What A Chef Wants.. The View From Hobart's

Chef Frank Peters begins each day at Hobart’s Steakhouse with one thing on his mind: serving consistent quality meals that leave his customers hungry for more.

That’s what happens each day in the Kawartha Lakes region northeast of Toronto, Ont., but it wasn’t always on his mind. With a degree in cinematography and no formal culinary education, there was a time when owning and operating a steakhouse didn’t quite make sense.

“My parents were firm believers in being the best you can be in whatever you do,” says Peters. “The mandate was to work, and to work with all your passion.”

Beef cattle were part of life growing up, but not in a traditional way. His family lived and worked on a 40,000-acre Canadian Experimental Range Station in Alberta, where ranch work included all that goes with range management and crossbreeding cattle. His father, Hobart Peters, was a PhD geneticist who oversaw beef projects on the range station, working closely with neighboring ranchers.

“My father was not your typical rancher,” Peters says. “He was a scientist who was also a cowboy.”

In the early 1960s, his father was charged with evaluating all the European breeds for importation into Canada. By the mid-’60s, the elder Peters had moved the family to Rome, where he worked with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization as an agricultural advisor to developing countries.

In the 1970s, back in Canada, the oldest son completed schooling and went off to college in Ottawa to study filmmaking.

To pay the bills, he took a part-time job with a restaurant working in the kitchen. As his culinary skills grew, the future chef’s passion for cooking began to develop.

Passion is key

After college, he worked as an entry-level commercial cinematographer, but something was missing and it led him back to foodservice.

Most of his culinary skills were learned at the cutting board watching other chefs prepare food across a wide spectrum from boxing up chicken at KFC to managing a group of fine dining restaurants.

“When I got into the management side of the restaurant, it just grabbed me,” Peters says. “I enjoy the people, the crazy hours and the everyday variety that comes with a restaurant.”

In 2000, he and longtime business partner, Ken Found, found themselves with the chance to open their own restaurant. The idea of Hobart’s Steakhouse was born, obviously named after the scientist-father-cowboy and his unique involvement in the beef community.

“My father stood for a lot of the qualities and standards of raising better beef that we hold for the restaurant,” Peters says. “It seemed suiting at the time, and still does today.”

He knows the hard work it takes to make a go of it, whether that’s a family running a remote research ranch or a family restaurant. The values he learned as a child have carried over.

“The cowboy mentality I grew up with is you work until the job is done, then you get up and you do it again,” he says. “To do that, you have to have a passion. If you are going to do something, you do it all the way.”

Beef is the defining product on Hobart’s menu, featuring only the Certified Angus Beef ® brand. Frequent customers and visitors alike know what to expect.

“When our customers come through the door, they recognize that we serve a great brand, but also part of their satisfaction is how we cut the steaks, undeniably better than most,” Peters says.

Building relationships

A small or independent restaurant can be at a disadvantage to the large chains, but that’s no problem in this case. The chef and restaurateur cultivated a lasting relationship with Toronto-based distributor MacGregors Meat and Seafood. The two family-owned-and-operated companies appreciate getting their beef from a brand owned by family farms and ranches.

“They [MacGregors] have worked with us like we’re every bit as important as any chain that they would deal with,” Peters says. “It is an important relationship that we are very fortunate to have.”

Deeply rooted in those family values, he stays close to the community in Lindsay and nearby Peterborough, Ont., where Hobart’s opened a second location in 2013. That means building relationships with beef producers in those areas and keeping up to date on issues involving the beef community.

“They know I’m not just some guy that can cook a steak or flip a burger,” he says.

Casual fine dining

The comfortable atmosphere of Hobart’s can be viewed as casual fine dining. Staff focuses on comfort and satisfaction.

“We hope our customers leave with a good feeling and a full belly,” says Chef Frank.

It’s not just about the food. Hobart’s has developed a loyalty from customers beyond quality of the food, but also from the level of service.

“When people come to your restaurant it’s about their experience, not about you,” he says.

Hobart’s staff makes sure to let customers know they genuinely care. Every table is provided with a level of service that has a feeling of “down home” hospitality.

“The way I was raised in southern Alberta was that the door is always open,” Peters says. “You meet people, you give them a full plate of food for their money and you give your best quality to them. That is how I run my restaurant and that is why our doors are still open after 15 years.”

Source: Certified Angus Beef LLC