One of the prestigious Iron Chefs of Vietnam 2013 cooking competition, Michael Bao Huynh has joined Evason Ana Mandara as the resort’s executive chef. He brings many years of experience together with his immense culinary love and passion. Chef Huynh is one of the world’s most celebrated Vietnamese chefs and one of the most prolific.
His innate and intimate knowledge of his native cuisine enabled Bao to open a number of restaurants in the United States each with a unique concept and sophisticated Vietnamese slant. He has carried the mantle of the country’s top culinary ambassador, gaining the reputation as the chef to watch.
A native of Saigon, young Huynh took after his parents. With his mother being a celebrated cookbook author, at 12 years of age he was already cooking and he even contributed recipes to one of his mother’s cookbooks.
In 1982, Huynh headed to New York and lived with an upstate family that owned an Italian restaurant. He trained and worked there, moving up the ranks from sous-chef to executive chef. Three years later, and still at his chef post, Huynh decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and study architecture as well; a field he still enjoys, and has garnered him the colloquial title of “Architect Chef.”
“Bao” , which is Huynh’s childhood nickname, means “special” or “precious” in Vietnamese. Smart foodies know they have found just that with his exceptional culinary skills. Kathleen Squires of Paper magazine in New York notes they, “have been coming in droves to relive Chef Michael Huynh’s artful Vietnamese cooking – again and again.”
Michael Baos dish
Having mastered two disciplines, The Architect Chef started designing and building restaurants and making guest chef appearances using the kitchens of his clients as the locations. In 2001, Huynh opened his own restaurant, named Bao 111, from which New York magazine voted him one of the Best Chefs in 2003. Soon after , he owned Mai House restaurant and continued by winning Best Restaurant from the New York Times in 2007.
After 30 years of living in New York, the passion for his native homeland brought him back to Vietnam and to Evason Ana Mandara, where he feels that he can make a significant contribution to the country’s culinary scene. Being the quintessential hands-on restaurateur this major relocation meant that he also had to put aside his involvement with almost all the restaurants in New York City.
However, New York’s loss is surely Nha Trang’s gain, and Chef Michael Bao is ready to delight and surprise the guests of Evason Ana Mandara with his unique and delicious creations.
