Bobby Chinn is instantly recognizable as a media personality, celebrity chef and host of the hugely successful ‘World Café’ franchise. He is now a permanent fixture on ‘Top Chef Middle East’ and hosts ‘Keep It Simple’ which launched in 2020. On his journey to internationally acclaimed chef, author and restaurateur, Bobby has established himself as a mainstay of the global food-channel networks specialising in Asian & Middle Eastern cuisines. Bobby is an advocate of sustainable, plant-based foods and enjoys curating new dishes to reflect these passions. He has featured as a Guest Chef on some of the world’s favourite cooking shows and has collaborated with such personalities as Keith Floyd, Martha Stewart, Anthony Bourdain, Antony Worrall Thompson and Andrew Zimmern. Bobby graduated Richmond University, London with a BA in Business Administration and Economics, and was later awarded an honorary PhD in Liberal Arts for his contribution to vocational skill development and his cross-cultural endeavours. He is fluent in English and Arabic, and enjoys stand-up comedy and performing with his band. Having worked at everything from selling kites to hustling on the floor of the NY stock exchange, in San Francisco Bobby followed his true passion where he had the privileged opportunity to learn from Hubert Keller, Gary Danko and other culinary greats. Having developed his own singular style, fusing global flavours with a distinctive Californian vibe, Bobby’s wanderlust brought him to Vietnam, where he spent the next 22 years developing and perfecting modern Vietnamese cuisine. Having gained a loyal following through his early ventures at Camargue, Saigon Joe’s, Miro and Red Onion, it was at the eponymous ’Restaurant Bobby Chinn’ in Hanoi that the accolades started to roll-in. With awards for ‘Best Bar’, ‘Best Restaurant’ and ‘Best Lounge’, as well as the highly coveted Five-Diamonds Award, Bobby garnered international acclaim as both a chef and a restaurateur, entertaining the who’s who of Vietnam and cooking for the rich and famous including the Clintons and Bob Dylan. Following the success of ‘Wild Wild East: Recipes & Stories from Vietnam’ (shortlisted ‘Best Asian Cookbook’ 2007, now in its 4th edition under the title ‘Bobby Chinn’s Vietnamese Food’), Bobby opened ‘Bobby Chinn Saigon’ in Ho Chi Minh City, and Bobby Chinn’s ‘House of Ho’ in Soho, London, where he is credited with introducing modern Vietnamese cuisine to the forefront of the culinary scene. It was during this time that he simultaneously achieved celebrity status, first through ‘World Café’ and then ‘Bobby Chinn Cooks Asia’, ‘Detox’ and ‘Restaurant Bobby Chinn’. Along the way, Bobby’s passion for food, eccentric personality, and engaging style garnered him awards for ‘Best Entertainment Presenter’, ‘Best Entertainment Program’ and ‘Best Reality Show, and a nomination for Best Executive Producer’ for Restaurant Bobby Chinn show. In 2022 the fifth season of ‘Top Chef’ was the first show in the Middle East and Africa to be nominated for an international Emmy, in which Bobby is a permanent judge. Outside of the kitchen and the studio, Bobby is committed to supporting communities and causes that have been meaningful to him throughout his career. Most notably, Bobby supports vocational training programs aimed to improve the prospects of disadvantaged children, through Vietnam’s ‘Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation’. Bobby is currently the ambassador for ‘Resilient Cities’, supporting their Urban Eats Campaign, creating a more circular food initiative, reducing food waste, and improving food security. Bobby has also served as the WWF ‘Ambassador for Sustainable Seafood and Coral Triangle Awareness’. Most recently, Bobby served as the former Vietnamese Ambassador of tourism to the EU, in recognition of the contribution he has made in popularising Vietnam as a safe and hospitable destination for international visitors.