“I was just in New York filming with Bobby,” chef and restaurateur Viet Pham casually drops into our conversation, referring to one of the most recognized chefs in America, Bobby Flay.
Chef Pham is recounting one of more than 30 culinary television shows he’s been on so far, and he has several projects in the works when we speak.
At his restaurants and on TV, Pham is known for his flavor-forward, creative cooking, cheeky sartorial choices — including what must be a very large closet of colorful trousers — and beaming smile. A celebratory heel-click leap when he’s successful. Great hair. So how does one become a culinary TV star? In 2011, Pham caught the attention of Food Network television producers when he garnered Food & Wine magazine’s tap for “Best New Chef” (and three consecutive James Beard nods) while at SLC fine-dining destination, Forage.
“New Chef was the award that I coveted the most,” he says. “And it has opened up so many amazing opportunities for me. It got me in the door with food television,” beginning with a second-place finish on Extreme Chef in 2012.
While his television persona may be cheerful, he’s laser focused when the clock starts. “I’ve always been competitive by nature,” he says of his baseline setting since childhood.
A first-generation Vietnamese American, Pham was born in a Malaysian refugee camp, and his family moved to the United States when he was a baby. They initially lived in the suburbs of Chicago — an uncle who worked at legendary Brown’s Chicken would share leftovers — and Pham developed an early affinity for American fast food culture, fried chicken in particular. When they later lived in California, the Phams developed a family tradition of getting takeout on Fridays and watching Iron Chef Japan.
Pham studied engineering and had a career in finance before pivoting to his dream of becoming a chef. But he never imagined that his path would eventually lead to a win on Iron Chef America against the show’s winningest champion. In fact, Chef Pham has now bested the inimitable Flay twice, the second time on his eponymous show, Beat Bobby Flay.
“One of my strengths is that I can work and think really well under pressure, and that’s where I have the most clarity,” Pham explains, attributing his composure to skills he acquired in the exacting environment of fine dining, along with his continual striving to perfect his craft at Pretty Bird, his fast-casual Nashville-style fried chicken restaurants. “You’re thrown various obstacles,” he notes, “and you have to figure those things out,” often with time limitations in the mix. Well over a decade of TV appearances later, he’s locked in. “After you do so many of these competitions, you develop a skill and a love and a craving for it,” he says. “It’s the adrenaline rush.”
All of his filming and travel means that someone has to keep things in line at the good ship Pretty Bird — with locations in downtown Salt Lake City, Sugar House, Midvale, and Park City — and that’s his partner in life, business, and marriage, Alexis Furkioti-Pham. “The only reason why I’m able to do what I do now is because of Alexis,” Pham says. “She runs all the stores. She manages our hundred employees, all of which allows me to be able to do all these things.”
Furkioti-Pham also admits to being her spouse’s biggest hype machine. “Most people don’t realize how hands-on Viet still is in the kitchen at Pretty Bird,” she says. “Almost everything is made from scratch; even the buns are Viet’s recipe.” A powerhouse in her own right, Furkioti-Pham has received several professional accolades, including recognition as one of Utah Business’s 30 Women to Watch.
Pretty Bird’s power couple have worked out a pretty sweet balance of business, travel, and time spent with family and friends from coast to coast. “Alexis is the pretty bird behind Pretty Bird,” Pham says of what keeps him going, competing, and striving for excellence. “I’m so inspired by her. And my son, our cat, Theo,” a feline that’s decidedly the coolest cat in all the land, a sassy green-eyed Bengal who goes almost everywhere with the Phams.
And every time he’s introduced on yet another show, Chef Pham reminds viewers that there’s a vibrant culinary ethos to be found in the Mountain West. “It puts our community on the map, and that’s another thing I’m very proud of,” Pham says. “I’m from Salt Lake City, Utah. And Utah is amazing.”
