Hung Huynh facts for kids

Hung Huynh (born January 25, 1978) is a famous American chef. He was born in Vietnam. He is best known for winning the third season of Top Chef. This is a popular cooking competition show on the Bravo TV channel.

Early Life and Culinary Journey

Hung Huynh grew up in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, after being born in Vietnam. He started learning to cook when he was a young boy. His parents owned a Vietnamese restaurant, and he helped them there.

He later studied at the Culinary Institute of America. This is a very well-known cooking school. After school, he worked in famous restaurants. These included Per Se and Gilt in New York City. He also worked at the Guy Savoy restaurant in Las Vegas.

Becoming a Top Chef Star

Hung Huynh became very well-known after winning Top Chef season three. This made him a household name in the cooking world.

He also returned to Top Chef several times. He was a guest judge in season four and season five. In season seven, he helped another chef as a sous chef in the finale.

Hung Huynh also competed in a big cooking contest called Bocuse d'Or USA in 2008. He won an award for cooking the best fish in that competition.

His Restaurants and Culinary Adventures

After Top Chef, Hung Huynh became a guest executive chef at Solo restaurant in New York City. He also worked as the executive chef at Ajna Bar.

He later opened several popular restaurants with the EMM Group. These included The General, which served modern Asian food. He also opened Catch and Catch Miami, which were famous for their seafood.

After these projects, Hung Huynh continued his culinary journey. He hosted special pop-up cooking events. He also worked as a consultant for different restaurants. In 2018, he became the chef de cuisine at Morimoto Asia in Disney Springs.

Later in 2018, he joined Earl Enterprises. This company owns famous places like Planet Hollywood. He helped create new Asian food concepts for them. He was a chef and partner at Warrior, an Asian-fusion restaurant in West Hollywood, California. He also helped start Asian Street Eats by Chef Hung Huynh. This restaurant was inspired by street food from Asia. Locations opened in Downtown Disney and at Los Angeles International Airport.

In 2021, Hung Huynh took on a new role. He became the executive chef at Ava MediterrAegean, a new restaurant in Winter Park, Florida. In 2022, he joined the Omei Restaurant Group in Orlando, Florida. He became their Director of Culinary Innovation. This means he helps create new and exciting food ideas for their restaurants.