From making Las Vegas high rollers pasta at 4am to learning barbecue from ‘guys drinking beer all the time who knew how to weld’, chef Chris Tuthill’s journey

What got you interested in cooking? “I was born and raised in Queens, New York, and my grandmother was an entertainer-cook – she loved to have gatherings. During family holidays in Virginia we ate a lot of seafood like crab, and Southern black food like catfish and fried chicken. I helped her by eating a lot. I was intrigued by the smells and by how it all came together.”

What was your first restaurant job? “We moved to Albuquerque when I was 13 years old and, four years later, I was a dishwasher in a restaurant, working a summer job before college. The chef was from New York and he liked me and in a few months I was the kitchen porter, putting the vegetables away in the walk-in refrigerator. That was challenging for me because I had to recognise the produce, but I liked the responsibilities of the job, and I saw the guys had purpose and passion.

“After a year that chef went to open a bakery and I followed him. There I met another chef, also from New York, and she was very serious about her job. I was supposed to start at 5am, and I was 10 or 20 minutes late every day and she would always be on my case about the importance of being on time as a baker, but I didn’t understand. After six months I didn’t get better at it and decided to go to San Francisco as I had heard about the amazing produce in California, the vegetables, wine, chickens and beef.”

What did you do in San Francisco? “I enrolled in the California Culinary Academy, now called the Culinary Institute of America. I was 20 years old at the time. Culinary school was more about meeting a lot of great chefs, learning about the restaurant business and loving food. It was probably the best time of my adult life. I lived in the Bay Area for 12 years, worked at Boulevard, at Michael Mina’s restaurants, Absinthe Brasserie & Bar, and Grand Cafe.

“Around 2006 I moved to Las Vegas and worked at The Mansion at MGM Grand, which was run by Joël Robuchon. There were two kitchens, one run by a chef from Daniel [in New York], the other a chef from Shanghai. We cooked for elite gamblers who could order anything they wanted at any time. They could have lobster for breakfast or caviar and toast for dinner. Some guests wanted pasta at 4am or just a hamburger. It was intense because it was all about keeping them happy.

“After 18 months, in 2007, I went back to San Francisco and worked at Baker & Banker. Every day they went to the market for vegetables, the fishmonger came in with a batch of scallops or a fresh halibut or salmon, and we’d break them down and that would be our menu for the day. Every day the menu was different. It was really challenging but super cool at the time.”

Where did you learn to barbecue? “I did a short stint with a friend in San Antonio and he taught me a bit about barbecue. He welded his own smokers. People are passionate about barbecue but I had the impression they were just regular guys drinking beer all the time who knew how to weld. Barbecue is a different style of cooking compared with French techniques of cooking fast, sautéing, blanching and steaming. Here, it’s just early morning slow and low and then the result is rewarding.”

How did you get to Hong Kong in 2015? “The first guy I met in culinary school was Erik Idos [chef-owner of Chino, formerly at Nobu]. He opened Chino and brought me over as sous chef but it didn’t work out. After nine months I went to The Butchers Club, in Aberdeen, and it was a lot of fun, those guys are wild. Every day there was a different theme: Wellington Wednesday or porter and lobster on Saturday.