Spotlight on: Chuck Hughes

Beating Bobby Flay in an Iron Chef showdown and becoming the youngest Canadian to emerge victorious in the Kitchen Stadium, is not something many can claim to have done. The chef of TV Series Chuck’s Day Off, who is showcasing his brand of Québécois fare in a series of dining events here from 1 to 3 March, shares his moment of triumph.

epicure: What it was like going up against Bobby Flay in Iron Chef America?
Chuck Hughes: Completely nerve-wrecking! Bobby Flay is a chef I really admire and just to be mentioned in the same phrase as him was an honour. The secret ingredient was lobster, which was even more distressing because it’s one of my favourites (I even have it tattooed on my arm)! I felt I had to do it some serious justice. My sous chefs from Garde Manger were amazing and went a long way with me in making those five dishes look and taste good. We churned out lobster rolls with Bloody Caesar cocktail, lobster poutine, lobster and onion ring salad with carrot butter and avocado, lobster mushroom risotto, and jerk-spiced lobster.

e: Will guests in Singapore get to try the lobster poutine when you are here for the third installment of the Celebrity Chef Series by American Express and the Asian Food Channel?
CH: The lobster poutine is just one of many Québécois dishes that will be showcased through a series of live demonstrations and dinner events. There’ll also be classics like Maple Pecan Pie and a Stovetop Clambake with Butters.

e: How different is your second restaurant, Le Bremner, from Garde Manger and how do you divide time between the two? CH: They are both in Old Montreal and situated rather closely together. Le Bremner is more of a seafood diner and focuses on fresh flavours like Kimchee Snow Crab with Crispy Rice Cake, Lobster Parfait and Raw Albacore Tuna. Garde Manger is, and always has been, about hearty comfort food with fuller flavours. It’s where you can come in, chill out to some rocking tunes and sink your teeth in a juicy steak tartare. What works is that both restaurants are founded and fronted by the same team, who always shared a common and committed vision.

e: Why did you decide on travelling to Mexico for your second TV series, Chuck’s Week Off?
CH: There seems to be a crossover in the ingredients found in Montreal and that of Mexico. The cuisines are rather similar, fresh corn, luscious tomatoes—food I understand well enough to work with. My culinary adventures while filming include open-air Jeep cruises in the Baja and working a shift at a taco stand, to fishing in the Sea of Cortez.

e: Would you ever consider venturing out of Canada and setting up shop anywhere else in the year?
CH: Like every chef who wants to focus on his craft, I understand the risks of spreading myself too thin. But it could open another world of possibilities and untapped culinary discoveries so I can’t ever be too sure about these things.

Chuck’s Day Off airs on the Asian Food Channel, StarHub Channel 435, every Wednesday at 9pm. To purchase Celebrity Chef Series tickets for ‘A Day Off with Chuck’, visit www.theafcstudio.com.

5 things you didn’t know about Chuck Hughes

If I had to choose between watching a game of hockey or indulging in a case of oysters: I’d probably like to play hockey more than anything, but watching a hockey game while eating oysters would be perfect!

My next tattoo of food will likely be: sardines or pineapples.

Some chefs whose work I admire and respect are: Tyler Florence, Mario Batali and Jamie Oliver. The last of whom is still my favourite TV chef.

If there is one dish I had to keep on my restaurant menus forever, it’d be: lobster poutine and jerk crab.

If I had to go head to head with Bobby Flay again, I’d: put in my all and hope for the best.