inthekitchen
no bark,
all bite
Hard work and a hands-on approach
have reaped rewards for chef Jackie
Hildebrand.
by Kaitlin Vitt
For many, the adage “do what you love and you’ll never work a day
in your life” seems like farfetched advice. Life gets in the way, and
passion fades to hobby, if anything at all. That’s not the case for Jackie
Hildebrand, the executive chef of Hy’s Steakhouse and Cocktail Bar. “I
blinked, and I was here for 14 years,” she says.
Jackie, 34, started working at Hy’s in 2005 after a friend said the
restaurant was hiring. This was the same year the steakhouse moved
from Kennedy Street to the Richardson Building. Jackie hadn’t been
into the new location until her interview, and was wowed by the
restaurant’s impressive size. After only two weeks of working at Hy’s,
she knew it was a good fi t, telling the sous chef at the time, “I’m not
leaving.”
In a high calibre kitchen where perfection is expected at every
level, the best learners tackle every task, no matter how small, with
gusto. Like a sponge, the young chef absorbed any and all information
thrown her way. She learned from other chefs and by getting her hands
in everything. After three years of hard work, she became sous chef.
In January of this year Jackie was promoted to executive chef – the
fi rst female executive chef across the fi ve Canadian locations in Hy’s
63-year history.
The restaurant industry has a reputation as a ‘boys club,’ but for chef
Jackie, the signifi cance of the promotion didn’t register until it was on
paper. “I come from a line of really remarkable and strong women in
10
ciao! / oct/nov / two thousand eighteen