With two lawyers already in the family, Lucais Syme thought three would be a crowd and decided to explore another career path.
And the legal industry’s loss has been the culinary world’s gain as the Edmonton native took to the kitchen to become one of Vancouver’s top chefs and owner of Cinara in Downtown Vancouver.
“I’ve always been interested in cooking,” said Syme, whose parents are lawyers.
“I grew up without knowing too much about it and almost all the time using it to procrastinate. It was a great way to spend time.
“But to actually pursue cooking, that came later.”
Syme, who is one of Vancouver’s four leading chefs headlining the From the Kitchen to the Boardroom 2.0 event — hosted by the Richmond Chamber of Commerce and Richmond News on Jan. 12 at the River Rock Casino Resort — had just finished his degree in psychology and was contemplating applying for law school when he realized he lacked the passion for the profession.
“I wasn’t feeling it that much,” he said, adding the epiphany manifested itself while he was cooking in his parents’ kitchen. That was when his mother suggested trying it as a career.
“She told me she’d been researching the kind of careers I’d be interested in and came up with one chef who, in one year, had made $700,000 for simply consulting for cruise ships,” Syme said. “I thought that was alright."
The chef in question was the famed Alain Ducasse, a multi-Michelin Star winner and owner of some of the world’s top restaurants, whose consulting company brokered a deal with French luxury expedition line Ponant.
Syme, standing in his parents’ kitchen, wasn’t quite at that level, yet.
So, he began his journey in the culinary world by packing his bags and heading to Vancouver and the Pacific Institute on Granville Island.
“I just loved it, all aspects of cooking,” he said. “I think with cooking, it’s impossible to name one thing that you enjoy. But the creativity is probably the biggest driving factor. For example, at Cinara, we change our menu constantly, based on a new ingredient that has been brought in. Being able to adapt and have fun with it is great.”
He also enjoys counter balancing the physical and business aspects of cooking.
“I don’t really enjoy doing the paperwork,” he quipped, adding that while maintaining the business side of an operation can be a weak point for many chefs, he considers himself to be pretty sharp.
“If being good in business means keeping a small, weird, boutique restaurant open and making a profit, then I am a good business person,” he laughed. “But I am sure I could do a lot better if I was harsher. But I wouldn’t be as satisfied with what I do and what I produce.”
At the root of that is using the best available ingredients.
“We only buy the top stuff in every category, whether it’s produce, meats, fish, anything. But at the same time, we don’t charge an arm and a leg for it,” he said.
Part of giving back to his profession has been being part of the judging panel for the Hawksworth Scholarship, which provides assistance to up and coming young chefs, who, today in Vancouver have more opportunity to gain experience locally, as the dining scene has matured to accommodate the rise of many top quality restaurants that seek to perfect and specialize in their offerings.
“Things have come a long way in that respect,” Syme said. “You don’t have to offer everything to everyone anymore. You can come in here and be more specific with your menu. And that’s huge in terms of encouraging innovation and creativity.
“Cooking represents such a vast landscape, the possibilities are almost endless. And a more mature, evolving dining audience is fantastic,” he said.
At Cinara, Syme said it’s the overall experience he and his staff seek to provide their customers.
“We try to do thoughtful cuisine that is based on tradition, but use innovation and fantastic ingredients to further it,” he said. “But at the same time, you have to produce the whole picture. You must have great food, great wine, service and ambience. So, we are constantly working on the restaurant as a whole, not the just food side, which is extremely important and where it all begins. But it’s not the only part of a successful business.”
In addition to Syme, From the Kitchen to the Boardroom 2.0 will feature David Hawksworth, of Hawksworth restaurant, Nightingale and Bel Café; Angus An, from Maenam, Longtail Kitchen and Fat Mao Noodles, and Franck Point, of Faubourg. Tickets are $250 plus GST, or $225 for chamber members, and includes a dining forum centred on food, business and entrepreneurship in the food industry in Metro Vancouver, plus a five-course meal created by the chefs. For tickets, visit online at RichmondChamber.ca or call 604-278-2822.
