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Chef Interviews
New Yorker and self-proclaimed ‘salt freak’ Lee Anne Wong is a dynamic combination of talent, personality, and passion. A contestant in season one of Bravo’s home-run reality show ‘Top Chef’, Wong won over audiences with her skill, sense of humor, and no-nonsense work ethic; off camera, she works as the Executive Chef of Event Operations for the International Culinary Theater at the French Culinary Institute. Quite a mouthful of a title, which is more than fitting for a woman who has so much on her plate.
ASTV: How would you describe your personal cooking style? How does it reflect your personality? Your upbringing?
Wong: My personal style has evolved over the past few years and will continue to, I imagine, as I get to have new experiences. Top Chef was a fantastic exercise in the fact that I learned a lot about what mistakes I was making as a chef, both creatively and physically in the kitchen. I would say that my food is focused on balanced flavors, while still being visually appealing. My background in art and design (my previous career) has been helpful when deciding how I want a dish to look, as well as working with chefs like Marcus Samuelsson and Jean Georges. I think above and beyond all things visual, the food has to taste good. This means proper seasoning, while balancing textures, temperatures, and flavors. My mom has always been an avid cook and the fact that the parents support my career is tremendous and means the world to me.
ASTV: What are your favorite comfort foods?
Wong: Rare, bleeding ribeye and extra crispy french fries. Mac and cheese (super guilty pleasure). Anything with bacon.
ASTV: If you could only eat one thing for the rest of the week, what would it be?
Wong: Sashimi or steamed vegetables. I just flew in from Vegas this morning and I always come back from there feeling like a Butterball turkey. I need food detox.
ASTV: What did you learn about cooking from your experience on Top Chef?
Wong: Everything. I was fortunate to have a great group of competitors who now happen to be some of my closest friends. I think we all learned a bit from each other. Any advice or criticism I received from the judges was great because it’s the little details that are sometimes so easily overlooked. Part of the challenge is really learning how to work under time constraints with limited resources. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger; know what I mean?
ASTV: What did you learn about yourself from your Top Chef experience?
Wong: How to maintain calm under pressure. How I could refine my cooking by simplifying my flavors. And most importantly, how it’s all water under the bridge. ‘Top Chef’ didn’t define me as a cook, and it is certainly not the last food experience I’ll ever have. It was all something to grow and learn from, and I think the audience responded fairly well to who I am as a cook and individual. I learned a lot about human nature through being in that fishbowl for a month. Losing was good thing.
ASTV: Our current issue is all about comfort foods, and includes a feature about instant ramen noodles and the stuff college kids put in it to spice it up a little–everything from peanut butter to hot dogs to Texas Pete hot sauce. Any interesting ramen additions of your own?
Wong: Because I’m a salt freak, when I was a kid I used to actually just cook the ramen and drain all the water from it and mix in the chicken powder for savory noodles. I think one of my favorite additions to ramen is a sort of like a dan-dan sauce. You basically sauté some ground pork or beef with garlic, chili, and ginger and add plenty of chili oil. Instant spicy meat sauce. For those of you who are fortunate enough to live in Los Angeles (and I mean that very loosely), it is home to the best ramen I’ve ever had…Daikokuya in Japan town. I make my boyfriend take me there every time I visit him in LA. Get the extra pork flavor. I simply cannot find ramen this good in NY. I dream about it.
ASTV: What are you up to now? Any big plans for the future of your culinary career?
Wong: I am still working at The French Culinary Institute full time. Heading down to Miami for 8 weeks to film Top Chef 3 [Wong works behind the scenes with the production company]. Working on a book and TV show. Doing a lot of consulting and appearances around the country. Looking forward to spreading the gospel of pork worldwide.
ASTV: How would you describe your personal cooking style? How does it reflect your personality? Your upbringing?
Wong: My personal style has evolved over the past few years and will continue to, I imagine, as I get to have new experiences. Top Chef was a fantastic exercise in the fact that I learned a lot about what mistakes I was making as a chef, both creatively and physically in the kitchen. I would say that my food is focused on balanced flavors, while still being visually appealing. My background in art and design (my previous career) has been helpful when deciding how I want a dish to look, as well as working with chefs like Marcus Samuelsson and Jean Georges. I think above and beyond all things visual, the food has to taste good. This means proper seasoning, while balancing textures, temperatures, and flavors. My mom has always been an avid cook and the fact that the parents support my career is tremendous and means the world to me.
ASTV: What are your favorite comfort foods?
Wong: Rare, bleeding ribeye and extra crispy french fries. Mac and cheese (super guilty pleasure). Anything with bacon.
ASTV: If you could only eat one thing for the rest of the week, what would it be?
Wong: Sashimi or steamed vegetables. I just flew in from Vegas this morning and I always come back from there feeling like a Butterball turkey. I need food detox.
ASTV: What did you learn about cooking from your experience on Top Chef?
Wong: Everything. I was fortunate to have a great group of competitors who now happen to be some of my closest friends. I think we all learned a bit from each other. Any advice or criticism I received from the judges was great because it’s the little details that are sometimes so easily overlooked. Part of the challenge is really learning how to work under time constraints with limited resources. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger; know what I mean?
ASTV: What did you learn about yourself from your Top Chef experience?
Wong: How to maintain calm under pressure. How I could refine my cooking by simplifying my flavors. And most importantly, how it’s all water under the bridge. ‘Top Chef’ didn’t define me as a cook, and it is certainly not the last food experience I’ll ever have. It was all something to grow and learn from, and I think the audience responded fairly well to who I am as a cook and individual. I learned a lot about human nature through being in that fishbowl for a month. Losing was good thing.
ASTV: Our current issue is all about comfort foods, and includes a feature about instant ramen noodles and the stuff college kids put in it to spice it up a little–everything from peanut butter to hot dogs to Texas Pete hot sauce. Any interesting ramen additions of your own?
Wong: Because I’m a salt freak, when I was a kid I used to actually just cook the ramen and drain all the water from it and mix in the chicken powder for savory noodles. I think one of my favorite additions to ramen is a sort of like a dan-dan sauce. You basically sauté some ground pork or beef with garlic, chili, and ginger and add plenty of chili oil. Instant spicy meat sauce. For those of you who are fortunate enough to live in Los Angeles (and I mean that very loosely), it is home to the best ramen I’ve ever had…Daikokuya in Japan town. I make my boyfriend take me there every time I visit him in LA. Get the extra pork flavor. I simply cannot find ramen this good in NY. I dream about it.
ASTV: What are you up to now? Any big plans for the future of your culinary career?
Wong: I am still working at The French Culinary Institute full time. Heading down to Miami for 8 weeks to film Top Chef 3 [Wong works behind the scenes with the production company]. Working on a book and TV show. Doing a lot of consulting and appearances around the country. Looking forward to spreading the gospel of pork worldwide.