Vietnamese-American chef Tu David Phu inspired by his mum’s zero-waste recipes
The son of Vietnamese refugees, Tu David Phu grew up with the idea of food frugality, which he channels in his cookbook The Memory of Taste
Writing a cookbook has become a rite of passage for many chefs, complementing their TV appearances and accolades in a personality-driven age.
Often, the publication of a book occurs earlier rather than later in a chef’s ascent.
In the case of chef Tu David Phu, however, the release of his book came after several significant milestones.
He has given TED Talks, and in 2017 was named a Rising Star Chef by newspaper the San Francisco Chronicle. A couple of years later, he appeared on American cable network Bravo’s reality cooking competition Top Chef, then starred in another TV show, national broadcaster ABC’s Taste Buds: Chefsgiving, which was nominated for a James Beard award.
In 2021, Phu appeared in and was an executive producer of Bloodline, an Emmy-nominated documentary by American public broadcaster PBS that explored his and his family’s relationship with food as first-generation Vietnamese-Americans.
It was after this that he was approached to write his first book. The Memory of Taste: Vietnamese American Recipes from Phu Quoc, Oakland, and the Spaces Between, which he co-wrote with James Beard award-winning food journalist Soleil Ho, was released in September 2024.
