Twenty-six-year-old David Godsoe is the new executive chef at Restaurant e18hteen in the Byward Market.

Previously, Godsoe was the sous-chef at NeXT in Stittsville. Before that, when he was barely in his 20s and soon after he graduated from Algonquin College’s culinary program, Godsoe was the executive chef and a part-owner of Indulge Kitchen and Cocktails in Riverside South. 

I was struck by the quality of Godsoe’s dishes at Indulge in May 2013 when I reviewed the now-closed restaurant, which is now Urban Cowboys Eats on Limebank Road. 

At Indulge, an upscale suburban restaurant, Godsoe demonstrated his interest in modernist cooking, adorning menu items with “lemon air,” “strawberry gel” and compressed watermelon cubes. But I commented in my review: “the wows came not from surprising froths and blobs but from well-seasoned, expertly cooked meats that were the succulent stars on modern, still-life-as-food plates.”

Godsoe succeeds chef Jonathan Korecki, the Top Chef Canada finalist who left Restaurant e18hteen several months ago. The posh York Street restaurant, which holds a CAA Four-Diamond designation, previously employed a succession of young chefs who demonstrated their talents, including Walid El-Tawel (now the chef and part-owner at Fairouz), Matthew Carmichael (chef and co-owner of Riviera, Datsun and El Camino), Chris Deraiche (chef and co-owner of the Wellington Gastropub), and John Leung (chef and co-owner of Steak & Sushi). 

Seven years ago, Godsoe cooked as an intern at Restaurant e18hteen under Carmichael.

Restaurant e18hteen’s owner Caroline Gosselin said that she asked Godsoe whether he “could raise the bar to a whole other level… well, he smiled and cooked for me…end of story.” 

Godsoe’s winter menu has just been released. It features dishes such as Ox Tail Butternut Squash Ravioli with smoked white chocolate cream, Dungeness Crab Cake with orange compressed pear & heart of palm salad, Crab and Spot Prawn Bisque with pork belly, Buttered Atlantic Whole Lobster with sauce Américaine, Miso Black Cod Thai green curry sauce and Duo of Lamb with thyme jus.