As one of the food bloggers invited to a dinner/Q & A period with David Adjey, this year’s Hokansen Chef in Residence at NAIT, it didn’t take long to get a sense of the man. If there’s one word I’d use to describe David Adjey, it would be “honest”. In a raw way. As in pour some hot sauce over a cheese grater, top it with bleached blonde hair, add a dash of yeehaw and a splash of cognac, set it on fire and you pretty much have the Food Network’s star chef in a nutshell.
There we sat, enjoying a tasting menu of dishes (prepared by NAIT culinary students) from David’s best-selling book Deconstructing the Dish, sipping on mineral water and sparkling wine, when David launches into a little story about his last trip to Edmonton. Something about Capital X Days and Bud-Lite girls. Yes, early on we realize that David Adjey is candid and funny, brash and appropriately arrogant. His feelings on people asking for his recipes? “I don’t mind giving out my recipes…no one can cook the dish as well as I can anyway.”
Guess you can’t fault him for that; he’s put in his time and has the cred to back up his mouth: author of a best-selling cookbook, award-winning chef, star of the upcoming show,
The Opener, and Dan Akroyd’s past personal chef, to name a few of his achievements .
David Adjey doesn’t hold back, and I have a feeling that pretty much describes how he lives his life. He tells us of the night he and Kevin Brauch (of Thirsty Traveler fame) got tossed out of Vegas, of how at age 15, a young Adjey was mentored by ex-cons in the way of Pernod consumption, and more recently of interesting moments with Igor, “The Croation Sensation”, on the TV show, Restaurant Makeover.
There was talk of stalkers, of fame, of needing to be “balls deep” in something (?) during the taping of an episode, how he loves the idea that he’s “the one who created what you are putting in your mouth” and that its “an intimate experience” for him (blush), and various other defining moments in the wild and egocentric days as a celebrity chef.
The man is livin’ large, there’s no doubt about it. But something you might not know about him is the soft spot he has for kids. One of the biggest thrills, he says, is connecting with kids and finding ways to inspire them to find their passion. If his experiences as a chef inspire them, thats fine with him. I have a feeling the students at NAIT are going to quite like this man who brings a bit of rockstar glam, a bit of bad boy charm and a whole pile of energy to the table.
One of the best questions tonight was “What is the retired David Adjey like?” To which he replied, “Living in a palatial mansion, wearing a flesh-coloured unitard and feather boa.” The weird thing is, I could picture it …but weirder yet: I’m not so sure he was joking.
Check out my fellow bloggers, Brooke, Bruce, Cathy, Chris, Isabelle, Mack, Maki, Marianne, Nikki, Sharon and Valerie for their take on the evening.
David Adjey doesn’t hold back, and I have a feeling that pretty much describes how he lives his life. He tells us of the night he and Kevin Brauch (of Thirsty Traveler fame) got tossed out of Vegas, of how at age 15, a young Adjey was mentored by ex-cons in the way of Pernod consumption, and more recently of interesting moments with Igor, “The Croation Sensation”, on the TV show, Restaurant Makeover. 
I was surprised by his answer when I asked the retirement question. I thought for sure she said he’d never make it to retirement. I figure when you burn the candle on both ends, well, you know 🙂
I just hope I get to try some of that $25,000/bottle of wine before I retire!
Love your image – I am still laughing!
Thanks for sharing your evening!
I’m not surprised by his “joie de vivre”.
Colleen
Another sensational viewpoint on the evening bet those stories of David’s were pretty lively to say the least. Flesh coloured bodysuit and boa hilarious
Yes, the evening was quite enlightening, to say the least. Thanks for the comments,guys.
Everyone’s accounts of the night have been great! I liked the retirement question too. Great meeting you Twyla!
Good to meet you too, Isabelle…thanks for stopping by!And thanks for being the official knife-passer 😉
I have heard that David Adjey’s show “The Opener” has been cancelled permanently due to poor ratings. Anyone know what he will be doing next?
Hmmm…nope, I haven’t heard anything about any cancellation.