Donald E. Hauck | 1949-2012: Chef at Refectory, One Nation lauded

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The trove of recipes that Donald E. Hauck guarded closely as a Columbus chef largely will remain secret even after his death, family members said.

Hauck, a Columbus native who became known for his work at such restaurants as the Refectory and Out on Main, died Thursday. He was 62.

“I’ve already got many people calling, wanting some of those recipes,” said his brother, Chet Hauck. They will be turn-ed over to a friend and chef who might publish some.

Born on the South Side in 1949, Donald Hauck had just graduated from Groveport Madison High School when he became a chef’s apprentice in the kitchen of the Athletic Club of Columbus.

Soon after, he moved to Baden-Baden, Germany, where he studied for four years. When he returned home, he was much sought-after by restaurants.

His German-inspired cuisine drew diners to such locales as the former One Nation restaurant on the top floor of the Nationwide building Downtown and Out on Main, which aimed to educate the public about the accomplishments and culture of the gay community.

He was perhaps best known as one of the first chefs at the Refectory, where he worked in the late 1980s and early ’90s.

“We were always pushing the envelope of what was current,” said Barry Young, who was sous chef under Hauck at the Refectory and is now president of the Columbus chapter of the American Culinary Federation.

In his spare time, Hauck was a world traveler who once toured Europe on the Orient Express.

“He went to some very exotic places by exotic means. That was his pleasure,” his brother said.

Until last month, when his health began to fail, he taught at the Columbus Culinary Institute.

Calling hours will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday at O.R. Woodyard Funeral Home on the South Side, followed by a funeral. Friends and students in their chef’s uniforms will accompany his casket to Green Lawn Cemetery.