“If you have the curiosity and drive, there will always be options.”
Chef Johnson Wu
Here’s the thing: you can look at Humber Polytechnic and the University of Guelph-Humber from two perspectives. For incoming and current students, it offers exciting opportunities to create the future one aspires to become. For the graduates, it is where memories are made, friendships fostered and skills honed. There are countless industries where Humber’s seal has left its footprint through its graduates. All of them are leading the way in making a difference in their field of expertise.
Walking through the hallways that lead to your classrooms, have you ever asked yourself how many current success stories walked in the same corridor? Well, it’s time to satisfy your curiosity. Let’s zoom in as we get up close and personal with a Humber graduate.
This story leads us to the lush greenery and through the doors of the exclusive clubhouse of Islington Golf Club — a private golf club in Etobicoke, Ont. With over 100 years of existence, this exclusive golf club’s rich history has kept its prestige and a long list of new member applications. What keeps them coming? The ambiance, the comfort, the service and, of course, the food.
A well-loved character at the golf club, Johnson Wu has kept the kitchen running as the executive chef and ensured the operations are taken care of in the front end as the food and beverage director.
In addition, he has since been a decorated chef, bringing his team together to bag medals from the Toronto Culinary Salon, the IKA Culinary Olympics and the Canadian Culinary Championship.
But, before the glitz of his accomplishments, chef Wu tracks back his culinary journey to the halls of Humber’s North campus.
How it started
Chef Wu’s food affair started when he decided he didn’t like eating his parents’ food.
“Being an immigrant to Canada, I wanted to fit in and eat food that was more ‘normal’ to the culture,” Wu said.
When he had the opportunity to learn on his own, he applied to Humber’s culinary management program. He recounted his first day as interesting as he admitted not knowing how to navigate around the kitchen.
“I never held a chef knife in my life and I had no idea what stock meant,” Wu said.
Despite starting from scratch, Wu describes it as one of the best decisions of his life. Growing up playing sports, chef Wu’s competitive instinct has served him well in the kitchen. He put in the work by dedicating time to his craft to stand out.
Chef Wu credited his kitchen training as standing on the shoulders of giants. The great chefs at Humber were hard on him but put in the time to make sure he was able to succeed.
“Chef Weinbach, chef Fischbacher, chef Bodanis, chef Rivera and chef Formella were such great mentors and idols when I was in school,” Wu highlighted.
As a then aspiring professional cook, chef Wu admitted to finding himself in trouble quite a few times and had committed numerous errors. Wu revealed he even felt confused most of the time, but learning from his errors has ultimately built his character.
In the kitchen
Chef Wu describes his kitchen as “pretty relaxed and very casual.” He acknowledges that working in culinary is challenging and demanding enough. That’s why, there’s no need for unnecessary pressure in his kitchen. That’s not to say he doesn’t expect efficiency and discipline from his team.
In terms of style, chef Wu said that he is in love with the process of slow cooking.
“There’s so much satisfaction in taking a tough protein and turning it into silk and elegance,” Wu said.
Some of his signature favourites include beef cheek and octopus, which are known to be tough ingredients to pull through.
“Unless you put some love into it, they are quite inedible,” he added.
Passion for innovation
Chef Wu knows that writing a menu for private clubs entails intricacy because his clientele knows what they are looking for. The challenge has enabled him to work around and able to reinvent the kitchen to make sure his team is still on their toes.
One of the strategies he used was to start small, incorporating minor tweaks to staple dishes. Tapping into his Asian heritage, one he used to avoid, he now advocates for strong Asian flavours in his kitchen.
Chef Wu said every club has a good chicken wing on the menu. One of the first new sauces his kitchen introduced to its members was a gochujang BBQ sauce, a unique taste that has the members blown away because of the new palate experience.
This new sauce recipe has received great feedback from the members, prompting a green light to introduce new ingredients like lemongrass, dashi, fish sauce and furikake.
“Once you have a feel, that’s when you start pushing boundaries,” Wu said.
Leadership and mentorship
With his years of experience, chef Wu believes in giving back and sharing what he learned with young cooks. He says that going through many challenging stages in his career, he has decided to pave a smoother road for his team.
Chef Wu remarked that his most significant accomplishments couldn’t be found on his resume or the awards from competitions he had won. His proudest moments have always been seeing chefs and sous chefs trained under him become good professionals.
“You always remember the chefs that mentored you well, and those chefs, even after not seeing them for ten years, will still be your chef,” Wu said.
Chef’s advice
Asked for his advice to culinary students, chef Wu said to focus on knowledge and forming good habits while in school. He highlighted that developing strong fundamentals should be a student’s primary focus.
“The kitchen inside the school versus one in the industry is completely different. One is a job; there are higher expectations but higher rewards, while the other is a little more forgiving,” he noted.
A compelling reminder that school is a great place to make trial and error, to know what works and what does not work for you. A place where making mistakes is a massive part of the learning process.
Goal setting never stops! With the words leader and innovator under his name, Wu’s eyes are still set on the next steps of the ladder. Chef Wu has more to achieve as he continues to look forward to the roles of general manager or consultant.
“If you have the curiosity and drive, there will always be options,” Wu said.
Pressed forward with a dream and a goal, chef Wu’s feet led him from Humber’s hallways to a kitchen line he now calls his own. His story shows that you can achieve great things if you allow yourself to be a beginner. Looking back on his culinary journey, chef Wu says, “The end result is worth it.”
Feature image courtesy of Chef Johnson Wu.
Get inspired with more graduate success stories! Check out Heather Butts’ inspiring journey from UofGH to CTV’s national stage!
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