Do you subscribe to Astro and have ever watch Bobby Chinn, a celebrity chef on TV?
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I watched few times on him on TV and the one that stuck onto my mind is the one that introduces his signature restaurant in the bustling city of Hanoi in Vietnam.
So who is this Bobby Chinn and why is he is in Vietnam? He is half Egyptian and half Chinese; born in New Zealand but educated primarily in England. Very Eurasian.
Bobby Chinn’s culinary education was modest at first but he got his first chance when renowned chef Hubert Keller of Fleur De Lys took him in. Soon he would work with other chefs like Jeffery Inahara, Traci des Jardin and Gary Danko.
After reading Burgundy Stars, he went off to apprentice in Bordeaux and Paris. Bobby Chinn had run several highly acclaimed restaurants in Vietnam before opening Restaurant Bobby Chinn, including Camargue, Saigon Joe’s in Ho Chi Minh City, Miro, and the Red Onion Bistro in the Hanoi Towers (formerly the infamous “Hanoi Hilton” prison).
But why Vietnamese food as he is not Vietnamese at all or related? That was because Bobby Chinn saw the opportunity to invent something new there as there were no cutting edge Western restaurants at that time when he first visited Vietnam. What’s more, the tourism in Vietnam was still in its infancy. So the potential for culinary growth is very much un-mined.
Anyway, is he good? From the TV, he is so attentive and his personality stands out from the other celebrity chefs on TV. Recently, just last Saturday, I attended a Bobby Chin’s recipes cooking class at The Cooking House, Desa Sri Hartamas. The reason attending the class was not only to learn the recipes but also to get a free seat to meet Bobby Chin live on 21st, the coming Saturday.
There are only 5 free available seats and I am the 5th registered participants for this workshop. How lucky I am!
BOBBY CHIN LIVE! To be continued…………..
