Without deliciously creamy Hollandaise, eggs benny is just, well, plain old poached eggs on toast. But it’s a fickle, tricky sauce that likes things just right and has a maddening mayonnaise-like tendency to split at a moment’s notice. Thankfully Tom Giblin showed us in a recent lesson how to make this much-loved dish (which, on busy days, they can make up to 160 servings of) while sharing a slice of kitchen life.
The eggs, he says, as we separate the yolks from the whites, were laid just days ago at a farm down the road and delivered personally by the owner. Dealing directly with farmers is surprisingly rare, he says, but something he cultivates here.
Just 30 years old, Giblin, who in his career has cooked for musician Rod Stewart and Formula One racer Lewis Hamilton, has been running the kitchen at Fergie’s Café in Brackendale since July, having been thrown in the deep end when the previous chef left.
Originally from Hobart, Australia, he started his culinary training after reading Kitchen Confidential by chef and novelist Anthony Bourdain. “For an 18-year-old, these stories of rat bag crews of chefs drinking and partying and working… it was almost like they were a pirate crew. I probably got sold a bit on this romantic image.”
Following his four-year apprenticeship, his first fine dining experience was “a really old-school, fine-dining Italian restaurant with the stereotypical angry chef screaming and shouting,” he recalls. At times the fear and aggression was motivating, he says, and you develop a thick skin, but he’s thankful this type of atmosphere is now less common in the restaurant world.
He then spent an influential period at a Thai fine-dining restaurant and enjoyed the departure from classic fine dining. “I just fell in love with Thai food and the big bold flavours. On Saturday nights they’d have a DJ playing lounge music. There were shared tables and all the food was shared dishes… I think there’s more to a meal than the very formal, fine-dining kind of attitude.”
Adventure beckoned in 2009 and he followed the snow and trails to Whistler where, he explains, he lived a typical Aussie life of working, skiing and mountain biking. It was meant to be a break from the relentless (though, he admits, slightly addictive) 80-hour work weeks back home. “You walk away after being in the kitchen for 15-16 hours feeling like you’ve done something. Your life kind of revolves around work. But I guess when you’re young, that’s totally fine.”
So instead he stuck to a more “reasonable” 40-50 hours at Araxi, Alta Bistro and Nita Lake Lodge, all of which he speaks very positively, citing great kitchen crews and inspiring chefs working with sustainable ingredients and local farmers.
It’s a tough industry though, he explains. “There’s a huge dropout rate due to pressure and long hours. And there’s just no money in it… so people either go down a track of moving on to hotels or pubs, or running kitchens or they drop out.”
It’s something Giblin was contemplating before Fergie’s.
“I wanted to be in B.C. but didn’t see cooking providing me with the finances to create a life here or have the means to visit family back home every year,” he says, thinking perhaps he could stoke his passion through cooking at home for friends. “And then Jake and Jess [Freese, owners of Sunwolf and Fergie’s] got in touch. They said, ‘Our chef’s walked out, and we need someone to run the café.’”
It was a great opportunity but not an easy decision. “I had my summer lined up with mountain biking and casual catering work. I had friends coming out here and was planning a trip to Alaska,” he says.
But he accepted and, seven months on, reflects on how tough it was starting in the middle of the busiest season. “We couldn’t get staff and I was working six or seven days a week… I was living in Whistler at the time. Most nights I’d drive back there, sleep and get up and drive back down. I even slept in the kitchen one night.”
The learning curve was steep, he says, but it was either sink or swim. His team now is great and they work together seamlessly in the cosy kitchen.
On busy eggs benedict days, one off those members is a dedicated egg poacher, he explains, revealing a perfectly poached egg requires a very deep pot and a good glug of white vinegar. “You’re looking for that classic teardrop shape and the number one thing is a tall pot. After you’ve cracked the egg into the water, the longer the drop, the longer it has to form that classic shape,” and adds, “The second trick is adding vinegar to the water – it helps set the whites up a little quicker. You also want the water as hot as it can be without boiling. If it’s moving too quickly it’ll break the egg up and move it around.”
Poaching eggs is time critical and the last thing before service, he explains, so it’s crucial to have everything else ready. For us, this means the smoked salmon is warming and the potatoes (also smoked) are being sautéed.
“Always start with a hot pan,” he says as he sautées, explaining, for the sake of our health, to heat the pan first before adding the oil. “It’s never great to have a pan smoking away with oil in it, breaking down and becoming carcinogenic.”
Though he never anticipated running his own kitchen, Giblin has no regrets. “I’m quite happy to step away from fine dining. It can be quite regimented and everything is very precise,” he says. “There are no hard feelings… I’ve had a great time working there and have had some amazing experiences, but I’m excited to take a step in a slightly different direction.
“And Fergie’s is just such a special location. It’s next to the river; there are lovely lawns; tables underneath a beautiful tree; you’re surrounded by mountains; and you’ve got two fantastic valleys just up the road with people producing some amazing food. It’s a ridiculously nice little spot.”
All of which, he says, helps create something more than just the food. “It’s about coming to this great location… and sharing a meal outside with friends or strangers,” he says.
“A bit of a dream is to also, if we can, demonstrate that it’s possible to run a business using sustainable, locally-sourced food and resources,” he says. A roster of which currently includes eggs from Stony Mountain Farm, Squamish Valley veggies, Gillespie’s vodka, Be Clean Naturally soap, and a selection of teas from Lucas Teas. He’s keen to add to this list of local suppliers.
In the meantime, as the cooking lesson resumes, he scooped out almost-teardrop-like eggs with a slotted spoon and rested them briefly on a towel to soak up excess liquid and trim loose tendrils. “Medium eggs take about four minutes,” he says, though timers aren’t required once you’re into the rhythm of a busy kitchen.
With poached eggs ready, the assembly begins. Tender salmon sits on homemade biscuits, with poached eggs on top, surrounded by smoky, warm potatoes and a glaze of Hollandaise sauce.
Giblin tells all aspiring chefs to be prepared to work hard. “You need a humble, positive attitude, and to accept criticism constructively because you learn a lot more from your mistakes.” It’s incredibly rewarding though, he says, and teaches you skills that last a lifetime.
