Ask a chef to name the one thing they can’t live without, and you may expect the answer to be some sort of spice, ingredient or cooking tool. But what about when they’re out of their chef whites? In this new Q&A series to kick off the new year, we decided to get up close and personal with our chefs to find out what they love most in life; from their go-to party drink to their most cherished childhood memory and their biggest guilty pleasure, scroll down to find out the one essential ingredient our chefs can’t live without—both in and out of the kitchen.
Vietnamese star Chef John Nguyen isn’t afraid to break the mould: his winding culinary journey has been punctuated by bold moves—including leaving New York abruptly for Hong Kong in 2018 after being named Eater’s ‘Chef of the Year 2017’. Perhaps it is this very subversive nature that makes John such an exciting tour de force in the kitchen: from reimagining the classic foods of his homeland to dreaming up an ever-growing list of uses for his favourite ingredient, fish sauce, John thrives most when he’s challenging the classical constructs of cooking. When he’s not busy keeping diners on their toes as our Head of Vietnamese cuisine, John is a pretty laid-back Californian at heart. Get to know him more in our quickfire Q&A below.
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1. The one drink that gets me energised for a night out is…
A shot of whiskey or an Old Fashioned.
2. The one ingredient I can’t live without is…
Fish sauce, fish sauce and more fish sauce.
3. The one thing I would bring with me on a deserted island is…
A bottle of Jack Daniels, a very sharp knife and a blow torch.
4. To me, the most important thing in life is…
Family, GOD, friends and career.
5. The one childhood memory I cherish the most is…
Playing different games with my three sisters growing up.
6. The best dream I ever had was…
Falling in love, and then waking up realising it was only a dream…
7. The one dish I would have as my last supper is…
My mom’s oxtail and beef pho.
8. The place I love the most in Hong Kong is…
Definitely the ocean and anywhere with a view of the Hong Kong Island or Kowloon skyline.
9. The one thing I get most excited about as a chef is…
Being able to try a variety of different local ingredients.
10. My life motto is…
You only live once.
11. My go-to catch phrase is…
“F*ck it.”
12. If I had a one-way ticket, the one place I would fly to is…
The Amalfi Coast of Italy.
13. The biggest guilty pleasure I have is…
Frozen gummy bears. (Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.)
14. The one TV show I always binge is…
Top Chef (the US version).
15. The one place I would choose to live besides Hong Kong is…
Vietnam, either in Hanoi or Saigon.
16. My go-to karaoke song is…
“Endless Love.”
17. The one scent I love most in the world is…
The aroma of a fresh pot of pho in the morning.
18. The one lesson I take with me everywhere I go is…
Be whoever you want to be and never apologise.
19. The one person I would like to have dinner with most in the world is…
Chef José Andrés. He’s an inspiration.
20. If I had a magic lamp, the one thing I would wish for is…
To be able to travel back home and spend time with my family.
21. The one thing I love most about my team is…
They get things done no matter how difficult it is.
22. The one thing that helps me relax is…
My guilty pleasure is getting massages.
23. The one thing I would be doing if I wasn’t a chef is…
I’m not sure, but it would definitely be something that allows me to travel a lot.
24. The one superpower I would choose to have is…
Flying because I could go anywhere in the world.
25. The one song that gets me dancing is…
Motown music, any classic songs.
26. The best piece of advice I’ve ever received as a chef is…
Never stop learning. Once you think you know it all then you should retire.
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