Almost overnight, Dave Levey has become Canada's most talked about chef.
As the winner of Season Six of Hell's Kitchen, Levey has earned a prime chef's position at Whistler's famed Araxi Restaurant, where he'll work under Executive Chef James Walt. Joe Leary spent 24 Seconds with Whistler's newest celebrity.
24: What was your first impression of Whistler?
DL: My first impression was mountain town, chill people and great food.
24: Your thoughts on this season of Hell's Kitchen?
DL: It was a very intense season with competition being what it is and people getting after each other, but it was good all in all. It was great to be able to work with Chef Ramsay and learn from him and it will be an honour to work under Chef James Walt. I'm very excited for that.
24: People love the fiery temper of Ramsay. Is there another side to the guy?
DL: I get asked this question quite often. Chef Ramsay's fiery temper is just his intense drive and passion in the kitchen and he's just trying to bring out the best in of you. If you crumble while he's yelling at you, you gotta get out of the kitchen, but outside of the kitchen he's a very nice guy; very down to earth and chill. I definitely enjoyed the time I spent with him and got along well with him.
24: Did we detect a bit of his temperament in you in the last episode where we saw you running the kitchen?
DL: I don't feel the need to scream at people to make them work. People have to respect you in the kitchen otherwise they're not going to do a good job for you. Obviously, when you're under Hell's Kitchen's roof, you're going to have a little bit more bravado, but in my kitchen, I definitely do not use my temper as a way of getting my employees to do their best work; I just show respect and expect to be respected back. Yelling is not my way.
24: Going back to Day One, did you honestly think you were going to win?
DL: Right when I got to Hell's Kitchen, I just thought about the next day and never looked beyond that because it's just too much to take in. The first day, I was just handed a menu and I thought, "What am I going to do tomorrow? And I just went day by day. I sized up my competition and saw that Kevin was an excellent chef; Ariel was an excellent chef and I just kept an eye on them and did what came naturally to me and focused on the food and the quality because that's what Chef Ramsay demands.
24: You suffered some serious injury and it looked like you may not even finish the competition.
DL: Luckily, I had broken my wrist prior to the show and I've worked in kitchens with a cast on before so it wasn't new to me. Everybody seemed to think it was going to be detrimental ... but really it was OK.
Listen to Joe Leary everyday from 3 to 6 p.m. on Talk 1410
Very Spooky
Vickie Marie Ayer has been fundraising for Variety Club with a Halloween Haunted House for Variety Kids for 10 years and plans to raise more money this year. Her family's haunted house is at 443 Draycott St. in Coquitlam and is open Oct. 17 to 31 from 6:30 to 9 p.m.
