Dan Hong (born 1982) is an Australian chef, restaurateur and television host. He is the executive chef at a number of restaurants under the Merivale company.
Hong's parents were born in Vietnam. His mother Angie came to Australia under the Colombo Plan to study chemical engineering. His father was a postgraduate electrical engineering student. They subsequently opened a number of Vietnamese restaurants in Sydney called Thanh Binh. [1]
Hong attended Epping West Public School and Barker College but showed little interest in schooling. [1] After attending a cooking school in Chatswood, Hong undertook a traineeship at the InterContinental Hotel and went on to an apprenticeship at Longrain, Pello Restaurant and Marque. [2]
Once qualified, Hong joined Tetsuya's as chef de partie followed by Bentley Restaurant and Bar as sous chef. After working with Wylie Dufresne at wd~50 in New York, he joined Lotus as head chef. [2]
In 2008, Hong won the Josephine Pignolet Young Chef of the Year Award. [3]
Hong is the executive chef at a number of restaurants, including Ms G's, Mr Wong, Papi Chulo and El Loco. [1] Mr. Wong has won multiple awards and hats. [4]
In 2016, Hong was the host of ABC iview series Shelfie which followed him as he ventured inside the kitchens of everyday Australians. [5] Together with Melissa Leong and Mark Olive, Hong is a co-host and judge of the Australian television cooking competition The Chefs' Line . [6] In August 2022 SBS Food screened The Streets with Dan Hong , in which he explores street food from around the world. [7]
Dan is married to Rara and has three children: Namira, Indira, and Omar. [8]