Another feather in this chef’s cap
Well-travelled Luk has put down roots in Vancouver, where he shares rustic Italian flavours
Curtis Luk prefers to stay true to his pedigree with rustic regional Italian cooking at Cibo Trattoria and UVA Wine & Cocktail Bar.
Born in Hong Kong, Luk started his culinary career at a young age in Waterloo, Ont., then staging for chef Marc Lepine at Atelier in Ottawa. He joined Top Chef Canada runner-up Trevor Bird to help open Fable in 2012 before becoming executive chef at The Parker and Bambudda.
Luk, too, was a contestant on the second and fifth seasons of Top Chef Canada and now he puts his own stamp on the menu at Cibo and UVA.
Q : What motivates and inspires you as a chef? A: The desire to create new dishes and to continue learning new technique inspires me as a chef. Q: Describe a couple of your most recent creations. A
: A couple of dishes I recently put on the menu include a roast duck breast in dolce e forte — an Italian preparation that includes chocolate — and a farinata, a chickpea crepe with octopus and guanciale. Q: What’s your favourite local product and how do you use it? A:
My favourite local product is shrimp. I find that the texture and flavour are excellent when served simply raw or barely cooked. I currently feature a sidestripe shrimp crudo on the menu.
Q:
If there’s one important piece of advice you might have for cooks, what might that be?
A:
My advice to home cooks is to figure out the underlying message behind a recipe. Figure out why the ratios are what they are, why you follow the recipe as described. When you understand the underlying ratios and technique behind the dish you can expand upon it in an infinite number of ways.
DUCK IN DOLCE E FORTE
The sauce
1 onion, chopped 1 carrot, chopped 1 stalk celery, chopped 3 garlic cloves, sliced 1 cinnamon stick 1 tsp (5 mL) black peppercorns 1 bay leaf 2 tbsp (30 mL) raisins 2 qt. (2 L) chicken stock 2 oz. (58 g) dark chocolate ½ cup (125 mL) marsala
In a small pot add 1 tbsp (15 mL) of olive oil and heat until it begins to smoke. Add vegetables and raisins and cook at high heat until it is caramelizing. Add spices and cook for an additional minute. Add marsala to the vegetables and cook until most of the liquid is evaporated. Add chicken stock. Cook at medium heat for two hours, then strain out the solids. Reduce until there is about a cup and a half of sauce left. Add chocolate to the hot sauce and stir until well incorporated.
The duck
2 duck breasts 12 cipollini onions 12 radishes ¼ cup (60 mL) pine nuts, toasted ¼ cup (60 mL) golden raisins, reconstituted
Season duck breasts with salt and place skin side down on a separate pan. Place the pan on medium heat and cook on the skin side until brown and crispy.
Add the radishes and onions and cook with the duck. Flip the duck and place the pan in the oven until the duck is cooked to your favoured doneness.
Remove the duck breast, drain the excess duck fat and add the sauce into the pan with the onions and radishes. Add about a cup of water and cook down until the sauce is thick and the vegetables are cooked. Place the duck breast back in the sauce to warm up, then sprinkle the pine nuts and raisins in. Slice and plate with sauce.
Makes 4 servings.