A Seat at Hawksworth’s Table
The January/February 2008 issue of Eat Magazine features an interview by Chris Mason Stearns (photograph by Tracey Kusiewicz) with Chef David Hawksworth. I was fortunate to eat Chef Hawksworth’s food in Vancouver, B.C., at West Restaurant on two occasions. Under his direction, West was awarded three consecutive wins as “Restaurant of the Year” by the Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards, a prestigious four star rating by Mobil Travel Guide, and recognition as one of the “ten of the best, worldwide” by UK’s Sunday Independent. In 2005, Chef Hawksworth won “Chef of the Year.”
When my friend Craig invited me to dinner at West in October of 2005, I knew it was because he liked the food and the restaurant, but I wasn’t prepared for the beauty of the food. My first taste of the Organic Squash and Parmesan Ravioli Sage with Toasted Almond Brown Butter was enough for me to know the meal would be fantastic and my mouth was in for a lovely adventure. Five months later, I visited West again, and the food was equally brilliant.
A few nights ago I started thinking about Chef Hawksworth’s food, so I went online to have a look at the menu. Maybe I could convince Craig to take a drive and visit the restaurant with me. Good thing I checked. It seems the good Chef left West early this year and is planning to open a new restaurant at the Hotel Georgia. From all that I read, he hasn’t yet named the restaurant, though rumors are that it will be called Hawksworth. He’s been working on a cookbook which I will gladly get my hands on.
Late Saturday afternoon, I picked up the phone to call Craig and found out he was in Vancouver and had plans to eat at West that evening. How freakish is that? I told him Hawksworth was gone and a new chef is in his place. He promised to let me know if West is still a great place to eat. In the meantime, I’m hoping for a seat at a table at Hawksworth’s new restaurant slated to open in early 2009.
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