Interview with Tommy Tang

Posted on 23. Jan, 2010 by admin in Interviews/Stories

From his struggles in Bangkok to his success in the United States, Tommy Tang has come a long way. Today, he stands tall as a well known chef and a popular TV personality. And along with his mouthwatering Southeast Asian cuisines, his fundraising programs have made him very special in the culinary world.

NAC: As the eldest son of 12 siblings, you did many odd jobs to support your family? Can you please tell us more about it?
TT: I had to leave school to support my family when I was eleven. My first job was of a floor-fan cleaner in a factory in Bangkok where I worked for 14 hours everyday. My father had a Thai food café then and I helped him as well. I then worked in a number of places as a welder, a construction worker, a busboy, a wheelbarrow maker, a boxer, an auto mechanic, and a tennis teacher. I basically did everything I could to make our life in the slums better in anyway possible.

NAC: What was your most memorable or significant incident of that time?
TT: We usually got to order pink noodle soup from the noodle vendor in the slums. I remember how we asked the vendor to give us extra broth. So, for our next meal, we cooked rice and added that broth to it and divided it among ourselves. That was how we tried to keep our stomachs full. As a chef, I have created my own recipe for pink noodle soup and I find it amazing that it’s my daughter’s favorite noodle now.

NAC: When did you come to the United States and what was your first job in the U.S.?
TT: During the Vietnam War, I worked as a switchboard operator at the Windsor Hotel in Bangkok and as a bellhop at the Narai Hotel. I met many Americans there and was pretty much influenced by their lifestyles so I decided to come to the U.S in 1972. I started working as a busboy in a restaurant in LA. Though I only had 4th grade education, I had always taught myself English in Bangkok. That helped me a lot. I used to spend hours reading the dictionary, page by page and watched American movies whenever I could. I also used to stand in front of the mirror and mimic words that I learnt. My mom thought I was going crazy so she even went to the temple for 2 years to pray for my health! I am glad to say I took time out to complete my education at Palos Verde College in Southern California.

NAC: How did you go from being a music producer to a chef?
TT: While in LA, I worked as a manager for a band that played in a restaurant. I was their music producer by night and the cook of the restaurant by day. I realized I enjoyed cooking. It’s in my blood, so I ended up opening my own restaurant Tommy Tang’s in West Hollywood in 1982.

NAC: How did you become known as the Godfather of Southeast Asian cuisine?
TT: When I took a job as a manager/chef at a Thai restaurant in Hollywood, Thai food was totally unknown to Americans. There were only a few Thai restaurants and usually only Asians went to those restaurants. But after a year, it was a different story – Thai food became very popular in LA. We had celebrities such as Queen, Orson Wells, Cher, Tom Cruise, and Robin Williams as our loyal customers. My wife and I opened another restaurant in New York in 1986 which made me the first bi-coastal chef in the U.S. By that time, newspapers had already started quoting me as the Godfather of Southeast Asian cuisine.

NAC: Can you tell us about your line of seasonings and sauces?
TT: I developed my own line of seasonings & sauces in 1988. It was one of the first Thai products introduced to the supermarket industry. People especially loved the honey ginger sauce and lemongrass hot sauce flavors.

NAC: What is the “Village Pond” project?
TT: Village pond is a project for poor Thai farmers to help them sustain themselves. The project raises money to build ponds in Northeast part of Thailand to raise fish for the locals. I am proud to say this project has supported many poor farmers in that area.

NAC: How do you manage to handle so many projects, restaurants, cookbooks, traveling, TV shows etc, at once?
TT: You clone yourself!! It’s all about hard work and dedication. I basically work 18 hours a day, six days a week.

NAC: What’s next for you?
TT: Another cookbook and a TV show !!

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