A Chat with Vietnam’s Iron Chef

Chef Le Xuan Tam, 38 years old

At the Caravelle Hotel, we followed the first season of Iron Chef Vietnam with interest, as one of our own sous chefs from Reflections was first a contestant, then a semi-finalist, then a finalist. You can imagine the elation from our entire staff when Le Xuan Tam was announced the champion of the competition. Since his return to Reflections, we’ve managed to sit down with our winning chef to gather his thoughts about the show and his cooking career in the interview below. Enjoy! Chef, can you tell us a little bit about where you grew up? I was born to quite a poor family in Quang Binh Province. My mother passed away when I just a boy so my father raised me on his own.

How did you first become interested in food and cooking?

Who do you think had the biggest impact in your culinary education?

I was extremely lucky to work with Chef Lê Ngọc Lân (former executive chef at the Sofitel Plaza Hanoi and former executive sous chef at the Sofitel Saigon Plaza, where Chef Xuan Tam worked in 1998.) He is an amazingly talented chef, clever manager and great teacher. His instruction helped me a great deal.

What were some of the turning points in your career as a chef?

My time at L’Oliver Restaurant at the Sofitel Plaza Saigon was crucial to my career, as was the two years I spent working in Singapore at Le Tonkin Restaurant, and the day I joined the Caravelle I remember clearly.

How would you describe your cooking in three words?

Creative, whole-hearted, passionate

What do you enjoy most about being the sous chef of Reflections Restaurant?

The best part of course is that I love what I do: creating and cooking new dishes. I also appreciate the chance to work in an international environment, which not many Vietnamese chefs have the opportunity to do.

What are some of the ingredients you enjoy cooking with the most, and why those?

I find it hard to choose favorite dishes and favorite ingredients. I like all ingredients.

You recently won Iron Chef Vietnam 2012. Going in, did you think you had a good chance of taking home the title?

Actually, when I entered the competition my goal was not to win the trophy but mainly to learn from other chefs and to discover things about myself. I wanted to find out how much pressure I could take and what new challenges I could meet.

What were your first thoughts after they announced that you were the winner?

My mind went to all the teachers and coworkers and friends who have encouraged and taught me, and how much I appreciated them. That includes the team at the hotel who supported my decision to take part in the competition.

Which of the judges were you the most keen to impress, and why?

I most wanted to impress David Thái, who is a great chef and was with the competitors throughout all the challenges. Also, I talked to David a few times and always learned so much from him, so I really respected his opinion about my food.

Of all the challenges in the show, what was the hardest part of the competition for you?

The hardest challenge, but also the challenge I enjoyed the most, was the “Memory” challenge, where competitors had to cook something related to memory. The main ingredient was pork. At first I had no idea what dish to cook that would reflect memory and at the same time impress the judges. All of the dishes in my memory are simple dishes from the fishing village in Central Vietnam where I grew up.

After lots of thought, I chose ‘canh khe thit heo’ (sour star fruit and pork soup). This dish was connected to a dear memory of my father from when I was a little boy. It was the cold season when my father could not go fishing and we had nothing left to eat. For two days I went to school with an empty stomach. While I was at school on the third day, my father helped a neighbor slaughter a pig and as thanks the neighbor gave him some of the pork. My father used the pork to make canh khe thit heo. When the soup was ready, he came all the way to my school to call me home to eat together.

What do you think were your advantages over the other competitors?

Everyone had their own advantages; the older ones were more experienced while the younger ones were dynamic and creative. I would have to say my only advantage was my confidence, stemming from years of working with top chefs.

What is it like coming back to the Caravelle after the Iron Chef experience?

It felt good, happy, exciting to be back. More people know who I am now, but at the end of the day, I count Iron Chef as one more positive, memorable experience. Life is back to its normal routine, but I have gained valuable skills and experience.

In terms of gastronomy, do you have any plans or goals from here?

My goal is to keep learning as much as I can to improve my cooking. I would also like to master my English speaking skills to be able to communicate well with the people I cook for and with chefs from all over the world.