Brandon Pham always had a love for cooking and the kitchen, and since moving to the U.S. from Vietnam 10 years ago, he's wanted to share that passion with the community. He's always learning about new cuisines, new techniques and networking with other chefs to keep creating unique and tasty food for the Spokane area.
INLANDER: Why did you choose to become a chef?
PHAM: All of my family's generations, we're all chefs, so I'm the fourth generation as a chef. I love cooking, I love the environment, I love to work with the people, and I like the challenges in the kitchen.
What is your culinary philosophy?
I have an Asian cuisine background, and I also worked in multiple restaurants for French cuisine and Italian, but the strongest one is Asian cuisine. I also go to college and get in touch with the Spokane Community College and their culinary classes and the teachers there, so it's an opportunity for me to learn and meet more people at work and at school as well.
How do you stay creative in the kitchen?
Anytime I'm in the kitchen, I'm ready to cook, willing to learn, to compare my food to myself every day that I come into work. So I put myself in as a regular cook so it's more motivating for me to be learning, to be friendly with the people, to be not a big head chef, but to be asking for people's opinions because it's a large team working at Northern Quest Resort & Casino, so I'm willing to learn everyday and be creative with the teamwork as well.
What kinds of places do you look for when you dine out — what excites you?
I like to go pretty much everywhere. I love eating, I love food, and we have a lot of good restaurants in Spokane, so I like to go to sushi bars or to fine dining. It's good for my experience, for my knowledge, and for the food as well because there's a lot of new restaurants in Spokane that open monthly or yearly.
What is special about the region's culinary scene?
We have a connection between the chefs, and we [go to] events and pop-up restaurants. We are locally supporting each other, and with Spokane growing so fast for the last two years, I think our community has been getting better for the connection between local restaurants, even the bigger corporations as well, to be trending and the business opportunity for the restaurants.
Who are your culinary heroes or biggest influences?
I think definitely my mom because I have a lot of passion from my family. But honestly, I learn from and stay in touch with a lot of chefs that I've been working with.
What are you most looking forward to during Inlander Restaurant Week 2023?
My opinion for Restaurant Week is that it's kind of exciting because it's our first year and we're back from COVID-19, so it must be exciting for the people to try out the menu that the chefs created for this year, and I think people are excited for this year.
What's your favorite dish on your Restaurant Week menu this year?
I think I'd choose the braised pork belly. It's a combination between Japanese and Vietnamese cuisine that I would like to represent my culture, and the reason I picked that is because we never have it in Spokane, so hopefully people will enjoy it and have a great experience. ♦
Inlander Restaurant Week continues through Saturday, March 4. Menus at $25, $35, $45 per person. For more, visit InlanderRestaurantWeek.com
