In The Kitchen With: Steven Galvin of Elements on Hollis

0

Steven Galvin may be one of Halifax’s top toques, but the Kingston, Ont. native grew up idolizing Walt Disney and dreaming of becoming an animator. Instead, he discovered a creative outlet in the kitchen.

The 41-year-old restaurant chef of Elements on Hollis in Halifax has held many jobs in the industry since graduating from Ottawa’s Algonquin College in 1995. Starting out as a young line cook at Kinki restaurant in Ottawa, Ont.’s ByWard Market, Galvin was inspired by a fellow chef who oozed talent and passion. “You know how you always meet that one person in your career who changes everything?” he asks. Galvin was so motivated that he sold his home and flew to Vancouver, where his colleague helped him land a job with the Toptable Group. He spent the next few years honing his chops at various restaurants under the Toptable fine-dining umbrella, including Blue Water Cafe in Vancouver and Araxi in Whistler, B.C. “It was a career-changing experience,” he describes. “The quality of food — you never wanted for anything. If you needed something to make the best food possible, it was yours, no questions asked.”

From Whistler, Galvin’s career took him to a cruise ship, then to Rome, where he prepared meals for dignitaries at the Canadian Embassy, then to The Government House in Halifax, where he impressed the visiting Queen Elizabeth with a locally inspired dish of beef tenderloin with a lobster-infused demi-glace and asparagus. Forging relationships with local suppliers helped the chef land his current role as restaurant chef at Elements on Hollis inside the Westin Nova Scotian hotel. After being tipped off about the opportunity from a beef producer inside the Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market, Galvin applied and took the helm in 2012, revamping the menu to showcase local, sustainable seafood dishes inspired by his travels. “I’m influenced by Italy and a lot of Europe and southern France,” he says, of recent menu creations, including short rib ragu with polenta, arugula salad and shaved caprino romano ($15) as well as lightly battered haddock with tomato, herb and caper salad, roasted lemon aioli, asparagus and match-stick potatoes ($24).

Despite the chef’s artistic nature, he believes in good no-frills dishes. “I like to keep it simple,” he says. “You get a lot more out of the ingredients that way, because you’re being true to the ingredient.” And, while the accolades have been rolling in, including the 2013 Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence and the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence, Galvin hopes to continue to elevate the Halifax dining experience. “We’re trying to cut that stigma of just being a hotel restaurant, which obviously takes time. Halifax can be a pretty conservative city.”

In the meantime, the father-of-one is hoping to inspire bright young chefs in his own kitchen and connect them with talented toques across Canada. “I really want people to succeed,” he emphasizes. “If I have a young cook who has a lot of passion, I’ll give them the world.” 

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.