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CHEF’S CORNER

Not everyone’s childhood reads like a Norman Rockwell paint-

ing. Dale MacKay’s passion for food wasn’t sparked by nos-

talgic memories of rolling fresh pasta with his grandmother

but rather through his desire to experience the real world. Driven by

worldly interests, the co-chef and co-owner of Ayden Kitchen & Bar

in Saskatoon, quit school at age 14 and started working.

A year later, eager to carve his own path, the Saskatoon native moved

to Vancouver, where his brothers lived, and washed dishes at various

chains. When a cook didn’t show up to work one day, he joined the line

and started preparing everything from chicken fingers to french fries

to calamari, eventually working his way through several restaurants

in Vancouver and Whistler. After watching Boiling Point, a documen-

tary about Gordon Ramsay, the then 20-year-old boarded a plane to

London, England and landed at the Michelin-rated chef ’s namesake

restaurant at Royal Hospital Road determined to land a job.

While protocol suggests booking a stage, MacKay wasted no time.

“I thought it would be better to just show up and let them see me and

how bad I wanted to work there,” he says. He was hired as commis chef

the day after his trial, and, over the next six years, MacKay worked his

way up to the position of head chef, honing his skills across Ramsay’s

empire in London, Tokyo and New York City.

But memories of home drew MacKay back to Canada, where he

worked as executive chef at Daniel Boulud’s Lumière in Vancouver

before he rose to stardom, winning the first season of Top Chef

Canada in 2011. MacKay opened Ensemble restaurant in Vancouver

shortly after, but 18 months later he closed shop. He returned to

Saskatoon to open the 110-seat Ayden Kitchen & Bar with partners,

Nathan Guggenheimer and Christopher Cho. “Vancouver is very

competitive,” he admits. “It’s hard to make a profit. Being a young

entrepreneur, there’s no point working for eight per cent when I can

work for 30 per cent and have a better quality of life.”

Open since November 2013, Ayden melds MacKay’s pedagogy in

refined French cuisine with his love of rustic, unpretentious food. The

two most popular dishes illustrate this dichotomy. The ahi tuna tar-

tare with Asian dressing, cucumber, shaved black truffle and sesame

cracker ($15) is an elegant starter, while the buttermilk fried chicken

with spicy maple glaze, aged cheddar, bacon waffle, spaghetti squash

and crème fraiche ($27) is comfort food. “I don’t play around with

stupid foams and powders and silly things that are more of an ego

trip,” he says. “It should just be about the food, and it should be about

the guest. We’re not trying to impress you with crazy things or trying

to be pretentious. We’re just trying to make things taste good.”

Considering the restaurant, named after MacKay’s beloved son,

does about 150 covers during the week and up to 300 on weekends, it’s

clear the chef ’s vision is a success. Ayden Kitchen & Bar was recently

rated the number 10 best restaurant in Canada by Vacay.ca and one of

the top 10 restaurants in Canada by the readers of EnRoute magazine

— notable accolades helping to boost Saskatoon’s foodie status. l

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RISING STARA tenacious, impulsive spirit led Dale MacKay to rise from the role of a dishwasher to that of an entrepreneurBY HELEN CATELLIER

If you weren’t a chef, what would you be? “In sales — probably real estate”

Favourite comfort food “Soup”

Favourite ingredient “Kafir lime”

BITS & BITES

What’s one food you would bring on a deserted island? “Milk”