Up,
Close and Personal with Tommy Tang
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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. |
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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.
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| NAC:
When did you come to the United States and what was
your first job in the U.S.? |
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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.
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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.
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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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