On the Grill

  

With Chef Michael Robbins - Oakwood Canadian Bistro

A rising star in Vancouver’s culinary scene, Mike Robbins, 27, has worked in a clutch of exciting dining rooms in Vancouver and overseas. Following tenures at Earls and Joe Fortes, Robbins moved to Sydney, Australia, where he honed his skills at the Glass Brasserie (Chef de Partie) and City Marina Cafe (Sous Chef). Upon returning to his native Vancouver in 2007, Robbins joined Glowbal Group and cultivated a wealth of knowledge at Glowbal (Executive Sous Chef), Coast (Chef de Cuisine) and Sanafir (Executive Chef). Robbins has staged at leading dining rooms in Vancouver and abroad, and competed in several black-box culinary competitions including the esteemed Chaîne des Rôtisseurs.

Mike’s food philosophy is focused on fresh, house-made dishes crafted from locally sourced products. The seasonally changing menu he developed for the Oakwood Canadian Bistro caters to market availability and the sustainability of the products. All meats are organic, local and free of hormones and antibiotics, while the seafood is sustainable, seasonal and Ocean Wise certified. From the breads and pastas to the butchery and sauces, all products are produced in house with quality and consistency.

“In the kitchen, we are doing whatever possible to keep the food organic, sustainable and green,” he says. “This doesn’t happen overnight, it is a long-term goal that is on a good path right now.”

Three words to describe your cuisine:
Simple, technical, young

Your signature dish:
Seared Qualicum Bay Scallops, Pan seared Pork Rotolo, Sweet pickled Beets, Carrot Foam.

The dish customers must try during Dine Out?
Whatever their stomachs desire. I stand behind all of what we do in the kitchen, but if I had to choose just one dish from our Dine Out menu it would be the Braised Lamb Stew w/ Carrots, Brussel Sprouts garnished with Potato Ravioli

Best thing about Dine Out Vancouver?
It creates an opportunity to have new guests explore your restaurant, and creates a culinary focused vibe in the city during an otherwise quiet time of the year for the restaurant industry.

What is one thing in your kitchen you could not live without?
My talented team! We put in the hours and hard work; everyone does what they have to do to make sure service goes smooth.

One ingredient you could not cook without?
Onions/shallots, they are a backbone to cooking for me. When a customer comes in to the restaurant with an ‘onion allergy’, I really need to take a deep breath and struggle to put a menu together for them, since onions and shallots are in every dish in one way or another.

Who is the unsung hero in your kitchen?
Our iPod player, I know a lot of chefs don’t like music in kitchens, but I will always have it in mine, music is a passion as much as cooking is for me. I always like to hear something new, and allow everyone to play what they like in hopes to catch on to a new band or style. I guess its not really an ‘unsung’ hero, but you know what I mean.

Who inspired you to become a chef?
I find the longer and deeper I fall into the ‘chef world’ the more I see the long-term future in it for me. It was a job first, then it became a way to travel, then it became artistic, and slowly more and more it becomes what I am. No one person inspired me to become a chef, there are many different people and factors that have gotten me to this point, and I’m sure many more are still to come.

What was your first job in the industry?
Dishwasher at Earls, my brother got me the job when I was 16. I didn’t like it at all at first, but what inspired me to keep going was when I made it to cooking on the ‘forno’. It was the old Earls on Robson and you had to load real wood in and control the temperature of the forno, know all the hot spots and cold spots, stretch the pizzas and roast chickens, char the ribs… it was real cooking, and inspired me to move on to continue to learn more about cooking.

If you could give just one cooking tip, what would it be?
Overcooking a product or ingredient is the most common household mistake I see, from proteins to vegetables to pastas.

A talent you possess that many are unaware of?
I don’t hide my talents very well, I’m a bit of a show off. My towel whipping has come a long way the past couple years, but that’s not a secret to the guys in my kitchen. But it’s probably news to you.

Your favourite activities/hobbies, when not in the kitchen?
In the winter I love to watch movies, at home or at the theatre. In the summer it’s the fixed speed bicycle, or getting on a boat by any means necessary.

What is your all-time favourite dish?
Big question, I have a few for sure. But one always comes to mind when asked this question, I was in Vegas on a stag for a chef friend of mine and we ended up meeting Emad Yacoub and Robert Byford of Glowbal Group, whom I was working for at the time. We dug into a massive feast at a Batali Restaurant; one dish was Burrata cheese, braised ramps, cherry vinegar, and crusty sour dough bread. It was so good that Robert and I didn’t eat anything else at that dinner, we just kept re -ordering that same dish. So simple, it was all about that amazing cheese!

Most over-rated dish:
Kobe/Wagyu Burgers. If the marbling of the fat that makes these meats so amazing, once its ground and cooked its magic is gone, it has the same potential to be as good as any other burger made with quality meat. It’s a fad I’m glad to see on its way out.

Last restaurant you visited?
The ‘new’ Boneta Restaurant in Gastown. I’ve been too busy to get out due to the Christmas season, but definitely have a few on my list I’d like to get to soon.

A ‘hidden gem” in the restaurant scene:
Um… does ‘the oakwood’ count?

Who is your favourite local chef?
Hard question, but I’d have to say Josh Wolfe (Fresh, Local, Wild). He has a passionate mind and a calming execution on his visions, he is a balanced chef that is always doing something new keeping in mind what is important and the future of food and food quality. Despite all of his success he is modest and casual, I worked for him for 2 years and gained a lot.

Favourite Celebrity Chef?
Another tough one, but I was influence initially from a couple guys that worked for me (Mark Greenfield now at Oru, and Mark Singson now at Boneta), I’ve been following David Chang of Momofuku in New York. I find his way about achieving what makes him happy, and being original with his cooking style and now his new magazine ‘lucky peach’ all very inspiring to me.

Favourite bartender?
Jacob Sweetapple. Good Guy, good drinks, good chats. Very smooth bartender, with a chef’s flow behind the bar. Natural flair with out all the bottle flipping.

Favourite farmer’s market:
Kitsilano Farmers Market, perfect to swing by on the way in to work.

Favourite foodie?
This one changes with every restaurant I end up at; here at the Oakwood it would be Mar Andersons. He comes in with his guys and lets me just feed them until there stuffed, open for anything with out ever worrying about allergies or restrictions, I’m just free to just create and cook for them.

Favourite neighbourhood?
Mount Pleasant, Main. My neighborhood, good food, good shopping, good bars, close to Gastown (a close second)

Favourite lounge?
The Diamond, if that’s considered a lounge. Close enough if you ask me.

Drink of choice:
Old fashioned, although as of late I’ve been enjoying a good whiskey sour.

Something about you your mother doesn’t know?
Moms know everything, if you think otherwise, your probably only fooling yourself.

A person you most admire?
Steve Jobs. He did what he wanted. His speeches are motivational and moving. He achieved more in his short life than most could dream of doing. And what he started will live on forever. Almost all of us carry something of his on us at all times.

Biggest indulgence?
Peanut M&Ms

Biggest regret?
No regrets, I learn from my mistakes.

Best seafood place?
Blue Water Café in Yaletown

Best Thai restaurant?
Bob Likes Thai Food on Main.

Best breakfast place?
Jethros Fine Grub on Dunbar.

Best nightclub?
Fortune Sounds Club in Chinatown.

Biggest celebrity you have cooked for? I cooled for Bono when I was at Coast, he actually sang happy birthday to some lucky girl that just happen to be in the room that night celebrating.

If you could pick anyone, who would you’d like to sit down and have a meal with?
Kanye West. I have a business matter to discuss with him… any one got his number?

Last $20 bucks, how would you spend it?
Lottery tickets, 20 bucks doesn’t get you anything anymore, might as well gamble on the chance to have something worth spending.

A restaurant you’d recommend to a tourist who only had one day in Vancouver?
L’Abattoir in Gastown. Amazing room, solid service, great bar program, and a solid kitchen.

Oakwood Canadian Bistro
2741 West 4th Ave., Vancouver
604-558-1965
www.theoakwood.ca