Lifelong Passion
Jared Acorn at The Pilot House
Chef’s Table
by Luke Arbuckle
From the time he could see over the counter to watch his uncle prepare large family dinners at Christmas, Jared Acorn knew he belonged in the kitchen.
By his 16th birthday, Jared was working behind the grill of Wendy’s. It may not have been his dream job, but Jared says he owes a lot of what he knows to the years spend serving up fast food. “I have to give that job some credit, it taught me a lot about time management in a fast-paced kitchen,” Jared said.
Gradually, Jared worked his way into other, more formal kitchens throughout Canada. “I spent time in the kitchen of the Dunes Cafe and the Claddagh Room before heading out west,” Jared said. “After spending a couple of years out in kitchens out there, I returned home and back to the Dunes.”
There was never any doubt about Jared’s passion for preparing food, so in 2000, he signed up at the Culinary Institute and three years later, graduated as a Red Seal chef.
Eventually, he heard about a position had opened up at The Pilot House. Jared had spent five years there already and knew it was a good fit. He returned to The Pilot House earlier this year and has been hard at it since. “It’s by far one of the best places I’ve ever worked,” he said. “Not only is it a good working environment, but the cooks are encouraged to try new things and experiment with different recipes.”
Jared says his favorite food to work with is anything seafood. “I love working with seafood, halibut, salmon, oysters, I love experimenting and a good chef needs free reign to try new things.
“As the head chef here at The Pilot House, I let my staff know it’s okay to try something new, something a little bit different, that’s how we learn and that’s how we get better at what we do.
“Over the next few week’s we’ll be changing the menu up a bit for the winter months, but there’s no way we’re going to change the scallop and pork duo. “If there’s anything I can recommend, it’s the duo.”
Jared manages a team of three to four people per night at the restaurant and on average serves anywhere between 200 and 300 customers per evening. “Especially on weekends, when the sun goes down and we get ready for dinner service, it’s go time,” he said.
Jared said he thinks he’ll be in The Pilot House kitchen for some time to come and just recently began the construction of a house in York Point.