On Monday evening, Books to Cooks was pleased to host an evening with Toronto Chef Mark McEwan and his new book, Great Food at Home. Mark is best known for his award-winning restaurants One, North 44 and Bymark that celebrate classic cuisine with sophisticated, contemporary flare. In Great Food at Home, Mark shares recipes that are innovative and restaurant-worthy but are simple enough to duplicate at home.

Mark was joined in the kitchen by Vancouver's own David Hawksworth. Together they discussed their distinct contemporary styles of cooking and guests enjoyed tastings of hearty chowder and handmade gnocchi from Great Food at Home.

Mark’s food is rustic, honest fare with classic Italian preparation and ingredients. No longer a fan of the chef’s tasting menus – he wonders, does anyone really want to eat more than 3 courses? These days Mark prefers to serve the meals at his restaurant family style.

Fresh from a tour of David’s eagerly anticipated restaurant in-the-works in the Rosewood Hotel Georgia, Mark was all praise for what David has in store for lucky Vancouverites at Hawkwsorth Restaurant – perhaps there’s a guest chef appearance is in the future? David gave us a heads up and told us to mark our calendars for January when he’ll be ready to start taking reservations.