Michelin-starred chef John Burton-Race has come to Vietnam to create meals with courses combining European and Vietnamese cuisines. The British chef has inspired a love for Vietnamese food with his exceptional dishes.

Burton-Race has starred in a host of popular television shows including French Leave, Return of the Chef, I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here and the BBC’s Great British Menu and Kitchen Criminals. His restaurant at the Lankmark hotel in London and the New Angle restaurant in Devon have been popular culinary destinations in the UK.

At the invitation of Paradise Vietnam, Burton-Race has come to Vietnam and will work here for five years. The chef is expected to create new dishes with European-Vietnamese mixed flavors as a way to introduce Vietnamese food to the world.

Burton-Race joined Vietnamese chef Nguyen Gia Thien in preparing four dishes at a cooking show at Home Moc restaurant in Hanoi. The dishes included rock lobster tail with cauliflower panna cotta, brown butter, rum and raisin, and smoked “H’Mong” chicken with green tea leaves, crispy green sticky rice and black mushrooms.

He also prepared dinner on a Paradise Elegance cruise on Ha Long Bay, which included Italian gnocchi with creamy herb sauce, shavings of parmesan and truffle; and rack of lamb with lamb shank tortellini, lettuce, morels and mustard seeds. During the two-day one-night cruise, Burton-Race also offered a seafood lunch buffet and pre-dinner cocktails at Cua Van floating village.

The British chef also teamed up with Vietnamese Iron Chef Nguyen Thanh Tung at Home Finest Saigon restaurant to prepare four European and Vietnamese dishes, including duck breast with honey, citrus, fennel puree and lychee, and braised crab claws and Mekong delta rice noodle soup in coconut, paired with wines from Italy’s Banfi winery.

The diversity of Vietnamese culinary materials has largely inspired Burton-Race who believes that the materials decide half of the success of a dish. Burton-Race feels lucky to have found Vietnam, a country with abundant fresh vegetables and fruits and seafood which are necessary ingredients for a chef.

“It’s great that I can join talented chefs to offer diners European flavors in a wonderful culinary space. I also have the opportunity to try Vietnamese food and introduce it to the world,” said Bruton-Race./.

Story: Bich Van Photos: Thanh Giang

VNA, August 23, 2019