Charles Phan, the award-winning Vietnamese cuisine chef at San Francisco’s The Slanted Door has died unexpectedly at the age of 62.
Phan’s family and the Slanted Door Group shared in an Instagram post that the popular chef died on Monday, Jan. 20 “due to cardiac arrest,” writing, “it is with profound sadness that we share the heartbreaking news of the unexpected passing of our beloved leader, visionary and friend, Chef Charles Phan…”
“Charles was a trailblazer, a dreamer who refused to settle for the status quo,” his family said. “In 1995, his courage and creativity brought The Slanted Door to life in the Mission District. It was among the first Vietnamese fine-dining restaurants and Charles would later add a cocktail bar and expand to more restaurant concepts — always pushing boundaries, always innovating.”
His family noted that he had fled to the U.S. from Vietnam when he was 13-years-old after the U.S. withdrawal from the Vietnam War and took on several responsibilities as …