News

David Hawksworth is partner and executive chef of Hawksworth Catering and the soon-to-open Hawksworth at the Hotel Georgia in Vancouver.

How often do you travel in a year?

This year, I have been formulating a new restaurant, so it is probably somewhere around 14 trips to London, continental Europe, Toronto, California, Las Vegas.

What sorts of things are you doing on these trips?

Meeting our designer; we went to Boston to formulate ideas and get on the same page about the concept of the hotel and the restaurant at the Hotel Georgia. We are completely renovating and remodelling and bringing it up to an

incredible standard.

Are you usually rushing to get to the airport?

I like to get to the airport early, but for some reason I am always rushing.

Do you have tips for customs?

I've had some severe experiences with U.S. customs. It's better to just answer the question and that's that. Don't make small talk.

What happened to you?

I was in Washington, D.C., for a three-day event about food and wine. My friend was putting it on and people from all over the world were coming - the Mondavis and so on. That particular day, customs decided to really crank it up and told me that I needed to prove to them that I wasn't getting paid. And I told them my flight was in 1½ hours and they said, 'Well you're not leaving.' I guess it goes with the territory when you are travelling to a different country. It wasn't the greatest experience.

Do you travel with any chef's utensils you can't live without?

Your knives are really important if you are going to be cooking somewhere.

But how do you get them on the plane?

Unfortunately, I have to check them. And I don't really like checking any luggage, so I end up not taking my knives and maybe buying one. If I have to buy one knife for $300, it's better than losing $3,000 worth of knives and going through the

insurance thing. It's just a nightmare.

Are you a nervous flier?

I used to be a nervous flier, but now I just kind of get into it and I'll spend my time reading or whatever. That's the hardest thing. As a chef, you become a bit of a control freak, and it's hard to let go and let other people deal with things.

Do you think up new recipes?

Yeah, when I'm looking through the menu of what they're offering. No, just kidding Yes and no; it all depends on where I'm going. You have a lot of time to fill, so you definitely think about different combinations of food. I find I do the majority of my reading on a plane.

Do you bring along a pillow or headphones?

The best thing I ever bought was noise-cancelling headphones from Bose. I've got an iTouch, which I load with music and podcasts. I'll listen to stuff from the BBC, and podcasts from Ricky Gervais. ... I'll be sitting there and I'll burst out laughing.

I try to arm myself with as much stuff as possible, try to eat something healthy in the airport and get on with it.