From the standpoint of professional cooks, Steven Ewing is taking the hard road. As the chef and owner of Yolk’s Restaurant & Commissary (1298 East Hastings Street) and two food trucks, Ewing focuses on breakfast and brunch—widely considered the most difficult meals at which to please diners.

“You know the term hangry [a combination of hungry and angry]? I’ve been in the breakfast business for the past few years, and I’ve seen it,” Ewing tells the Georgia Straight during an interview at the restaurant. “People in the morning are at their most difficult, and they’re picky. People are creatures of habit for breakfast, so they want their eggs a certain way, and if they’re under or over, they’re not happy. Plus, their coffee has to be just right.”

Ewing waded into the breakfast biz in 2012 after working in top restaurants in B.C. and Australia, including Vancouver’s Le Crocodile and Raincity Grill. He wanted to work for himself, so he decided to open a food cart and rented a permit from a hot-dog vendor at the corner of Dunsmuir and Beatty streets.

“Everyone was doing lunch items, so I thought, let’s give breakfast a try,” Ewing recalls. “We opened at the end of summer, which was not ideal, so we struggled through the first winter, but by the following summer, it really took off.”

Shortly after launching the Yolk’s cart, Ewing needed a commissary kitchen and rented a rundown space in Strathcona previously occupied by the Brave Bull’s House of Steaks. He renovated the location and used the kitchen to prep ingredients for the truck’s popular egg sandwiches for a year before deciding to open a full-service restaurant there in 2013.

“We barely got it open. We had 32 seats because that’s all the chairs I could afford to buy. We were basically just really underequipped, and I didn’t know if people were going to come because we’re in a weird place,” Ewing says. “Our first day we opened, we had a lineup around the corner and we weren’t ready for it, and we got absolutely beat up. Our first weekend was one of the toughest service weekends I’ve ever had in my career in 20 years.”

Eventually, Ewing and his team got into the swing of things. He bought more chairs, so the restaurant now seats 80. It’s open every day for breakfast and brunch only.

This year, Ewing bought a second food truck, which serves the downtown core on weekdays. The original Yolk’s cart is still parked outside the Stadium-Chinatown SkyTrain station on weekends.

With early mornings and three businesses on his plate, Ewing prefers to have a low-key dinner at home most evenings. He and his girlfriend cook a whole chicken at the start of nearly every week and use the leftovers to create meals later on.

“Chickens are the perfect animal. They give you just the right amount of meat, just the right amount of bones to make a stock,” he says. “I’ll usually roast the chicken off and we’ll eat the chicken breast, one leg, and thigh that meal.

“The next day,” he continues, “I’ll usually peel all the meat off and throw the bones in a pot and make a stock. We either eat the chicken cold, or we’ll break it down and toss it in some stock and make pasta, or we’ll make a meal like a stew.”

In the recipe below, Ewing uses all of the chicken he roasts. The olives and tomatoes give the dish a slight Mediterranean flair, and the creamy sauce is ideal on cool fall nights.

After a long day at work, Ewing likes to pair this dish with his favourite beer, Mill St. Brewery’s Original Organic Lager.

Steven Ewing’s chicken stew with tomatoes and olives

Ingredients

8 cups (2 L) water
½ cup (125 mL) sugar
½ cup (125 mL) kosher salt
1 Tbsp (15 mL) peppercorns
6 bay leaves, divided
1 whole chicken, about 3 lb/1.4 kg
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh sage
½ lemon
4 garlic cloves, peeled
½ white onion, peeled
¼ cup (60 mL) dry white wine
2 Tbsp (30 mL) all-purpose flour
4 cups (1 L) chicken stock
½ cup (125 mL) pitted Kalamata or other olives
¾ cup (185 mL) grape or cherry tomatoes
Chopped green onion for garnish

Method

1. Using the following method, brine the chicken for at least 2 hours before cooking. In a large pot over medium heat, bring the water, sugar, salt, peppercorns, and three bay leaves to a boil. Remove from heat and allow brine to cool completely. Pour brine through a mesh strainer into a large, nonreactive container. Submerge chicken in brine, cover container, and let rest for a minimum of 2 hours in the refrigerator.
    
2. Preheat oven to 350 ° F (180 ° C).
    
3. Remove chicken from brine and discard liquid. Rinse chicken and pat dry using paper towels. Season chicken with salt and pepper on all sides and inside the cavity. Stuff the remaining bay leaves, thyme, sage, lemon, garlic, and onion into the cavity. Transfer chicken to a large roasting pan, breastside up, and bake for 45 minutes or until a thermometer inserted into the thigh reaches 160 ° F (71 ° C) and the juices run clear. Remove from oven, cover roasting pan with aluminum foil, and let chicken rest for 20 minutes or until the temperature rises to 185 ° F (85 ° C).
    
4. Transfer chicken to a cutting board. Remove everything from the cavity. Set aside herbs and lemon, and roughly chop onion and garlic. Carve the chicken, separating the thighs, wings, and drumsticks, and cutting each breast into 5 pieces.
    
5. Place the original roasting pan on the stove over medium heat. Deglaze with white wine, scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Whisk in flour, creating a roux, and slowly whisk in chicken stock until mixture is smooth. Add the onion, garlic, and herbs that were taken from the cavity. Squeeze in lemon juice from the lemon. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
    
6. Add olives, tomatoes, and chicken pieces to the sauce. Stir until well mixed. Divide between plates and garnish with green onion. Serve with rice, potatoes, or pasta.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

Recipe has not been tested by the Georgia Straight.