Chong, Kevin
A Run For The Border

By Carol Chung

Kevin Chong, executive chef at Le Cirque 2000 in Mexico City, says you can earn six figures as an executive chef. "I make more than my sister who is a lawyer," says Chong.

NAME: Kevin Chong
AGE: 27
EMPLOYER: Le Cirque 2000 at the Hotel Camino Real Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
JOB TITLE: Executive Chef
TIME AT HIS JOB: A little over one year

Describe what you do.

I oversee 25 cooks and chefs. My role is more in management than in cooking. I’m in charge of human resources and making sure the kitchen is running how it should. I wear different hats, like planning menus, banquets and special events.

We use a brigade system, like the military-system hierarchy. I have two sous-chefs who are my assistants, they have their assistants, and below them there are chefs de partie.

When did you know that you wanted to become a chef?

During high school, I worked in kitchens on the side for some spending money. When my boss, a chef, suggested I make a career out of it and attend culinary school at the CIA (Culinary Institute of America), I decided to take his advice.

In Korean culture, men are pushed away from the kitchen. What was your parents’ response when you told them you wanted to be a chef?

At first they laughed. Now as the head of a well-known restaurant, they think of it differently. Now chefs aren’t thought of as blue-collar workers.

What do you find most fulfilling about your work?

Le Cirque is a well-known restaurant in New York and Las Vegas. The Le Cirque in Mexico is the third — and best — restaurant.

It’s like working as a family, where we depend on each other. Everyone is important in the group, including the dishwashers. At the end of the day, you’re doing the best you can with all these people helping you to be as successful as possible.

Describe your path here. What other jobs have you held?

I grew up in Hawaii and spoke what you might know as Pidgin English. It’s more slang with a mixture of words from different languages — Japanese, Korean, Tagalog. I went to the University of Hawaii to learn proper English. [Then] I went to the Culinary Institute of America and received an associate’s degree in culinary arts after two years. My mom stressed education and wanted me to get a bachelor’s degree, so I studied two more years at the CIA and graduated with a degree in culinary arts management.

I only wanted to work at Le Cirque [in Manhattan]. It took a while to get in touch with the boss of the kitchen. He gave me a chance, and I started at the bottom as a cook and worked my way up. I was promoted to chef de partie and sous-chef over five years. In this profession, five years is a long time to stay at one establishment, and I decided I wanted to quit and go work in Europe or Asia. My boss wanted me to be the head chef at the new Le Cirque in Mexico. At first, I wasn’t sure because I was young and usually Le Cirque chefs are French or European, but I felt I had nothing to lose.

What are some challenges that you might not have expected?

I have a lot of little rules that to other people might not seem important but to me are a big deal. If people are not used to it, they may say it’s cruel behavior. For instance, when staff are eating, you have to take off your hat and apron. And you don’t talk back to someone of higher rank.

You probably oversee staff who are older than you. Is that a challenge?

In the French system, no matter what age, you still have to respect your higher-ranking chef. My two assistant chefs are older and more experienced than I, but they respect me and don’t want to see me fail. If I fail, they fail.

What are the perks, if any?

You get to travel a lot and meet a lot of interesting people. Le Cirque clientele are wealthy and will fly out a chef for special events to places in Asia, Europe and South America.

What is your work philosophy?

To respect one another and respect your elder, or higher-ranking chef. To treat your workplace as your home.

Now at many places, there is no brigade system, but I’d like to preserve that way. I want my cooks to stay and to turn them into good chefs. If they do something wrong, I feel it’s my fault. If a cook falls behind, I need to motivate them more to keep up.