October 2019 Digital Issue

CHEF’S CORNER
A CULINARY JOURNEY
Chef Angus An opened his mind to Thai cuisine
and his culinary inspiration changed
STORY BY SHELBY O’CONNOR
After being classically trained at the French Culinary Institute in New
York, Angus An — owner of five popular restaurants in Vancouver —
was skeptical about the opportunity to join chef David Thompson’s
team at his Michelin-star Thai restaurant Nahm, in London.
“I had a very closed-minded notion that Asian food was a more
lacklustre, less formal and spectacular cuisine than French or European cuisine,”
An says. “When I first had the opportunity to work with David, I didn’t know if
I wanted to learn [to cook] Thai food because my experiences with [it] in North
America [weren’t good.]”
But all this changed when An first experienced Thompson’s food. “I realized
how closed-minded and naïve I was, because the food was amazing — full of balance
and layers of robust and sharp flavours.”
Realizing joining Nahm would broaden his culinary horizons, An took advantage
of the opportunity. Ultimately, An believes, his decision saved his career.
When he returned to Canada in 2006, he opened his first restaurant,
Gastropod, in Vancouver. The restaurant specialized in
European food prepared with modern cooking techniques.
“It was very well received when it opened, but
within a couple of years — when the economy was bad
in 2009 — we were forced to either close or rebrand.”
The choice to rebrand was successful, as Maenam —
An’s flagship restaurant — is “still going strong ” 10 years
later. The dishes at Maenam are based on traditional
Thai recipes, which incorporate local, sustainably harvested
ingredients when possible, with a balance of hot,
sour, sweet and salty flavours.
“My [cooking] philosophy is keeping things simple
and doing it well and with integrity,” says the 38-yearold
native of Taiwan. “When I was younger, I was more
interested in techie, modern food, but now understand
food just has to taste good.”
An has opened several other restaurants including
Longtail Kitchen, Fat Mao Noodles, Freebird Chicken
Shack, Sen Pad Thai and, his latest venture, Popina
Canteen — a collaboration with three other local chefs
that opened in summer 2018.
Located on Granville Island
BITS & BITES
FAVOURITE FOOD
MEMORY
Picking lemons in
his grandmother’s
backyard
in California
FAVOURITE
INGREDIENTS
Olive oil, lemons
and anchovies
FAVOURITE
CULINARY
DESTINATION
Thailand, Japan
or Europe
ALTERNATE
CAREER
Architect
and built out of shipping containers,
Popina Canteen is An’s
only project not focused on
southeast-Asian cuisine.
Popina’s menu offerings
include a grass-fed, B.C.-beef
cheeseburger ($12), an organic
white quinoa and kale salad
topped with a Japanese-curry
dressing ($10) and a seafood
tray featuring half a Dungeness
crab or half a lobster, nahmjim-marinated
swimming scallops,
peel-and-eat side-stripe
shrimp, albacore tuna crudo
and mussles escabeche ($45).
“Having a restaurant right
on the water, in shipping containers,
[with] a bit of a patio
[is] quite an amazing concept,”
says An. “We’re very proud and
happy with the result.” FH
52 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY OCTOBER 2019 FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM