TV chef Bobby Chinn back in Asia and leaning into the Egyptian side of his heritage at Hong Kong food festival
- Former World Café Asia and Middle East host and Anthony Bourdain go-to Bobby Chinn, who left the Asian food scene, is back for Hong Kong Egyptian Food Festival
- From September 12-16, the Chinese-Egyptian chef will explore his Middle Eastern roots with multi-course meals at two restaurants and a cooking masterclass
In the early 2000s, Chinese-Egyptian chef Bobby Chinn was an icon of the Discovery-owned American cable TV channel TLC.
He was the host of World Café, a travel and food show taking him across Asia and the Middle East to experience the region by seeing, smelling and tasting. Chinn also made his name in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, with eponymous restaurants serving contemporary Vietnamese cuisine.
With a quick wit and mischievous personality, Chinn became popular among his show business contemporaries, from Antony Worrall Thompson to Andrew Zimmern and Anthony Bourdain, who would reach out to him whenever their shows required a visit to Vietnam.
In 2012, Chinn relocated to London and virtually disappeared from the Asian food scene.
“I left around 2012 to open The House Of Ho, which was my authentic Vietnamese restaurant with modernistic techniques presentation,” Chinn says. “It’s since been sold to a major restaurateur. I decided to get out because [the concept] was going to get diluted.