite way to put together a dish.”
Nakata’s show-stopping Flaming Cheesecake at Archer has become a hit. A glisteningly smooth dome made of 70-percent dark chocolate melts away when a server pours a flaming shot of Grand Marnier over top, only to reveal a smooth miso-caramel cheesecake underneath, with a white-sesame crust, decorative dabs of blood-orange gel, and soft clumps of “moss” made out of matcha.
Here, Nakata shares the creative process behind two of her favourite desserts.
Archer, Peach Pit. Photo by Kiko Nakata
Peach Pit
“This little dessert stemmed from my love of Okanagan peaches,” Nakata says. “During the summers in B.C., there’s nothing better than sweet peaches from the Interior. The peach itself is a white chocolate-basil mousse; the core is made up of layers of strawberry gel, coconut sponge, and local peach compote. It’s then nestled in matcha moss, chocolate soil, fresh and freeze-dried berries, and micro greens. On top there is a little chocolate stem and micro basil leaf.
“The idea was to have the dessert be a little deceiving, looking like a peach and having a big kick of fresh peach in the centre, but the main component to be a fresh and creamy basil mousse,” she says. “A little unexpected and playful.”
Archer, Westberry Farms Hive. Photo by Kiko Nakata
Westberry Farms Hive
“This was inspired by my long friendship with the owners of Westberry Farms in Abbotsford,” Nakata says. “We met years ago during the B.C. Blueberry Festival and have continued to work together to create seasonal desserts to highlight their truly amazing blueberries. This concept started with a bee hive to play into the farm environment with a crispy meringue hive, then it's filled with yuzu curd, lime and vanilla diplomat cream, and blueberry compote. It’s a modern play on a pavlova and meant to be smashed and enjoyed like an Eton Mess. It’s then plated with little raspberry-mint-foam kisses, blueberry gel, and lots of edible flowers to emulate all the colours you see on the farm. I really wanted it to be an explosion of bright summery flavours and textures.”
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