Bobby Chinn

"Pharaoh of Fine Dining in the Far East" — the chef who pioneered fine dining in Vietnam, Top Chef Middle East judge

Notable Quotes

“I accidentally became a chef, but I was born as a traveler.”
Source: Bobby Chinn Official

“My restaurant is not about money, I did not do it for the money. I was too stubborn and passionate to play that game.”
Source: The Ethicalist

“Vietnamese food is an awakening. Fresh, light, healthy, contemporary with a lot of contrast.”
Source: Asian Supper

Advice

Passion must be real

"Speak it, live it, do it." Don't enter F&B unless you truly love food and people.

Learn from the very best

Bobby started from Hubert Keller's pantry. "When you learn from truly great people, you won't develop bad habits."

Master tradition before fusion

Many fusion dishes fail because the chef hasn't mastered the original. Be fluent in tradition before innovating.

Key Highlights

✓Pioneered fine dining in Vietnam: Restaurant Bobby Chinn (Hanoi, 2001) — Five-Diamonds Award
✓Author of "Wild Wild East" (2007) — foreword by Anthony Bourdain
✓Permanent judge on MBC's Top Chef Middle East; host of World Cafe, Bobby Chinn Cooks Asia
✓Tourism Ambassador for Vietnam to EU (2014); WWF Sustainable Seafood Ambassador (2012)

Biography

Bobby Chinn was born in New Zealand to a Chinese-American father and Egyptian mother. After careers on the New York stock exchange and in stand-up comedy, he returned to his passion for cooking, training at Elka Restaurant and Fleur de Lys in San Francisco under Hubert Keller. In 1995, he arrived in HCMC and opened his first restaurant Saigon Joe's. Moving to Hanoi, he opened Miro (1996), Red Onion (1997), and his flagship Restaurant Bobby Chinn (2001) — the fine dining establishment that paved the way for haute cuisine in Vietnam, winning "Best Restaurant," "Best Bar," and the Five-Diamonds Award. Guests included Bill Clinton and Bob Dylan. Anthony Bourdain wrote: "What Bobby doesn't know about Southeast Asian food is not worth knowing." He opened House of Ho in London's Soho, bringing modern Vietnamese cuisine to the world stage. He's a permanent judge on MBC's Top Chef Middle East, host of "World Cafe" and "Bobby Chinn Cooks Asia," and author of "Wild Wild East: Recipes & Stories from Vietnam."