In a Q&A series, we dive into the culinary journey, the inspiration, and the values that fuel our chef's creativity in the kitchen.
For Chef David Speight, food is about tradition, celebration, sharing, and enjoyment. Chef David is the Executive Chef and Culinary Director of UBC Food Services and has been leading UBC's culinary teams for 10 years. Born and raised in Vancouver, David credits Vancouver's network of chefs for inspiring him throughout his career. In a Q&A, he dishes on his favourite family meal, his passion for sharing food knowledge, and upcoming UBC food events he's excited about.
Bonnie: To start with, what was your first official chef or kitchen job?
David: My first job in a professional kitchen was as a dishwasher at the Mother Tucker’s in Coquitlam.
Bonnie: What is your approach to food?
David: Food is universal, everyone eats. Food is not about nutrients and calories but instead, if done right, food is about tradition, celebration, sharing, and enjoyment. Food provides memories, it can heal you and it can make you happy. As Julia Child once said “People who love to eat are always the best people”.
Bonnie: Who or what has influenced your food?
David: The network of chefs in Vancouver have been a source of inspiration for my career over the past 30 years. In my early professional cooking years, I worked under great chefs including Robert Craig, Deb Connors, and Julien Bond. More recently I have learned so much about sustainable seafood from Chefs Robert Clark and Ned Bell. One of my most cherished cook books that I consistently return to is The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters. Her belief that the underlying principles of good food have less to do with recipes and techniques but rather instead the importance of gathering good ingredients is something that I always return to.
Bonnie: What’s one condiment that is always in your pantry?
David: Right now, it is the habanero sauce from Brightside Foods. It is such a great hot sauce and it goes with just about everything. What makes it even better is that it is locally made just down the street from my house by an awesome woman-owned business. I highly recommend!
Bonnie: What's your favourite meal to prepare for friends and family?
David: I love sustainable seafood. Being born and raised on the West Coast, I have always enjoyed sharing BC oysters and Dungeness crab with my friends and family. Most people aren’t confident cooking crab and shucking oysters so it is a real pleasure for me to share my skills and knowledge and prepare these ingredients with others. For our wedding, my partner and I hosted a crab dinner including a fresh shucked oyster bar at our reception so this meal is our special meal that we enjoy on anniversaries and special occasions.
Bonnie: Are there any UBC food events or initiatives on the horizon that you’re excited about?
David: There are so many great UBC food events from Harvest Feastival and the UBC Farm Long Table Dinner to Chef’s Challenge and Blueberry Fest. But for this question I will say that I am really excited about the return of our Apprentice Dinner on May 16th. We only got to host one of these events before the pandemic shut everything down so I am very excited that the Apprentice Dinner is returning this spring. I love this event because it is an opportunity for our apprentices to envision, prepare and execute a three-course dinner all on their own. It is so rewarding to see their sense of accomplishment after the event concludes.
Bonnie: Lastly, what UBC Food Services value resonates with you the most —and why?
David: It is impossible for me to pick just one but I will say that I am proud to work for an organization that has a set of values to help guide and inform their decision-making process. Our Vision & Values gives me great pride as a Food Services employee. If I have to pick just one, I will go with Sharing Food Skills and Knowledge. I think it is important for us to educate around positive food systems and the impacts of the food system. One great example of this value is when some of the chefs and I get to volunteer for Growing Chefs and have the opportunity to teach grade two students about gardening, vegetables and cooking. The enthusiasm of the young children is very rewarding and I believe it is important to teach young people about food so that they can grow up with an understanding of the importance of cooking for yourself and healthy eating habits. It is so much fun!
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