Charles Phan, the San Francisco chef known as an innovator for bringing Vietnamese cuisine to fine dining at his Slanted Door restaurant, has died.
The restaurant announced his death from a heart attack in an Instagram post on Tuesday, calling it “heartbreaking” and “unexpected.” Phan was 62 years old.
“Charles was more than a chef. He was one of the most generous human beings,” the restaurant said. “Our hearts are heavy with this tremendous loss.”
The James Beard Award-winning restaurateur is known for growing The Slanted Door into a globally recognized fixture with two other Bay Area locations in Napa, San Ramon and one in France. The flagship location — which was in San Francisco’s Ferry Building but closed in 2020 due to the pandemic — was set to reopen this spring at its original location in the Mission neighborhood. It’s unclear how Phan’s death might affect those plans.
Chefs and others in the food world have been paying tribute to Phan on social media. Carolyn Jung, a longtime food and wine writer in the San Francisco Bay Area, said it’s no surprise since Phan always made herself available to offer advice.
“I think a lot of them feel indebted to him,” said Jung, who has interviewed Phan numerous times over the past 20 years. “Because it’s definitely paved the way for a lot of Asian and other minority chefs, telling them that maybe there’s not a lot of understanding or outward demand for your food. But if you do it right. You do it, you do it with passion, you do it with care and respect, you will find an audience and they will accept it.
Hunter Lewis, editor-in-chief of Food & Wine magazine, still remembers the jerk beef he ate at Slanted Door in 2007. It was “one of those touchstone dishes” that distinguished Phan as a “pathbreaker” that truly transcended regionalism. Pure view.
“We cannot understate the impact of the first Slanted Door as a San Francisco institution and one of the busiest restaurants on the West Coast,” Lewis said.
Now, flavors like Vietnamese cuisine and fish sauce are very common in the American food scene. But, Phan emerged at a time when that was not the case, Lewis added.
“I think when the slanted door became popular, we took for granted that these ingredients weren’t everywhere. He was really instrumental in that.”
Born in Vietnam in 1962, Phan grew up in a house without a refrigerator. So to enjoy a bowl of pho — the classic Vietnamese noodle soup — her family often went to the cafe next door, according to Jung. But Phan, the eldest of six children, also learned to cook from her mother and aunt. His entire family left Vietnam for the United States when he was 13, the restaurant said in an Instagram post. Phan picked up Western cooking techniques from watching television.
Phan eventually wanted to open a restaurant in San Francisco but was told there were too many Vietnamese eateries. He found a place in his own neighborhood in the Mission.
The Slanted Door officially opened its doors in 1995. It was seen as a “hot, funky” restaurant that was hard to get into, Jung recalled. He used organic ingredients and high-end meats like filet mignon—almost unheard of in Asian cuisine in America.
“Up until then, you had very few Vietnamese restaurants that took it beyond the mom-and-pop hole-in-the-wall level,” Jung said. “And here he came with his love of architecture and created this very cool, contemporary space and introduced people to Vietnamese cuisine made with really thoughtful ingredients.”
Phan maintained his culinary prowess while remaining innovative. Phan thought of adding a cocktail bar and meal kits for people to replicate some of the dishes at home. It has received several awards over the years, including James Beard recognition as “Best Chef: California” and “Outstanding Restaurant in America.” He also authored two books. He had a reputation for being honest, upright and steadfast about certain standards.
“He told me that even now, diners would say ‘Why don’t you serve this (pho) at dinner?'” said Jung, who last spoke to him in August. “He said ‘No, it’s like ordering French toast at night.’
The restaurant urged people to keep the spirit of Phan alive by sharing food only “family style”. Staff have made no mention of the services and have asked for confidentiality.
