Oh How Wrong You Are Neal McLennan Of Van Mag — David Hawksworth Is No Behemoth

Your tone deaf take is a slap in the face to all those who make Vancouver’s dining scene the diverse city it is. Shame on you!

• By Jamie Mah @grahammah

Return of the King? Really, Neal? Did LeBron James die and come back from the dead? What year is this? Or are we talking about Aragon from Lord of the Rings? Jesus Christ, maybe? Oh wait, no, you’re talking about a washed up asshole chef, whose own employees hate and who hasn’t cooked a meaningful meal in Vancouver in almost two decades. Is this the guy you’re touting in this extremely tone deaf column of yours? Give me a fucking break.

Have you even been to Hawksworth? He’s never there. His staff hate him, and I’ve heard numerous accounts of how bumbling he is when he is around. Where did this column come from? Should I be checking your bank account now to see how much David paid you off to shell this garbage? Dude! What gives?

Look, Neal, I like you. We’ve met several times. I’ve even had you on my podcast, where we drank some of your delicious Ardbeg. You’ve always been nice to me. Your new Instagram Thursday Takeout series is excellent. I’ve looked up to you a lot and even asked you for advice as I was breaking into food journalism in this city. But come on man, this article is pure trash. Hawksworth is a laughingstock amongst so many who actually toil in this industry because he’s a crass asshole resting on his laurels and a name he built over 20 years ago. My first impression of him and his ego was from several years ago during the Vancouver International Wine Festival. With thousands parading around tasting, this guy walks in, full chef’s coat on and all and acts as if he’s fucking Gordon Ramsay. The hubris he extolled was a joke.

Even still, to touch on your column proper, you talk about how Hawksworth invests in a sommelier team, expensive glassware and linens and all that but you forget, seeing as you don’t or haven’t worked in a restaurant in years, that’s not what makes one succeed. It’s the people, man! It always has been.

Hawksworth is a great spot no doubt, I’ve dined there plenty of times over the years and they’ve had some excellent talent walk through those doors, whether it was Chef Phil Scarfone or Bartenders Cooper Tardival, Alex Black or current gem Frasier Crawford. Those are some legends right there.

And you are correct, they possess the city’s best sommelier team, lead by Wine Director Bryant Mao and sommelier Jayton Paul. I respect the hell out of all of these players and the many I’m not mentioning, but to spit on the so called “whatever new pizza joint combines flour, water and cheese” is to do disservice those who have risked their wallets, time and efforts to make these whatever spots you disrespect the coveted restaurants so many enjoy, myself included.

You can say what you want about the fine dining food that Hawksworth provides today, and I’m sure it’s delicious, but I’ll take a Calabria pizza from Bufala any day of the week over it and not look back once. I’d take Spaghetti and Meatballs from Pepino’s, the Pork Chop from St. Lawrence, the Half Chicken from Kissa Tanto, the Chicken of the Sea from The Mackenzie Room and the Hot and Sour Soup from Fat Mao all over anything Hawksworth gave me. It’s a shame you’d throw under the bus the food these amazing restaurants provide, as if what they’re offering isn’t as worthy as something David would have created. It’s this tone deaf attitude on your part and from David himself why he’s never given the respect you seem to think he should receive.

To add even more insult to injury here, your take in saying this book release would be on par with 11 Madison or the French Laundry is a slap in the face of all diners in Vancouver, their palates and what’s on their minds. Dude, we’re living in a pandemic, the likes every restaurant around is barely hanging on from and you want us to tout this guy’s stupid ego? Give me a fucking break. Seriously.

How about a little empathy? Compassion? An understanding of what life has been like for every restaurant owner in town who has to make tough decisions each day that affect so many. We might be on the precipice of another lockdown, and this is not the time to be glad handing a man so out of touch with his own community. You talk about him offering a cheap $89 four course dinner and think we should commend him for his generosity? Try having your income cut in half or your job lost, like so many in this industry have had to deal with, and ask them if paying $89 for a lavish dinner is high on their priority lists. These new so called pizza joints, which we love aren’t coming about because chef’s and restaurateurs have just given up on offering the more opulent experience, it’s because they’ve read the room. Seen what diners want and can afford.

Both you and David should do myself and all the restaurant workers in this city a favour and have a visit to some of these pizza joints and see why diners adore them. Pepino’s is packed every night, and the food is delicious. There’s a reason it is. The soul of a city’s dining culture is not laid bare by the toils of the rich, it’s on the backs of those the masses flock to day and night and it always will be.

This new cookbook by David Hawksworth is probably full of flavoursome meals, but it will tell me nothing about the food of this city.

Pride always comes before the fall Neal, you might want to check yours before you head out for dinner next time.