Chef of Hanoi’s Fortuna Hotel, Kenji Tam, who has been recently awardedfirst prize at ‘The Best Taste’ contest, presented a set of threedishes, inspired by the atmosphere of Tet in Vietnam.
It can besaid that his love for Vietnam cuisine helped him to bring a newunderstanding and set of skills to his cooking, Nhan Dan newspaperreported.
Working and living in Vietnam over the past six years,for Kenji Tam the time spent in Vietnam has been a journey ofdiscovering the nature, culture and people of the country.
KenjiTam’s parents are cooks in Malaysia; therefore his love for cooking wasinstilled in him from an early age. He learnt about cooking and forgedhis impressive culinary skills living in Japan over seven years. At theage of 24, he became the Head Chef of Asian cuisine in Shinjuku, Japan.
Afterarriving in Vietnam, the sophistication of Vietnamese cuisine alongwith its fresh ingredients and unique taste attracted Kenji Tam. Basedon his knowledge of Japanese cuisine and his love for Vietnamesecuisine, he created a combination of the two.
It seems it wasthis combination that helped the chef to win first prize in the ‘TheBest Taste’ contest held in January 2015. The contest brought togetherchefs from 12 top hotels and restaurants in Vietnam.
Usingingredients common in Vietnamese cuisine, Kenji Tam’s three dishes atthe contest featured distinct tastes of Vietnam. Especially, hisdessert, inspired by images of peach blossom and apricot blossom, alongwith a red envelope of lucky money, which was considered as a gift fromthe chef on the occasion of the New Year.
Sharing the first dishhe fell in love with when first arriving in Vietnam, Kenji Tam said Cakho to (Vietnamese fish braised in a clay pot) is “the best food in theworld”. The Vietnamese woman who cooked the dish for him now just sohappens to be his wife.
He said that the Ca kho to wasreminiscent of California Maki, which is a Japanese dish with influencesfrom California. He cherishes the idea of making Japanese food withVietnamese influences.
Vietnamese street is what first attractedthe chef to Vietnamese food, bringing with it interesting experiencesthat are missed when dining in large restaurants, according to KenjiTam.
After nearly six years living in Vietnam, Kenji Tam’smemories of the country are not limited only to Vietnamese ingredients,dishes and kitchens where he worked, but also of his Vietnamesecolleagues, employees and the local people. He shared that thefriendliness of his Vietnamese colleagues made a strong impression onhim, for this reason, he decided to stay in Vietnam.
Kenji haswelcomed the Lunar New Year in Vietnam four times, each year bringingmany different memories, but all Tet holidays in Vietnam offer him thefeeling that he is living in his fatherland.
On this year’s Tetholiday, Kenji Tam will visit Nam Dinh, Hung Yen and Thai Nguyenprovinces with his employees. He is eager to participate in traditionalactivities preparing for the Lunar New Year in Vietnam such as makingChung cake or cooking traditional Vietnamese dishes served at Tet. Themore he grows to love Vietnam, the more he wants to learn and understandabout Vietnamese cuisine and culture.-VNA
It can besaid that his love for Vietnam cuisine helped him to bring a newunderstanding and set of skills to his cooking, Nhan Dan newspaperreported.
Working and living in Vietnam over the past six years,for Kenji Tam the time spent in Vietnam has been a journey ofdiscovering the nature, culture and people of the country.
KenjiTam’s parents are cooks in Malaysia; therefore his love for cooking wasinstilled in him from an early age. He learnt about cooking and forgedhis impressive culinary skills living in Japan over seven years. At theage of 24, he became the Head Chef of Asian cuisine in Shinjuku, Japan.
Afterarriving in Vietnam, the sophistication of Vietnamese cuisine alongwith its fresh ingredients and unique taste attracted Kenji Tam. Basedon his knowledge of Japanese cuisine and his love for Vietnamesecuisine, he created a combination of the two.
It seems it wasthis combination that helped the chef to win first prize in the ‘TheBest Taste’ contest held in January 2015. The contest brought togetherchefs from 12 top hotels and restaurants in Vietnam.
Usingingredients common in Vietnamese cuisine, Kenji Tam’s three dishes atthe contest featured distinct tastes of Vietnam. Especially, hisdessert, inspired by images of peach blossom and apricot blossom, alongwith a red envelope of lucky money, which was considered as a gift fromthe chef on the occasion of the New Year.
Sharing the first dishhe fell in love with when first arriving in Vietnam, Kenji Tam said Cakho to (Vietnamese fish braised in a clay pot) is “the best food in theworld”. The Vietnamese woman who cooked the dish for him now just sohappens to be his wife.
He said that the Ca kho to wasreminiscent of California Maki, which is a Japanese dish with influencesfrom California. He cherishes the idea of making Japanese food withVietnamese influences.
Vietnamese street is what first attractedthe chef to Vietnamese food, bringing with it interesting experiencesthat are missed when dining in large restaurants, according to KenjiTam.
After nearly six years living in Vietnam, Kenji Tam’smemories of the country are not limited only to Vietnamese ingredients,dishes and kitchens where he worked, but also of his Vietnamesecolleagues, employees and the local people. He shared that thefriendliness of his Vietnamese colleagues made a strong impression onhim, for this reason, he decided to stay in Vietnam.
Kenji haswelcomed the Lunar New Year in Vietnam four times, each year bringingmany different memories, but all Tet holidays in Vietnam offer him thefeeling that he is living in his fatherland.
On this year’s Tetholiday, Kenji Tam will visit Nam Dinh, Hung Yen and Thai Nguyenprovinces with his employees. He is eager to participate in traditionalactivities preparing for the Lunar New Year in Vietnam such as makingChung cake or cooking traditional Vietnamese dishes served at Tet. Themore he grows to love Vietnam, the more he wants to learn and understandabout Vietnamese cuisine and culture.-VNA
