Tu David Phu, Chef's Hawker Centre, featuring Root Down Farm
Saturday, May 26, 2018, 10:30 am - 11:15 am
Stop by the CUESA Classroom for a cooking demo featuring the seasonal bounty of the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, and featuring one of our market seller-farmers.
Tu David Phu is a Vietnamese-American chef and forager. He has worked at some of the nation’s top Michelin-rated restaurants, including: Chez Panisse, Quince, Acquerello, Daniel Boulud, Breslin, Gotham Bar & Grill and Gramercy Tavern. Chef Tu was Executive Chef of Gather in Berkeley and most recently garnered attention for his weekly pop up dinners “AN – a Vietnamese Dining Experience.” He was named one of San Francisco Chronicle’s 2017 Rising Star Chefs, and is featured on this season’s Top Chef.
But long before cooking professionally, Chef Tu had a rich culinary background. His family hails from the Island of Phu Quoc, in South Vietnam. His frequent trips to Vietnam immersed him in the practices, ingredients, techniques, and flavors of Vietnamese cuisines.
His pilgrimages to Vietnam and his professional experience gives him the tools to unlock the layers and complexity of common dishes of his childhood. Observing different worlds, his cooking reflect a wide range of cooking cultures – from the American culinary greats, classical European traditions, to his Mothers’ generations-old wisdom handed down grassroots-style.
Gaining experience on farms from New Zealand to Hawaii, Dede eventually found her passion raising livestock. In 2014, she decided to start her own humane and sustainable operation to do her part in combatting the negative impacts of industrial animal agriculture. Today, Root Down Farm is a diverse, pasture-based farm located in the beautiful coastal town of Pescadero, California that raises heritage chickens, turkeys, ducks, and pigs. Dede’s mission is to humanely raise the healthiest animals possible while working within the ecosystem to responsibly steward the land. The farm focuses on the strong genetics of heritage breed livestock to ensure the animals grow at a normal rate while thriving outside on pasture.
All demos take place in the CUESA Classroom (under the white tents in front of the Ferry Building) and are free to the public, with recipes and samples for all.
Root Down Farm image courtesy of Frederica Armstrong.