David

David on the Hot Seat

1. What inspired you to become a Chef?

I got into this field quite late in life. I was trying to find my little spot in the world, and I was looking in all the wrong places. I volunteered in a restaurant to help out with the dishwasher, and accidentally the chef was short of cooking staff so he handed over some mundane chores to me, and I surprisingly had a great time doing that. Even though I had to start over by joining cooking school pretty late, it all worked out perfectly in the end. You get to make people happy, and I don’t think there are many jobs where you get to make people happy every day. It’s good to see your regular customers come in and say ‘Hi’ to you, knowing they’ve come because they love the food that you cook.

2. What is your signature dish? What do people love about it?

I’d like to think it’s Cheese Hotdog. People love to grab a couple of those to savor it on the go, it’s very convenient in the current day and time when everyone is rushing to be someplace. Also, I am a big baseball fan and love to dig into a hotdog or two during the game, maybe that’s why the Cheese Hotdog from my menu is a big hit – I got a personal connection with this simple yet classic delicacy.

3. How do you describe your overall cooking philosophy?

Food is more than sustenance, it’s an experience. Up until the 60s, food was still viewed as only a necessity for most parts. The dine-out experience was far from exceptional, but now we have come a long way. We no longer need to hang our heads low while talking about our profession because people have started to respect chefs for their skills and creative spirit. Also, Kitchens are no longer camps for white Anglo-Saxon males. Kitchens have grown to become the most diverse work environment around.

4. Is there a chef you look up to? What about them inspires you the most?

I admire Martha Stewart for creating an entire empire while still giving every impression of knowing exactly what she’s talking about when it comes to buckets of peonies and Swiss buttercream, and I also offer Julia Child my respect for coming to her career as a mature. woman having already found success elsewhere. Her humor, integrity, and hard work are inspirations to all of us who want to master the craft of cooking.

5. What do you do when you’re not making burgers? What hobbies do you indulge in your leisure? 

I love traveling. When people live in one place and are engaged in the same routine all the time, they get used to that life, and to what surrounds it. Their experiences become limited. When you travel, you can see other people’s way of life, and begin to understand their philosophy. This also expands and enhances their perception, forcing them to look at the world through different eyes and become spiritually richer. Woah, just talking about it makes me want to plan another trip.