An Interview With Martita Mestey
Focus on learning from each task regardless of how big or small.
As a part of our series about the lessons from influential ‘TasteMakers’, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Viet Pham.
Born in a Malaysian refugee camp in 1979, Chef Viet Pham and his Vietnamese parents immigrated to the U.S. when he was 7 months old. He grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area with parents who loved food and cooking. His upbringing inspired him to pursue a career in food, and he graduated from the California Culinary Academy in 2002, after first starting his career in software. While attending school, Pham interned at Michelin-starred Fifth Floor Restaurant in San Francisco under award-winning chef Laurent Gras. He then went on to cater local private events before relocating to Provo, Utah where he joined Spark Restaurant and Lounge. He soon opened his first restaurant Forage in Salt Lake City with co-Chef Bowman Brown where it was well-received by the community for its unique concept of featuring ambitious dishes inspired by what Pham found on his forages. The restaurant quickly emerged as the top eatery in the area winning Salt Lake Magazine’s Best New Restaurant in Salt Lake City in 2010, Best Restaurant in Salt Lake City in 2011 and winning Best Chef from the magazine in 2012.
Thank you for joining us Chef. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
My original background was in finance. Out of college, I enrolled into culinary school because I was curious. I ended up landing a job with a very prominent chef, Laurent Gras — He inspired me, he pushed me, and never in my life did I want anything more than to be like him — so I pushed and pushed in my cooking career. There were a lot of ups and a lot of downs. Ultimately through following my passion I garnered awards and recognition that helped carve my path as a chef.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that occurred to you in the course of your career?
Awhile back when I was doing this event, I was sitting in the back of a golf cart holding a big prime rib roast while being transported to the event space when all of a sudden, the person driving the golf cart hit a huge bump that threw me out of the golf cart while I was holding the roast. I rolled and slid all while holding the roast as if it was my baby. Needless to say, the roast went unscathed. Everyone in the golf cart kept going because they had no idea I fell off. When they got to the destination, they had no idea where I was, and then all of a sudden I appear in my chef whites all dirty, but more importantly the roast was safe and I became the hero! Thinking about it now is pure comedy!
What makes you stand out as a chef and restaurateur?
Aside from my awards, recognition, and numerous cooking shows that I’ve done I think what makes me stand out is my ability to work well under pressure, being very detail oriented, and most importantly remaining curious within my thought process when it comes to recipe development.
Is there a person that made a profound impact on your life? Can you share a story?
Laurant Gras — the first chef that I’ve ever worked for. At a young age there was never anything that I wanted more and strived for than to be a great chef; and that drive and passion partly had to do with my time working with Chef Laurent. To this day I can still hear his words of advice echo within me. He pushed me every day as a young intern, often time wearing me down to the bones, but I didn’t let it wear me down. I continued to push and push until he saw it in me.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now?
I’m currently working on my project, Pretty Bird. Pretty Bird is a Nashville — style hot chicken restaurant based on fine dining principles. We currently have 4 locations and growing. The day-to-day operations is what keeps me busy. We hope to grow nationally soon!
What advice would you give to people interested in becoming a chef?
My biggest advice is to try to get a job in a kitchen and see what it’s like. If you love it, then enroll into a community college that has a culinary program — you can save a lot of money vs going to a traditional culinary school. Lastly, be humble — when you’re humble you open yourself to learning from the good and the bad.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
Contributing and giving back is a big part of my responsibility as a chef. Mentoring, doing community events benefiting the youth, and working with the International Rescue Committee in helping displaced refugees are all important to me, because my success was the result of my community — not my own doing.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
Same answer as above- Chef Laurent Gras
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
Be humble.
Don’t be in a rush.
Make time for yourself.
Focus on learning from each task regardless of how big or small.
Listen.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Humility and humbleness is a very important to me in life and in learning. As a chef, we work in a world that is fueled by ego and it often becomes toxic. Opening yourself to humility allows you to learn and grow. We can learn from the best and we can learn from the worst. To think you are the best closes you off to any growth.
Some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
I would love to cook and have dinner with Taylor Swift! She’s incredibly talented, devoted to her craft, and disciplined in her field. I feel that there are many parallels in the music industry and the restaurant world such as creativity and vulnerability. It would be amazing to sit, converse, share stories, break bread, and have our cats together, ha!
Thank you so much for these insights. This was very inspirational!
Viet Pham: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became a Chef was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.