Chefs in Asia

My name is Alexander Ghazaryan, a simple guy from Dilijan, chef of Haykanush restaurant. Maybe it sounds strange, but since my childhood I’ve been imagined how I would entertain my dear guests, welcoming them in my kitchen. I was an ordinary boy, spent lots of time at the street, stuffed bumps and received remarks from teachers. And at the same time I was stunned at the doorway of our little kitchen, where my mother and grandmother were busy, humming Armenian songs. Aromas, colors, sounds filled me with deep national spirit.

Actually, cooking is my job as well as my hobby. I love to create new recipes and improvise with anything that I have, no matter they are Asian or Western ingredients. My favorite ingredients are beef and seafood.

I am Arman Akopyan, a young Armenian chef, who will never grow up. No, I am not that kind of Peter Pan, you might think about. I am rather a curious boy, always interested in something new to try and to serve and of course ready to learn something new every day of my life. I think God has given me the cooking talent in advance as I was far from that in my childhood. I was a usual boy with scars and crazy ideas, fishing in the river and dreaming of the far away lands to travel.

My spanish roots will always influence the style I live and create food. I am Alejandro Sanchez, a true spanish chef. I am lucky to be born in a cooking funs. My family is involved into a restaurant business. Thus I was percepting all the peculiarities and secrets of the kitchen life since I was a child. After graduating from school, I moved to Madrid to attend a sommelier course. I wanted a real experience and got a position of a waiter in a restaurant. That was my first real step into a long way to chef cliff.

I am Philippe Duc and I enjoy my profession as a real part of my inner space. It is no wonder I’ve become a chef as my childhood was tightly connected with gardening. My grandparents lived in Ruan and I helped them with planting, selecting and watering all the possible kinds of grocery, vegetables and even fruits. To tell the truth, my mother was surprised by my desire to step into a kitchen path. She even tried to persuade me in an architecture’s better future, but failed.

My name is Tamara Mattii. And currently I am an executive chef in La Piola restaurant. Even when I repeat this for several times, I could hardly believe it. I was born in Pisa, Italy. This country is well-known for its passion to gastronomy, high-quality products and eating culture. Since I recall myself, I was always dreaming about feeding my family with the dishes I made. My young years could be simply called “fiesta”. As I adored parties, especially the moment of welcoming people to try the meals. I was absolutely happy when all the faces were shining with satisfied smiles and souse.

I’m not striving to move to a city, conquer the capital or concrete jungle. I love Armenian fertile land, that’s why I’ve decided to stay and work in my native village. I help my parents, raise vegetables and scrumptious greens. People often ask my opinion how to get the same satisfaction from work as I do? What to say... I love my work, and create my dishes only in good mood. And business is going well. That’s the main secret!

I’m a descendant of the cooking dynasty, adherer of the traditions and simply an enthusiastic person. My life, like a kite balloon, brightly vibrates above the ground, visits different countries and regions, but meanwhile is tightly linked with my homeland with almost invisible thread. I’m Kenny Chan Kai-tak, chef of Yun Yan restaurant in Hong Kong.

It’s impossible to know everything. It’s impossible to manage everything. It’s impossible to try everything. However, I fill my life with a whole bunch of new knowledge, work and flavours. I’m neither a revolutionist nor an innovator. I’m Karo Guyumjyan, Armenian and just a good guy. My guests keep telling that I’m an awesome chef of Salon restaurant. I was born and raised in an ancient and magnificent city of Yerevan. You can hardly be tired of speaking about it: its history and culture, its people, politics and atmosphere. But personally for me Yerevan is a source of personal power, part of my spirit and native soil. Am I a patriot? For sure I am! And I’m very glad that the city welcomes me, a bold guy, in its warm and spicy embrace.

I was born and raised in the cosmopolitan Hong Kong. So maybe that was the reason why I didn’t have a clear vision of my professional perspectives until I was 18 years old. I was just simply searching for a job, saw an ad and started working as a kitchen assistant. And, as the saying goes, the appetite came to me with the eating. I realized that I loved not only to eat, but also to create food. Already being an assistant to the chief in the LA Café, I started to attend cooking classes. My primitive knowledge were so not enough for me. That was the birth of my culinary ambitions. And since then, there is not a single day when I’m calmed down. I always learn, explore and take interest. My natural passion and dedication has played a very positive role for my career.