2015 David Hawksworth & Friends Culinary Adventure

Food journalist and author Jacob Richler looks back on the 2014 David Hawksworth & Friends Culinary Adventure:

The 2014 David Hawksworth and Friends culinary extravaganza began as usual: an early start to catch our morning flights, then a quick hello to Terry Cowan at The Clubhouse helipad, and a quick lunch rushed down in the collective haste to get out on the water and fish. We made it out onto the waves by half past two, started with the short run to the Channel, then made our way to Gunia and Boulder. Reports over the previous weeks had the Coho strangely absent – but they had evidently arrived, en masse, for they were striking bait fast and furious on moocher and down-rigger alike. And somewhere in between I briefly played a beautiful spring, in its mid-twenties judging by a quick look at him, my dream size for kitchen use. It was a good taste of things to come. On which front hunger and thirst were getting the better of us, so with four good Salmon in the hold we called it a day. And come six o’clock I was back at the lodge, with a single malt in one hand and a series of snacks in the other: first a small wedge of flatbread loaded with local morels, then a thin slice of cold-smoked beef with berry reduction, then some crisp and succulent tempura shrimp.

Yes, it was just another cocktail hour at The Clubhouse. Actually it was more than that: it was our first, hungry look at the work of the new Clubhouse chef Shaun Snelling. The theme for dinner was local and chef Snelling acquitted himself admirably, especially with his succulent venison chops, roasted rare on the rack, and presented luxuriously with foie gras agnolotti and a tart huckleberry jus. As usual Mark Davidson’s accompanying wine selection brought out the best in things: with the venison he ran with a lovely Burgundy – a 1er cru Beaune Bucherottes 2006. It seems almost a shame now that we quaffed it all, for that one would have worn a few more years most gracefully.

No matter. Measured appetites and the Hawksworth culinary event are not meant for each other; it is a time for glorious excess. The next day that came first with the fishing, a host of big springs in the catch, along with a rather startling number of tyees landed and released. That night marked Dino Raenarts turn to cook, and The Clubhouse habitue upped the culinary ante with an umami statement in the form of squab breast glazed with kabayaki. The next day the skies cleared and the torrid pace of the fishing was mirrored in the kitchen, where guest chef Anthony was staging a knockout. He began with a lovely modern take on the carpetbagger, then presented visually stunning salad of warm Sockeye, squid ink-died poached egg and charred romaine that Mark paired beautifully with one of Niagara’s finest: a Norm Hardie 2012 Chardonnay. Or Walsh’s salad seemed visually stunning anyway – until the next and final night, when Hawksworth started his meal with his own unique composed salad, this time featuring compressed melon scattered with shredded pork, cashews, fish sauce and thai basil – paired with a brightlyrefreshing Le Mesnil Grand Cru. A duo which for me, anyway, remains the most successfully unusual beginning to a meal of roast chicken and masked potatoes that I have ever experienced.

Jacob Richler

jacobrichler.com

While in Vancouver – Hawksworth Restaurant:

Whether on your way to visit one of our lodges, or just in Vancouver looking for some of BC’s finest cuisine. Be sure to visit Hawksworth Restaurant for a contemporary Canadian menu that uses only the best local ingredients blended with a range of culinary techniques.

Please call 604-673-7000 to make a reservation or visit www.hawksworthrestaurant.com for more information.

To learn more about Hawksworth Restaurant’s two great private dining venues click here.