Thomas Tran
executive chef
Don Francesco Ristorante,
Vancouver
Making great love or great food requires one thing: Passion.
"Without passion for food or passion for love, things can get boring and mechanical," said Thomas Tran, executive chef at Don Francesco Ristorante (860 Burrard Street).
And it's passion that drove Tran - a Vietnamese immigrant - from working in the dish pits at age 14 to becoming one of Vancouver's acclaimed classic Italian chefs.
"I remember the first time I tasted pasta, I fell in love with it," he recalled. "To this day, I could go without steamed rice and my traditional food but one week without pasta and I miss it tremendously."
Tran and business partner Francesco Alongi, with the support of a group of generous investors, have incorporated their appreciation for tradition into the fabric of the restaurant.
On weekends, Alongi often performs his favourite operas while Tran and his crew tends to the cooking. Said Tran: "We try to be good at what we do. Keep things simple and flavourful in every dish."
SABLEFISH WITH SEASONAL VEGETABLES
Ingredients:
8 oz sablefish
1/2 cup fish stock
1/2 tsp chopped chives
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon
Seasonal vegetables
3 chives for garnish
Method:
1) In an ovenproof pan, sear sablefish in olive oil and butter until golden brown.
2) Add fish stock, salt and juice of one lemon.
3) Pop the fish in a 450F oven for six minutes.
4) Remove sablefish from pan and reduce sauce.
5) Plate sablefish with seasonal vegetables. Use sauce and chives for garnish.
