Half Egyptian, half Chinese, born in New Zealand, educated in the U.S. and the U.K. celebrity chef and food/travel show host Bobby Chinn often refers to himself as an ‘ethnic mutt'.  On this weekend's ‘TALK ASIA', the Hanoi restaurateur and TV chef takes Anjali Rao into his kitchen, discusses his multicultural background, his transition from Wall Street trader to restaurant owner and TV personality and talks about other food show hosts Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay and Anthony Bourdain.

Despite graduating with a degree in Finance and Economics, Chinn quickly became disillusioned with ‘talking numbers' all day on Wall Street: "I wanted to do something creative where I could have left at least some kind of a mark." He explains to Rao that the reason he ‘ditched the suit on the trading floor for an apron in the kitchen' was because chefs "had like the command of everybody, like they were gods in this little space, ‘give me that and give me this' and I liked that world and the ability to create."

The highly acclaimed restaurateur is also known for his spunky and distinctive style, winning last year's Asian Television Award for Best Entertainment Presenter.  He analyzes his success with Rao: "I think that people are looking for a new face and there haven't been really many Asian chefs." But he says that being on TV doesn't mean he's lost focus: "...I'm cooking. I haven't given up my passion."  On other celebrity chefs in the industry he says: "Jamie Oliver is very good at being the guy next door...Gordon Ramsay, I don't think you have a better chef on television. Bourdain, you know that New York kind of like Keith Richards."

Chinn also reveals on ‘TALK ASIA' how his multicultural background has shaped his career and how his father's inspiration guided him to open his restaurant in Hanoi. He then invites Rao into his kitchen to show her how to prepare some of his signature dishes.

For more program information on TALK ASIA and for Bobby Chinn's recipes seen on this episode visit www.cnn.com/talkasia.  

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