See you on Twitter, Chuck Hughes

Some people get star-struck by pro athletes and actors; I get weak in the knees around celebrity chefs. Essentially, I’m a foodie fan-girl—which I know is a little lame-sounding—but Thomas Keller is my LeBron James, and I’d rather meet Nigella Lawson than Angelina Jolie any day (sorry Angelina).

Imagine my delight when I learned that Chuck Hughes was visiting Vancouver? My admiration towards the Montreal-based chef started a few years back when I got my first post-university job and could afford cable. That’s when I started watching Chuck’s Day Off, a half-hour cooking show starring Chef Hughes on Food Network Canada.

The premise of the show was to feature dishes that Chuck would cook and eat on days he wasn’t working at his restaurants, Garde Manger and Le Bremner. I was drawn to his easy-going, fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants approach towards assembling dishes. His food tattoos covering his muscular arms were pretty sexy too.

Chef Hughes came to Vancouver to launch his cookbook, Chuck’s Day Off, at West restaurant last night (July 18). West executive chef Quang Dang recreated dishes from the cookbook—my favourites included mini pulled-pork and kimchi sliders, crispy fried gruyere pieces, and Chinatown steamed oysters—paired with summery cocktails from bar manager David Wolowidnyk and wines selected by Owen Knowlton.

Hughes promised to sign every cookbook and make time to meet each person that wanted to shake his hand—turns out, I wasn’t the only fan-girl in the room. Social media makes the ability to seemingly interact with celebrities easier than ever, and a few weeks prior I had tweeted Chuck a photo of a lemon pound cake (his recipe) I made. When he replied a day later telling me it, “looked good”, I was smitten and my heart raced a little.

So as I waited in line to meet the man and have my cookbook signed, anticipation started to build. “What should I say?” I thought. “Should I bring up that tweet? Would he remember?” These are the types of thoughts that usually race through a young girl’s mind when she’s about to meet her idol. I should know. I once met Melissa Gilbert, who portrayed Laura Ingalls Wilder in the TV series Little House on the Prairie, and my 10-year-old country-loving heart was sufficiently star-struck as she autographed my sticker book.

When I finally made it to the front of the line, Chef Hughes looked at me, and to my delight, said, “It’s nice to finally meet you in person. I remember you on Twitter.” I can’t accurately recall what happened after that—except that he drew a lobster on my book when he signed it and we took a photo together—but that euphoric haze is what one feels when they’re in the presence of Chuck Hughes. Or maybe that’s just me.

Later, when I opened my cookbook to fawn over his autograph, I noticed he had written me a note. “For Michelle, see you on Twitter!!” in big black letters. Oh I will, Chuck Hughes, I will.