Industry Insiders: Chris Cheung, Chinatown Native

Chris Cheung, executive chef of East Village resto/lounge China 1, was raised in Chinatown and describes himself as "fixated on Northern Chinese cuisine with an American sensibility." He's worked in the kitchens of celebrated chefs such as Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Wylie Dufresne, Daniel Angerer, and Jehangir Mehta.

Describe your gig at China 1.
I come up with the menu, manage the kitchen, make good food, keep the costs down and quality up, keep the space clean, manage people well -- not just in my own department but in every facet of the restaurant -- and create the profile for China 1.

How’d you get your start?
I worked in a couple of restaurants here and there before I went to the Culinary School in New York. I wound up doing an internship at Vong, and it opened up a world of things for me. Jean-Georges and Nobu had a lot to do with changing my life. I worked at Judson Grill until the owner had problems, and he referred me to Nobu in Tribeca. When I got there, I found it was run like nothing I’d ever seen, and for a young line cook, it was great to share in the success of the restaurant and be able to create new and innovative things for our guests.

Where do you go out?
I always go back to where I grew up: Chinatown. Hop Kee on Mott Street is nothing fancy, but it’s old style Cantonese. I like steak, so Peter Luger’s is the old-school paradigm. I haven’t been to the new Daniel because it’s not an everyday affordable place, but if you want great food, Daniel Boulud knows how to do it.

Who do you look up to?
Drew Nieporent is one of those guys who can light up a room, always remembers who you are, always instills a good feeling when you meet him. He’s one of the best. Believe it or not, I seriously respect Steve Hansen. The business model he has worked for many, many years is great. Having worked for him, I know how to reduce costs and run a restaurant through systems that work.

What are your expectations for the hospitality industry now?
Obviously, nobody can tell the future, but I have a hope it will get better than it is now. I’ve grown up in a lot of fine dining kitchens, and I definitely think that the trend is towards the more casual, further from formal dining. At least in New York. Becoming a little casual can be more healthy.

Anything you dislike about your industry these days?
People in the spotlight who know they have the power to put a restaurant on the map with lots of media coverage sometimes take it too far. One mistake or even a misunderstanding can lead to taking it over the top with a bad review, and the next thing you know you have five bad reviews in five publications with the restaurateur not being able to have his side of the story explained in the same space. On the other hand, there are lots of people into great food who support restaurants, so you have to take the good with the bad.

Something that no one knows about you?
It’s about exposure. New York seems to be a big town, but as far as talented chefs go there are a lot of us out there. When you’re below the level of notoriety like Jean-Georges, you really, really fight for recognition. There’s so much competition that you can get a little bit lost, so you have to stay on course.

Guiltiest pleasure?
Baseball. The Yankees. You try to catch the games with time constraints, and I’ve done it since I was a kid.

Any non-industry projects in the works?
Everything I do has to do with the career, food, the restaurant.