Chef Charles Phan, who won awards at San Francisco's Slanted Door, dies at age 62
Charles Phan, the acclaimed San Francisco chef and restaurant owner who won two James Beard awards with the innovative food at his Vietnamese restaurant the Slanted Door, has died at age 62, according to his family.
The news of Phan's sudden death was announced in a statement on the Slanted Door Instagram account that was attributed to the Phan family and the Slanted Door Group.
"It is with profound sadness that we share the heartbreaking news of the unexpected passing of our beloved leader, visionary, and friend, Chef Charles Phan, due to cardiac arrest," the post read.
The post thanked the community for their "support and kindness" and requested that the family's privacy be respected as they grieve for the sudden loss.
"For now, let's honor Charles' extraordinary life and legacy by keeping his spirit alive in the way we savor and share meals with one another—always family style," the post said.
A remarkable story
Born in South Vietnam in 1962, Phan and his family fled the country after the U.S. withdrawal from the Vietnam War and fall of Saigon when he was 13 years old. They briefly relocated to Guam before settling in San Francisco with Charles, the eldest of six children, taking on many responsibilities including cooking for the family. According to the Instagram post, Phan learned Vietnamese dishes from his mother and aunt while absorbing Western cooking from television shows.
Phan attended Mission High School before studying architecture at the University of California in Berkeley, but eventually dropped out of school due to tuition hikes. He worked several jobs before deciding to pursue cooking with his own restaurant in San Francisco's Mission District.
Opening on Valencia Street in 1995, the Slanted Door quickly earned rave reviews and a loyal following for its elevated presentation of Vietnamese cuisine. The demand for reservations at the restaurant would eventually outgrow the space, leading Phan to move to a larger South of Market location in 2002 before moving again to its space in the Ferry Building.
James Beard Award honoree
In 2004, Phan won the coveted James Beard Award for Best Chef in California. Ten years later, the Slanted Door won the James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurant. The restaurateur would open a number of other establishments over the years, including the Pier 3 whiskey bar Hard Water, the Wo Hing General Store and South, the restaurant attached to the SFJAZZ Center.
While the Ferry Building restaurant closure during the pandemic in 2020 was supposed to be temporary, issues with construction at the building led Phan to announce that it would not be reopening last year.
However, San Francisco followers of the restaurant were overjoyed when Phan announced that the Slanted Door would be returning to Valencia Street in the spring of 2025. The Slanted Door also has locations in Napa and San Ramon. Phan additionally operated a Vietnamese sandwich shop on 18th Street in the Mission, Chuck's Takeaway. Phan also authored two cookbooks: "Vietnamese Home Cooking" and "The Slanted Door: Modern Vietnamese Cuisine."
The Valencia Corridor Merchants Association released the following statement regarding Phan's passing on Tuesday:
"The collective hearts of the Valencia Merchants are broken today with the news of the passing of one of our own, Charles Phan. Charles helped put the Valencia food scene on the map with the Slanted Door and has been a bedrock member of this community for so long. He believed in Valencia before many others did and we were all so looking forward to his return to the block in the coming months. We mourn with his family and the whole small business community today."
An influential pioneer
Phan was arguably best known for his bò lúc lắc, also known as shaking beef, which was featured in the New York Times in 2004. The recipe is still featured on the publication's online cookbook.
"When I think of Charles Phan, I think of shaking beef," said Tu David Phu, the head chef and managing partner at GiGi's Wine Lounge in San Francisco. "The way I'm going to be paying homage to Charles Phan is a shaking beef dish this week. You know, when we were in the same rooms, I would have a 'girl Phan' sort-of moment, because he's such a legend. Without him, there wouldn't be a Chef Tu."
Tu credits Phan for introducing and evolving Vietnamese cuisine for the Bay Area and beyond.
"I don't even think it's about modernizing. I think it was giving permission for Vietnamese food to be complex; to be more than just pho and banh mi," Tu explained. "Letting the world know, letting people know, that Vietnamese [food] has these complex nuances to it and I want to lean into it. Having the confidence to do so, at a time when it wasn't really that celebrated. Whether you're a fan of him or not, whether you're a Vietnamese chef or not, the permission to not just be experimental but to fuse the ingredients together? Do new things with it? He played a huge part in that."
Kathy Fang, the owner of San Francisco's Fang Restaurant, said she doesn't believe she would be where she is today without Charles Phan.
"The perception towards Asian food was quite difficult at that time. Lots of stereotypes that we don't have to deal with as much anymore," Fang said. "He was a full-on pioneer. I remember growing up and being in awe of a place like [The Slanted Door]. Thinking to myself, like, 'Wow. We can actually do the same thing, but with Chinese food.'"
Fang and her family, which owns House of Nanking in Chinatown, starred on "Chef Dynasty: House of Fang." They were the first all Asian-American cast on the Food Network in history.
"He started out in a very similar time as my dad. And even my dad would look up to him and say, 'This is the type of thing that we want to try, accomplish and do.' He brought forth that light for Asian Americans to say, 'You can do that. You can get prestige and honor amongst westerners, and change their perception of our food,'" Fang said. "I think even to this day in the Bay Area, I still feel like there isn't an equivalent to what he's been able to accomplish."
Kevin Ko contributed to this story.
