David Cooke Executive Chef at the Arowhon Pine Resort
http://www.arowhonpines.ca
David’s love for food began as a child growing up in Montréal. As a 10 year old, he would get home from school, pick a recipe from his mother's recipe books, make it, bake it and consume it all before his mom returned from work. At 16, David began his professional career, in the dish room!
David cooked in Ottawa & Calgary, before traveling to Europe (at a time when you could still pack a wallet of knives in a backpack and hop on a plane) where he developed basic cooking skills while working in Michelin-starred Hilton hotels in the UK, Switzerland & Holland. These were supplemented by training sessions with France's Habaerlin brothers and Hans Stucki in Switzerland.
Starting in 1986, David worked the summers as Sous Chef at Arowhon Pines and in the winter, traveled and cooked in Australia and Hong Kong. In 1991, David and Donna, his wife (whom he proposed to at Arowhon Pines) and their three sons, emigrated to England, and soon after being awarded “British master chef of the year”, opened his own Michelin-starred restaurant. In the UK, David competed professionally, twice reaching the final of the “chef of the year” culinary award, and received the “master craftsman” title by the craft guild.
The call of Algonquin Park brought the Cooke family back to Canada in 2002, and David accepted the position of Head Chef at Arowhon Pines. The move was like “coming home” to the kitchen where he learned so much and to work for his mentor, owner and executive chef, Helen Kates.
Arowhon Pines carries on a 40 year tradition of dedication to culinary excellence started by and maintained to this day by owner and executive chef, Helen Kates.
Arowhon's food philosophy is summed up by a large sign over the service counter which reads “if you're not proud of it, don’t serve it.”
The kitchen brigade, led by Head Chef, David Cooke:
- revisit and improve every recipe every time it is served. Simply put, we test and taste everything before it gets to a guest table.
- buy local when we can. There is nothing more exciting than the taste of produce freshly picked from the farm served the same day for dinner .
- grow our own herbs and lettuces
- buy produce, maple syrup and honey from Brooklands Farms outside Bracebridge, venison from Renfrew County, Balderson cheese and local Ontario lamb.
- are committed to using environmentally & ecologically sustainable seafood products, buy only wild pacific salmon and cold water shrimp, as well as local freshwater fish.
- are members of the Endangered Fish Alliance and the World Wildlife federation
- ensures that the kitchen is supplied with our own natural well water for all washing, preparing and cooking.
- are dedicated to composting, recycling, re-using, and reducing our environmental footprint
The simple truth is that local tastes so much better! We can't resist presenting a menu featuring baked ham glazed with Brookland Farm's maple syrup, farm picked corn on the cob, Ontario lamb kebobs on the luncheon barbecue, and wild Ontario blueberries with homemade garden lavender ice cream.
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