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An Cuisine's Michael Chuong Signs on
for 2010 Beaufort Wine and Food Weekend
The executive chef of Cary's noted An Cuisine, Michael Chuong, is scheduled to participate in the 2010 Beaufort Wine and Food Weekend, April 21 - 25. Born in Southern Vietnam, Chef Michael Chuong fled at age 15, escaping Communist Vietnam. With seven ounces of gold, his family purchased his seat on a boat traveling to the South Seas. Months later, he arrived in New Orleans , Louisiana , via a refuge camp in Singapore. During those first years on American soil, he longed for the traditional Vietnamese food of his homeland. Just a few years later he would embrace classic French and American cuisine as he did Vietnamese as a child. By adulthood, Chuong would become known for marrying his native Southeast Asian cuisine with Western and European cuisines as expertly as though they were all his own.
Chuong’s most vivid
memories of his youth are centered around in the
kitchen with his mother, preparing for each
night’s family meal. Traditional Vietnamese and
Chinese cooking, artfully presented, was de
rigueur at the Chuong family table. His
mother's culinary knowledge and
semi-professional finesse captivated Chuong as a
boy, and continue to today. Pungent curried
crabs and aromatic Braised Five Spice Pork Shank
left an imprint on his food memory, and play a
starring role on his menu at the award-winning
An in Cary.
After arriving in the United States , Chuong
learned the English language while attending
high school in New Orleans, and later at
Louisiana State University where he studied for
his dream career in architectural design. But
what began as a part-time job at the four-star
Inter-Continental Hotel of New Orleans soon took
hold as his new dream career. Recognized for his
advanced palate, finesse in the kitchen like his
mother, and curiosity in the culinary arts,
Chuong was trained extensively and eventually
promoted throughout the kitchen to the position
of Chef de
Cuisine at the Inter-Continental Hotel’s
five-star restaurant, Le Continent.
Throughout these seven years, he competed in the
American Culinary Federation winning
medals in Gold, Silver, and
Best of Show, and was honored to be the
guest chef of the Inter-Continental Hotels of
Hawaii and Colombia. These years sharpened
Chuong’s skills in classic American and French
cooking and in the art of fine dining.
In 1992, when asked by his colleague to join him as his partner and chef in opening Delargo, Chuong seized the opportunity as excellent training for the restaurant of his own he knew he’d one day open. There, he designed a classic French-American menu, learned to operate and manage a new restaurant, attend to guests’ needs, and grow a new luxury business. In a few short months, the New Orleans Time-Picayune awarded Delargo four stars.
By 1993, Chuong’s reputation as one of New Orleans ’s best chefs was no secret. The four-star Fairmont Hotel recruited him to reinvigorate their highest-end dining room, Sazarac. After one year, Chuong succeeded in elevating their status to one of the top 25 restaurants in New Orleans , and again received four stars for his exemplary efforts.
With such
accomplishments, Chuong accepted the role as
Executive Chef and Operations Manager at New
Orleans’ City Energy Club in
1995. Management of multiple kitchens and dining
rooms, with expectations of raising profit
margins and reducing labor and food costs,
proved to be Chuong’s biggest challenge yet, and
after two years, Chuong considered offers to
open The City Energy Club in Singapore and
Hanoi.
With a growing
family of four young daughters, Chuong declined,
and instead accepted the position as Executive
Chef at the privately owned
Prestonwood
Country Club in Cary, NC, in 1997.
Chuong’s reputation once again preceded him –
not only for his mastery of four-star classic
French-American cooking, but also for his keen
ability to update American fine dining with his
signature Eastern approach. Ann Goodnight of
Prestonwood Country Club recognized Chuong’s
unique talent and delighted in his ability to
revive their fine dining setting with exotic
flavors and Asian classics while presenting an
exceptional American fine dining experience.
Thanks to her vision and support, Chuong
continued to educate himself as a chef, each
year traveling to the Far East and apprenticing
under prestigious chefs and native cooks alike –
perfecting Thai curries at the
Chiangmai Thai
Cooking School, mastering clay cooking
and other family-style dishes among native
Vietnamese cooks and grandmothers, as well as
studying the art of sushi at the acclaimed
Sushi Academy
in California under a Japanese Master Sushi
Chef.
After eight years as the beloved Executive Chef
at Prestonwood Country Club, Goodnight offered
to partner with Chuong in opening his own
restaurant. An, which opened in the summer of
2006, represents the culmination of Chuong’s
talent, heritage and culinary experience,
introducing a Southeast Asian-inspired
restaurant like no other to the region.
The Beaufort Wine and Food Weekend is proud to welcome Executive Chef Michael Chuong to its 2010 event. For additional information on Chuong and An Cuisine, visit ancuisines.com.
For additional Beaufort Wine and Food Weekend
information, call 252-728-5225, or email
info@beaufortwineandfood.com.
E-mail: info@beaufortwineandfood.com
Beaufort Wine & Food Weekend | P.O. Box 104
Beaufort, North Carolina 28516
(252) 728-5225
www.beaufortwineandfood.com