Having been a comic, chef, restaurateur and TV show host, this man for all seasonings remains passionate about cooking.
Bobby Chinn, a self-described 'ethnic mutt' (he's half Egyptian, half Chinese), tried a number of vocations - including stand-up comedy - before becoming a chef. He opened Restaurant Bobby Chinn, in Ho Chi Minh City, which offers Vietnamese-Californian fusion cuisine. Following the success of the restaurant, he embarked on a television career and became the host of food and travel show World Cafe Asia.
What are the obstacles to starting a restaurant? 'You need money, you need a partner you can work with and you need a vision, because it takes a lot of arrogance to put money in one place and say, 'I'm going to be successful.' You also need people skills - communicating to people who don't speak English is pretty rough. And then, to multitask all that and remain true to your vision, you need to learn when to compromise and when not to.'
How did you make the transition from kitchen to TV? 'It's not like I went to school and learned to stand up straight, look at the camera and speak in a certain way. Cooking and talking at the same time was a first for me. Whenever I cooked, I always focused on what I was doing because someone was going to eat it. With TV, I don't have to worry about someone eating it. You need to communicate well and have a presence on camera. I'm always myself before the camera and I'm comfortable with that. My relationship with the camera is actually my relationship with the person behind the camera. That's the way I treat it. I don't think about who's watching.'
What's the most rewarding aspect of your work? 'Cooking is fun. I like the excitement, the fire, the timing. It's just like ballet; the fire and the knives and you're orchestrating: 'Give me that steak, where's my salad? Don't let that burn ... and where's my steak?' It's like sport. That's why a lot of us like it. It gets tiring after a while but I enjoy it.'
What are the qualities that have made you successful? 'You have to have a sense of belief in what you're doing. Belief comes from passion. You visualise the extent of what you're going to do and say, 'This is going to happen and nothing is going to get in my way.' That's vision, that's passion. I think I had enough confidence in myself in the beginning and enough strength when I didn't. So many days I wanted to quit, but when that feeling kicks in, you have to have enough strength to say no. You focus on what you need to do to get to where you want. When you have that then time does not become an issue. A lot of people say, 'You can't do this because you're too old.' But Vincent van Gogh started painting when he was 30. It's never too late. That's why they invented death.'
