NOSH Saigon 2019: An Interview with Soul Burger's Gabe Boyer

Chef Gabe Boyer attended “The Culinary Institute of America” in New York. After graduation, he worked for a number of major restaurants in Seattle, and Chicago, most notably at “Tru Restaurant” a two Michelin star restaurant and “L2o” a three Michelin-star restaurant.

Nine years ago, Gabe stopped work and set his attention to Vietnam to rest and travel. After realizing Vietnam’s potential as an exciting destination for food and beverage, he decided to stay and join the community here. He worked for many major restaurants such as Chill Skybar and Shri, as well as advising corporations specializing in providing healthy eating services for international schools.

In 2015, Gabe met a like-minded colleague and together they both decided to establish Soul Burger, a handmade burger restaurant located near Ben Thanh market. As Gabe proudly shared, “Soul Burger is a place for everyone. Anyone can easily feel comfortable walking in here.” Every month, Gabe and Soul Burger’s chefs come together to introduce a new burger to the menu, an ongoing motivation and inspiration for the team.

He has most recently become an R&D Chef for LP foods, a Singaporean company dedicated to selling sustainably sourced seafood. Gabe has been developing many new and exciting products made with Vietnamese seafood for export to the UK, Japan and US.

Share your culinary philosophy.

When I was young, I always wanted to be the best chef and work with the best people. But over time, that thought has gradually evolved. Now all I want is to serve people, both in food and spirit.

Having participated in the NOSH program last year, can you share some of your impressions?

Events like NOSH help our industry and community come together. This is a colorful event where chefs can show off cooking skills while diners mingle with dishes and drink pairings in a casual setting. Although it’s not a very large event, it’s not easy to keep the atmosphere lively. I think the program has been able to create a nice bridge between accessibility, community, and fun.

How do events like NOSH benefit the community?

NOSH has now reached its fourth year. As the industry evolves, each following program always comes with more challenges. This is an opportunity for the chefs to cross promote each other’s work, which means a customer can come here to support a chef he or she may like while discovering three others. Last year, I was happy to find that more customers discovered my restaurant through NOSH.

Is there a point where NOSH events this year need improvement?

Because GRAIN is a cooking studio, the kitchen and cooking equipment is somewhat limited. The kitchen in my restaurant is also small so the preparation for the dishes is somewhat difficult. But no problem, things still happen happily. Ah, but can you extend my chef’s shirt? Every year is tight!

What Vietnamese dishes do you love and where do you go to to enjoy them?

I am a faithful follower of broken rice, noodles, and pho. You can find me at my favorite rice plate venue on Truong Sa Street, Phu Nhuan District before noon, as it usually sells out by then.

More information about the event can be found here.

Book your ticket now:

Price: 2.200.000VND/person/night (all inclusive)

Inbox: Nosh Saigon or Grain Cooking Studio

Call: (+84) 909 904 636

or Pop by GRAIN Cooking Studio counter,

Level 3, 71-75 Hai Ba Trung, D.1, HCMC.

In partnership with:

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