From the Introduction

This is my first cookbook with my name on the spine, and it spans my whole professional career. We selected the recipes on the basis of quality—but also for range. I’ve included a few from my early career in the UK in the 90s because they informed so much of what I did afterward that; to me, their significance never fades. There are others from my early days at Ouest (then renamed West) that I thought really captured a moment. A few others date back to the early days at Hawksworth. Most are from our current repertoire—at Hawksworth, at Nightingale, and at Bel Café. So the cooking here represents a lot of different styles.

But even though cooking always evolves, ingredients go in and out of style, tech- niques change, and what we understand about eating well and healthily changes how we cook, a lot of things remain the same. Those are the lessons I learned first-hand in my early years working for some great, pioneering chefs—from Marco Pierre White at the Canteen, to Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, and Philip Howard at the Square. I learned that a good dish always has balance in its seasoning, acidity, and tex- tures, and always has a harmonious—not distracting—mix of ingredients on the plate. If you understand that, and the importance of classic old-school techniques, you get what makes great cooking—whatever its style.

My style has changed a lot over the years. The journey from when I first made my mark in Vancouver at Ouest with my idea of a new West Coast French cuisine, to the lighter, more multicultural idea of fine dining I now put forward at Hawksworth and the Californian- Italian–inspired vision of Nightingale has been a long one. And it would not have been possible without the key players I’ve been lucky enough to have on my team. They know who they are and how grateful I am for their contribution.

In some ways, I count on them more, and push them harder than ever before. Sure, I drove my brigade really hard when I was in the kitchen every day, directing traffic from the pass. But nowadays I demand even more of them in an arrangement that’s tougher for me, too: I have to trust them completely to execute my vision, to my standards, even when I’m not around. No one can be everywhere at once, and I’m no exception. I also like to travel; it’s a great source of ideas. These days if I’m cooking somewhere at night it’s usually at my house, for my family. Or maybe I’ve just gone fishing.

In the pages that follow you’ll find recipes and stories from all the places that are so important to me. I hope you like them nearly as much as I do.