Chef Chu Phuong Duy has used rustic ingredients such as green bananas, banana blossoms, and familiar Vietnamese spices like fish sauce, pepper, fermented rice paste, and shrimp paste to create high-end dishes.
The first Vietnamese chef to earn a Michelin star in the Czech Republic.
Chef Chu Phuong Duy (Christian Chu, born in 1991) is the founder and head chef of LEVITATE, a high-end restaurant in Prague (Czech Republic) that combines Vietnamese, Asian, and Nordic cuisine .
The restaurant opened in 2017 and, after only 15 months, was listed in the Michelin Guide. By the end of 2025, it will officially be awarded a prestigious Michelin star.
Chef Chu Phuong Duy is the first Vietnamese person to have a Michelin-starred restaurant in the Czech Republic. Prior to this, Duy was honored by Forbes Czech Republic in its list of 30 outstanding young people of 2020. Meanwhile, LEVITATE was highly rated by the Gault & Millau Guide.
Open Tuesday to Saturday, the restaurant serves up to 24 guests each evening, aiming to provide a complete and meticulously crafted culinary experience. The menu features 12 or 18 courses, combining seasonal local ingredients with rare raw materials from around the world .
"My colleagues and I were overwhelmed with emotion when we received the Michelin star. Since then, the number of reservations at the restaurant has increased dramatically," chef Phuong Duy shared with VietNamNet reporters .
Michelin praised the restaurant's ambiance, noting that in addition to its meticulously crafted menu, the restaurant impressed with its luxurious interior, a blend of antique brick walls and sophisticated modern design. Photo: LEVITATE
Chef Chu Phuong Duy was born in Phu Tho (formerly Hoa Binh province) and moved to the Czech Republic in 2002, when he was 10 years old.
The male chef shared that he had helped his parents cook since he was a child. Cooking gradually became a natural part of his life.
At the age of 14, he began an apprenticeship at his mother's restaurant. Later, he worked in many high-end restaurants in the Czech Republic and other Nordic countries to hone his skills and gain experience.
During his work, Duy noticed that Czechs, and Europeans in general, really enjoy experiencing Asian cuisine, especially Vietnamese food. Czech people appreciate the balanced, harmonious flavors of Vietnamese food, which are both delicious and healthy. This further motivated Duy to open his own restaurant, where he could create luxurious, high-end dishes inspired by his homeland's cuisine.
Every time he visits Vietnam, Duy says he always makes time to enjoy the cuisine, from street food stalls to Michelin-starred restaurants. Rice rolls, pho, bun cha, and authentic Vietnamese home-cooked meals are always dishes that captivate the chef, and he never gets tired of eating them.
"Vietnam has an incredibly rich culinary tradition. Each dish reflects the identity and culture of its region. I want to showcase the traditional ingredients and flavors of Vietnamese cuisine through the lens of young people and modern cooking techniques," Duy shared.
Chef Chu Phuong Duy. Photo: Provided by the interviewee.
Incorporating Vietnamese ingredients into high-end menus.
On the restaurant's menu, diners can find dishes that "just by hearing their names, evoke images of Vietnam," such as pho and beef wrapped in betel leaves. Many other dishes are prepared by Mr. Duy using rustic ingredients like green bananas, banana blossoms, or familiar Vietnamese spices such as fish sauce, star anise, cardamom, pepper, fermented rice paste, and shrimp paste… but are creatively enhanced and upgraded with advanced techniques.
For their pho, instead of the traditional beef bone broth, the restaurant uses a 100% vegetarian version. The broth's flavor comes from portobello mushrooms. The mushrooms are grilled, then lightly roasted and steamed to create a delicious aroma.
The broth is simmered with mushrooms for 16 hours, along with cardamom, star anise, shallots, ginger, and kombu seaweed. "The long simmering process creates a rich, layered broth with a strong aroma," the chef shared.
The dishes at the restaurant are beautifully and creatively presented. Photo: Provided by the restaurant.
For the beef wrapped in betel leaves, he uses thinly sliced Wagyu Miyazaki A5 beef, seasoned with fish sauce, sake, mirin, and a touch of black truffle. The mixture is carefully wrapped in fresh betel leaves, forming small rolls which are then grilled over Japanese charcoal. "The dish has Vietnamese origins but is presented in the language of contemporary high cuisine," the chef shared.
Grilled beef wrapped in betel leaves has been on the menu since the beginning and has always been highly praised by diners. Photo: LEVITATE
Green bananas appear in another vegetarian dish at the restaurant. "We grill the bananas to add a subtle smoky flavor, then steam them until soft. The bananas are then combined with fermented rice, buttermilk, and sauce to balance the sour, sweet, and savory flavors. The mixture is blended until completely smooth and then strained through a sieve."
"To add texture and contrast, we fry the banana blossoms until crispy, creating delicate, potato-chip-like pieces," Duy explained.
The young male chef shared his goal of achieving 3 Michelin stars and his plans to expand his restaurant to other countries.
Linh Trang - Khánh Linh
A Vietnamese restaurant in England sells beef pho for 550,000 VND/bowl and has been popular for 24 years. Located in the heart of a bustling East London neighborhood, the restaurant named "Song Que" (Homeland River) has been around for 24 years, persistently retaining customers with its steaming hot beef pho and authentic Vietnamese menu.