CHUUKA

At six years of age, Victor moved from Malaysia to Sydney and fell in love with falafel. This was his first dalliance with a chickpea, and it was a gateway legume on the way to forgetting his Chinese heritage. Fortunately for us, and for everyone who loves spectacularly tasty and completely innovative Chinese cooking, in his 20’s Victor remembered his roots. In rediscovering his heritage, he learned to define what it meant for him and explored how it sat alongside the cultural fusion of his upbringing (falafel included). This journey is what has resulted in his distinct brand of cooking.

Cultural and personal odysseys aside Victor is also, in his own words, ‘damn good at cooking’. This was not a stroke of luck. It’s the result of working at some of Australia’s most innovative restaurants and having tutelage under chefs like Mark Best and Dan Hong. From a school of thought which teaches ‘anything you can do, I can do better and with more jokes’, Victor set up Lee Ho Fook in Melbourne, which he named after a 70’s song about a werewolf – because he’s Victor. Now he’s back in Sydney, and he reckons he looks even better than Chase in black.