Flavourable outcome

Although he has restaurants, a cookbook and TV shows to his credit, celebrity chef Bobby Chinn hasn't always been focused on cuisine. In fact, he started his career in finance rather than the kitchen.

The son of a Chinese father and Egyptian mother, Chinn was born in New Zealand and raised in London and San Francisco. Chinn moved to New York after graduating in finance and economics to seek his fortune on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. However, trading wasn't for him, so he left and found himself waiting tables, doing stand-up comedy and even selling food to the mafia.

He eventually found his way into a kitchen and, on the advice of his father, moved to Vietnam. There, Chinn fell in love with the subtle flavours of Vietnamese cuisine and now, 18 years on, he has two signature restaurants - one in Ho Chi Minh City, the other in Hanoi - presenting Vietnamese cuisine fused with global flavours.

Chinn recounts his adventures sampling Vietnamese cuisine plus the trials and tribulations of setting up his restaurants in his book Wild, Wild East: Recipes and Stories from Vietnam.

Encounters caught up with Chinn at Angsana Lang Co, near Da Nang, Vietnam, where he presented some of his signature dishes to 80 guests at the resort's Moomba restaurant. After dinner, he traded his chef's uniform for a guitar and entertained the audience with his band.

You've been in Vietnam for 18 years now - are you happy you made the move?
I certainly didn't come here for the money. I wanted to learn, so that if I failed, no one knew me. I've had my ups and downs and haven't been able to achieve all my goals. Vietnam has given me a lifestyle of diverse friends I would never have met anywhere else.

What are you working on now?
I am working on a new book now. Like the last one, it's made up of vignettes.

How about your TV shows?
The next season of World Café was supposed to be World Café Africa. But they kept suggesting places that I wasn't too keen on. Nigeria? Uh, well, they are having conflicts at the moment. And then they took us to Zanzibar. It has incredible history from the 16th century, but nothing has happened since then. We also went to Sicily, Portugal and Peru, so we're just calling it World Café now.

What's the most memorable dish you've cooked?
[Former US President] Bill Clinton was a challenge. I knew he had dietary concerns, so I was determined to make Indian food low-fat, dairy-free and taste good. I used technology - I sous-vide [cooked in vacuum-sealed pouches] the onions and garlic, and incorporated spices. Then I used a Pacojet [micro-puree] machine to turn spinach into green powder and made a sauce with it.

What is the most unusual food you've eaten?
I've had silkworms and scorpions in Beijing. In the Amazon, I had a big, thick caterpillar from this chef who is talented at using Amazonian ingredients. He grilled it.

What's your favourite ingredient?
That's like asking an artist their favourite colour. I can't answer that question.

What kitchen utensils can you not live without?
My knives and mandolin. A sharp knife is a beautiful thing. And the mandolin makes my job perfect with speed.

What's your idea of the perfect holiday?
It doesn't have to be luxurious. For me, the perfect holiday is the company I keep and then things that I like to do: sleeping, eating, resting, spa and privacy.

Which other Asian country would you like to set up another restaurant in?
China, like Hong Kong or Shanghai, and India. What's most important is the concept, serving what I think you want to eat. For example, I'd like to do an Asian deli, like small plates. I'd like to make something and perfect it, sell it so that it will be appreciated with borderline worshipping. Basically, I want to make comfort food risk-free.

How do you describe the food you serve in your restaurant?
It's eclectic, global, Californian sensibility. I try to be as local as possible, but with high quality.

Where do you feel most at home?
I was recently in London, and I know where to buy cheap tickets, how to navigate the tube, and the same in Cairo - I know the alleys and see people I've known since I was six years old. In San Francisco I feel at home too, because I know the shortcuts - same with Hanoi and Saigon. I've lived in so many places, it's the only life I know.