Charles Phan, the San Francisco chef credited as an innovator for bringing Vietnamese food to fine dining at his Slanted Door restaurant, has died.
The restaurant announced his death from cardiac arrest in an Instagram post on Tuesday, calling it 鈥渉eartbreaking鈥� and 鈥渦nexpected.鈥� Phan was 62.
鈥淐harles was more than a chef. He was one of the most generous humans," the restaurant stated. 鈥淥ur hearts are heavy with this tremendous loss."
The James Beard Award-winning restaurateur is known for growing the Slanted Door into a globally recognized fixture with two other Bay Area locations in Napa, San Ramon and one in France. The flagship location 鈥� which had been at San Francisco's Ferry Building but closed in 2020 due to the pandemic 鈥� was set to reopen in its original location in the Mission neighborhood this spring. It remains unclear how Phan's death might impact those plans.
Chefs and others in the culinary world have been paying tribute to Phan on social media. It's no surprise as Phan always made himself available to dole out advice, said Carolyn Jung, a longtime food and wine writer in the San Francisco Bay Area.
鈥淚 think a lot of them feel a debt to him" said Jung, who interviewed Phan multiple times over the past 20 years. 鈥淏ecause he definitely paved the way for a lot of Asian and other minority chefs, showing them there might not be a huge understanding or even outward demand for your cuisine right now. But if you do it right, you do it with passion, you do it with care and respect, you will find an audience and they will embrace it.鈥�
Hunter Lewis, Food & Wine magazine's editor-in-chief, still remembers the shaking beef he ate at Slanted Door in 2007. It was 鈥渙ne of those touchstone meals鈥� that distinguished Phan as a 鈥減athbreaker鈥� who really broke out from the regional culinary scene.
鈥淲e can鈥檛 understate the influence of Slanted Door first as a San Francisco institution and as one of the busiest restaurants on the West Coast,鈥� Lewis said.
Now, Vietnamese food and flavors like fish sauce are much more common in the U.S. dining landscape. But, Phan came up at a time when it wasn't, Lewis added.
鈥淚 think we took for granted when Slanted Door became popular that these ingredients were not ubiquitous. He was really instrumental in that.鈥�
Born in Vietnam in 1962, Phan grew up in a home with no refrigerator. So to enjoy a bowl of pho 鈥� classic Vietnamese noodle soup 鈥� his family would often go to a cafe next door, according to Jung. But Phan, the oldest of six children, also learned to cook from his mother and aunt. His entire family left Vietnam for the U.S. when he was 13, the restaurant said in the Instagram post. Phan ended up picking up Western cooking techniques by watching television.
Phan eventually wanted to open a restaurant in San Francisco but was told there were too many Vietnamese eateries. He ended up finding a space in his own neighborhood in the Mission.
The Slanted Door officially opened its door in 1995. It was seen as a 鈥渉ot, happening鈥� restaurant that was hard to get into, Jung recalled. He used organic ingredients and higher-end meats like filet mignon 鈥� almost unheard of in Asian cuisine in the U.S.
鈥淯p until that time, you had very few Vietnamese restaurants that took it beyond the level of the sort of mom-and-pop hole-in-the-wall,鈥� Jung said. 鈥淎nd here he came with his love of architecture and created this very cool, contemporary space and introduced people to Vietnamese food made with really thoughtful ingredients.鈥�
Phan maintained his culinary prowess while also staying inventive. Phan thought to add a cocktail bar and meal kits for people to duplicate some dishes at home. He garnered several awards over the years including James Beard recognition as 鈥淏est Chef: California鈥� and 鈥淥utstanding Restaurant in America.鈥� He also authored two cookbooks. He had a reputation for being honest, direct and steadfast about certain standards.
鈥淗e told me that even now, diners would say 'Why don't you serve this (pho) at dinner time?'鈥� said Jung, who last spoke with him in August. 鈥淗e said 'No, that's like ordering French toast at night.'鈥�
The restaurant urged people to keep Phan's spirit alive by simply sharing a meal 鈥渇amily style.鈥� The staff has made no mention of services and asked for privacy.
Terry Tang, The Associated Press
