Chef Eric Chong: Becoming a Chinese-Canadian Restaurateur
Written by Jasmin Yeung
Photographs courtesy of the author
chef eric chong plating orders
SPONSORED BY THE HONG KONG ECONOMIC TRADE OFFICE OF TORONTO
Eric's Origin Story
Eric grew up with an understanding of many different types of food. His grandpa is a dim sum chef who showed Eric plenty of traditional Chinese cooking, while his mother cooked more Western meals, such as pasta, cabbage rolls, you name it. In this household, Eric was encouraged to try everything once. This made him love eating, being open to trying new things, flavours, and recipes. In fact, his favourite class in school was Home Economics. However, with much respect to his family, he followed the footsteps of his father and brother to pursue Chemical Engineering.
Outside of his professional working life, he continued to ignite his passion by cooking at home, watching cooking shows that he loved, like Master Chef US. After much contemplation to audition for the first season of MasterChef Canada (MCC), he won MMC’s first-ever season with some now-famous Asian fusion dishes.
chef eric chong in action.
How Eric stood out in the crowd of Contestants on MasterChef Canada
All contestants on MasterChef Canada are home cooks, including Eric. But what he had was a chemical engineering background. He told me that engineers are taught to think logically and efficiently; that meant being able to better map their time than others. It wasn't his cooking skills that separated him. Instead, it was his plan of attack. If you've seen the show, you would know that Eric was known to run around the set very fast all the time. It wasn't just for fun. It was his drive to accomplish more in each challenge. And it was precisely this "it" factor that got him the winning title.
Eric as a Chef and Restaurateur
Since his days at MCC, he has been fortunate to have been professionally trained and mentored by MCC Judge & Chef Alvin Leung. Followed by becoming the co-owner and chef of the bold and modern Canadian Asian restaurant, R&D, in the heart of Toronto's iconic Chinatown.
snippet of r&D’s takeouT
Navigating through a Pandemic as a Restaurant
It's a challenge for any small business to navigate during COVID-19. But for a small business to also experience racism towards them just because it was an "Asian" restaurant, was an added stressor.
It's hard for any chef to see their fresh & beautifully plated creations put in a takeout box due to dine-in restrictions. With the market changing so rapidly, Eric made a point to steer the restaurant on the right path to quickly modify their dishes to still taste just as good to enjoy in the comfort of everyone's home.
For him, the pandemic did not end it all. It was just another challenge thrown his way, and he knew that he had the skill set and mindset, just like he did in the MCC kitchen, to come up with a methodical plan and come out on top. Don't get me wrong, there are still a huge amount of setbacks that he has to overcome as a restaurateur in a pandemic. Having known Eric for over 6 years, I know that he is the person to make it happen and that I will be in awe and inspired by his courage to not let fear get the best of him.
“With the increase of Asian representation [on media] platforms... we can start to see and understand the nuances of actually being an Asian in North America.”
When asked what comes to mind when he hears the word "Resilience," Eric quickly replied that that is the definition of Asians. From a young age, we are taught with tough love, and that grows thick skin. Growing up in Oakville with hardworking (and of course loving) parents helped him become more resilient.
Something Worth Sharing
Eric can actually comfortably cook a lot of different cuisines outside of what he's known for, which is Asian Cuisine. In particular, Italian cuisine is his real forte. Why then, is he known as the Asian cook who made the famous Asian lobster dish on MCC? As an Asian-Canadian watching the show, it seemed to me that he was encouraged to lean into his Asian cuisine and familial roots more. Don't get me wrong, it sounds like the perfect back story: "Asian guy with a dim sum chef grandfather whose meals are heavily influenced and inspired by his roots." You get it, right? This tactic has been used over and over in mainstream media. Still, in my personal opinion, it reduces us, as Asians, down to a surface-level understanding of what it means to be Asian. (I've experienced this first-hand as an Asian performer working in the Entertainment Industry - typecasting is very much still prevalent, though improving). However, with the increase of Asian representation and platforms such as this, where we can hear these incredible stories as told by themselves, we can start to see and understand the nuances of actually being an Asian in North America. But, I digress. We all know that everything happens for a reason. Suppose he had not cooked the way he did on MCC. In that case, he may not have had the opportunity to train under Chef Alvin, and R&D Restaurant would not exist today.
You can check out Eric Chong on Instagram @wok_lobster. He is currently working on live virtual demos with great partners such as T&T Supermarket (and published in The Toronto Star). For Chinese New Year 2021, he participated in Yee Hong's Dragon Ball Virtual Gala. R&D's drool-worthy Instagram is also worth following @rdspadina. My personal favourites are the Peking Duck and their famous CSB (Cha Siu Bao). You're welcome!
