From instant noodles to haute cuisine: Vancouver chef wins national scholarship

It was a whole week of brow-sweating intensity, but after winning the prestigious Hawksworth Young Chef Scholarship, Vancouver chef Daniel Kim says he's still decompressing.

"When I was up there standing, my heart just couldn't stop pounding. I was very, very stressed," Kim said.

"Now I'm trying to learn how to settle down."

The scholarship is a Canada-wide competition for Canadian chefs under 28 with the winner receiving a $10,000 cash prize and a stage (ie. an apprenticeship) at an international restaurant of their choice.

Kim, 24, works at Vancouver's Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar, but his first forays into cooking weren't exactly haute cuisine.

"[I was making] maybe some instant noodles. Boiling water," he said, laughing.

Drawn by the creativity of cooking, Kim started working at 16 at a small Mexican restaurant, then Earl's. After graduating high school, he worked at the upscale West Restaurant in South Granville. 

Kim, who did not go to culinary school, said working at West inspired him to make a career in the restaurant business. 

"When things started really picking up, that's when I started working longer hours. It was more demanding. It was tough. And I just ended adapting and liking it more and more," he said. 

For part of the scholarship competition, chefs are given a "black box" containing mystery ingredients they have to incorporate into their dishes. They have two hours to cook a main course and 45 minutes to create a dessert. 

Kim's group was given a box containing a whole duck, guanciale (a type of Italian cured meat prepared from pork cheeks), Saint Domingue 70 per cent dark chocolate, butternut squash, eggs, and honey.

I love what I do ... I love waking up for it. That's what it is.- Chef Daniel Kim

With the clock running, Kim says he had to decide what to make as soon as possible.

"You're just constantly thinking about what  you're doing, what you're doing next, what's going to be your next four steps, five steps, like that's what you have to start thinking about in a competition like that," he said. 

For his winning dishes, Kim made a roasted duck breast with farce (stuffing), duck jus, spiced butternut squash purée, roasted squash, potato fondant cooked in guanciale fat, celery, and pine mushroom.

His dessert was a dark chocolate mousse, raspberry coulis, local honey crème pâtissière, walnut crumble and sablé (a type of shortbread).

Kim said he was thrilled to win, although he hasn't decided where he'll be going for his international stage. 

He says he's grateful for what he gets to do. 

"I love what I do ... I love waking up for it. That's what it is."

With files from North by Northwest