Sri Lankan born chef Keerthi Hapugasdeniya (better known as HappyK)
He shares with us the story of his love
for Vietnamese cuisine.
Twelve international chefs will come to
Hội An and cook with herbs and other ingredients from the city at the upcoming
international food festival. What gave you the idea for such an event?
Hội An is such a unique city in Việt
Nam. I was in Đà Nẵng for an event. And then, one night, I went to Hội An and
had dinner at the Vy’s Market Restaurant where I explored all different kinds
of Vietnamese food under one roof.
I was really impressed what this
restaurant had come up with and how they were introducing Vietnamese food to
their customers. After this, I used this restaurant for several events and I
met the owner of this restaurant, Ms Vy, and we thought Hội An has a lot more
to offer to the world as a great culinary city. As we talked about her plan to
bring Hội An’s food to the world, we thought bringing the world to Hội An would
be much easier way to introduce Vietnamese food to the world. So we started
planning this Hội An International Food Festival.
Why Hội An and not other cities in Việt
Nam?
I have been travelling in Việt Nam over
the last 15 years and when I came to Hội An, I realized this town mixed the
north and the south cuisine very well to produce great dishes. Local vegetables
and spices are very easy to source, and some of the ingredients can come from
all over Việt Nam easily, because this city is situated in the middle of the
country.
What do you find special about
Vietnamese cuisine?
The natural taste of fresh ingredients
and how they are used to suit to the palate with best flavours. Most of the
ingredients are the same, but how the Vietnamese kitchen mixes and blends them
to make it so fresh and tasty is the key.
What is your favourite Vietnamese dish?
Cao lầu noodles is my favourite dish by far,
the concept of this dish suits many palates around the world. And apart from
the traditional Hội An style cao lầu, if you are a creative chef you can mix
and marry many flavours to make it more exciting. There are many other simple
dishes I like from the Vietnamese kitchen too.
Is Vietnamese cuisine well known in the
countries you’ve been to?
I live in Melbourne and it is the
multicultural capital of Australia. People here love to try many different
kinds of food. We do have lots of Vietnamese residents and many shops where we
can purchase a lot of Vietnamese ingredients. And when I travel around the
world for my work, I have found many other major cities have lots of Vietnamese
restaurants and they are very popular because of the simplicity of the dishes.
Most of the Vietnamese dishes have a story connected with their culture and
this makes Vietnamese food closer to the heart when it’s made and eaten.
What do you think Việt Nam can do to
promote further its cuisine?
I think Vietnamese food is still a
hidden treasure to the culinary world, so we need to bring these culinary
delights to the world in as many ways as possible. The Hội An International
Food Festival is one of the many activities we are planning. We are also
planning an International noodle Carnival in Đà Nẵng and International Cao Lầu
Festival in Hội An where international chefs produce their own versions of the
dish over a one-week competition.
How did you become a chef, and such a
talented one? I know that you’ve represented Australia at the Culinary World
Cup and the Culinary Olympics and won prestigious awards including individual
gold medals.
It’s always a challenge to become who
you are in any industry. It was a very hard road, specially to be someone in
the international arena. Cooking is my passion and I trust my gut feelings when
I do my work. So I can create interesting and special dishes that customers
like. My customers always give me the encouragement to grow and they challenge
me to do better always.
What advice would you give to young
people who want to become professional chefs?
Cooking is not something you can learn
from a book. It needs lots of passion. If you like to be a chef, it is a long
road, but you must think about your food from your heart and produce your
dishes with lots of feeling and love.
Listen to your elders. How they
recognize food and what stories they have to tell you about food and
ingredients. These are the memories that you need to know how food becomes a
part of your life. Once you know the values of dishes you used to eat, the
seasonal ingredients and so on, you will appreciate the dishes you make and
consume.
You are also a TV personality with a
cooking show in Australia (Culinary Corner – CH31) and conduct many culinary
events in the region. What are your most successful dishes?
It is hard to say I like this dish, or
this is the best. I have produced lots of dishes and when the customers are
happy and enjoy my dish; that becomes my favourite dish of that day.
* Clip Talk Vietnam: Hoi An
International Food Festival 2016 on VTV4
By Vuong Bach Lien/ VNS