Meet Hank Shaw | chef and cookbook author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Hank Shaw and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Hank, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
It started as a food blog in 2007, something to do in my spare time — an outlet for food writing when I was a political reporter in Sacramento. But very quickly Hunter Angler Gardener Cook got recognized, and I was nominated for a James Beard Award twice — 2009 and 2010 — and then opportunities started to roll in. So I took a chance, and started doing this full time. Happy to say I’ve never missed a bill payment since, 13 years later. So far so good.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am among the earliest proponents of the “field to table” movement, a movement to elevate the cooking of wild foods — fish, game and wild edible plants — beyond old norms of cooking it in cream of mushroom soup or fried in butter. My earlier training as a chef has helped me do this, as has my childhood exposure to game and fish in fine dining restaurants.

What sets me apart from most others in this field is that I bring a set of skills few others have. We are all the sum of our choices, and my past as a graduate student, chef and journalist have all helped me do what I do now. I can research, cook, and write clearly. All skills needed to help others get more out of the wild foods they bring home.

One main lesson I’ve learned is to value clarity over all. Yes, I can write with a capital “W,” but it’s more important when working with recipes and food to be clear: What I write needs to be what you read. This is vital with wild foods because you can’t just go out and buy an elk tenderloin at Safeway. If I was unclear, I could ruin your special meal.

I think the creative part of what I do has been to link time and place with wild foods. What lives together in life goes together in the plate. I did not invent this, but I have help highlight it with wild foods, creating unique dishes that really reflect, say, the tidepools of NorCal or springtime in the High Sierra.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I think there are three people who I can thank the most for me being where I am now: First is my former partner Holly Heyser. Without her support, skills and encouragement, there would be no Hunter Angler Gardener Cook. Second would be the late Pam Hunter, an impresario in the food world who gave me the confidence to “step off the ledge” and try doing this full-time; she died of breast cancer long ago, but I still think of her often. Finally, Elise Bauer, founder of the website Simply Recipes. She gave me a lift when I was starting out — we worked together a while, and she generously offered my health insurance while we worked together — Elise not only gave me a solid start in this business, but as a Stanford MBA, she taught me a lot about business in general.

Website: https://honest-food.net/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/huntgathercook/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsbZW7079vDEFvXtdh-gVHw

Image Credits
Holly A. Heyser