MANILA, Philippines - Who is the American restaurateur, host, consultant, food world insider known as the “Curator of Chinese Food in America†through restaurants like RedFarm and Uncle Tais Hunan Yuan?
He was born in 1949 to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York, who would eat in Chinese restaurants all the time.
This started his interest in food and he would later give up his scholarship in NYU to focus on food writing, cooking and restaurants.
By the time he was 19, he was learning from the legendary Chinese instructor Grace Chu. At 20, he was at the helm at one of New York’s first Hunan (and New York Times’ four-star) restaurant, Uncle Tai’s Hunan Yuan.
The late ’60s was a time when wealthy Chinese moved from the Chinese communist mainland to other countries like the US because of more relaxed immigration rules. Along with the wealthy Chinese came the chefs who introduced Szechuan and Hunan cooking, introducing Americans to real authentic regional Chinese cooking.
Uncle Tai’s attracted star diners like Andy Warhol, Norman Mailer, Aristotle Onassis and Jackie Kennedy, even Julia Child and Craig Claiborne, giving him celebrity chef status early on.
Over the years, he has been involved with popular Chinese restaurants like Shun Lee Sun Lee Palace, Chinatown Brasserie, and RedFarm, prompting Gourmet magazine to name him the “Curator of Chinese Food in America.†His scholarly knowledge of Chinese cuisine and history and development of delicious, authentic, regional Chinese cooking in the US since the early 1970s make him a uniquely qualified specialist in Asian culinary concepts.
Chinatown Brasserie is a 250-seat restaurant that opened in New York’s Noho District in 2006. It has the feel of a Parisian brasserie and features high-quality contemporary versions of classic Chinese dishes and an innovative and extensive dimsum program.
Most recently, he has been in the spotlight for RedFarm, a new and ragingly popular West Village restaurant with chef Joe Ng. Housed in an 1820s townhouse, it has a barny feel, and is distinctly casual with long oak tables and benches upholstered in red and white gingham.
He has also developed scores of trendsetting restaurants and food concepts since the 1970s and is known for his culinary and hospitality standards of excellence.
He is credited with producing one of New York’s first and best gourmet Mexican restaurants Cafe Marimba and his own homey American bistro Vince and Eddie’s in Manhattan.
His other clients include the Mirage Hotel and the Wynn Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, New York’s ABC Carpet and Home, the Hong Kong Tourist Association, Sodexho, and the Super luxury Setai Hotel property in Miami’s South Beach.
Last week’s question: Who is the American-Estonian architect who produced relatively few buildings in his lifetime — like the Jonas Salk Institute and the Capital Complex in Dhaka — yet is considered one of the most influential architects of the 20th century?
Answer: Louis Kahn
Winner: Mark Lester Verano of Binangonan, Rizal.
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