Robert Danhi

Award Winning Author, James Beard Finalist and Southeast Asian Specialist Robert Danhi’s professional culinary career ignited more than twenty-five years ago when he started as a dishwasher and began a career that is a diverse as it is impressive. Inspired to create a strong gastronomic foundation, Robert entered the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York in the 1989. Upon earning his degree in Culinary Arts in 1991 Robert honed his skills in varying restaurant positions from Los Angeles to Hawaii. Through these experiences, he soon realized that he enjoyed teaching his kitchen staff as much as cooking with them and made a smooth transition into teaching the culinary arts. In 1993, Robert started offering cooking classes at locations throughout Southern California. By 1995, Robert was the Executive Chef Instructor and Director of Education at the Southern California School of Culinary Arts. In 1999, Robert returned to his roots as a faculty member at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park. He was recruited to join Two Chefs on a Roll as the Executive Chef, a custom food manufacture that served the retail and foodservice industry; here Robert began developing his current expertise in Research & Development and how to maintain the culinary Integrity through the culinary evolution of food products during complex the product development process. He has achieved numerous certification in the food industry Certified Culinary Educator (CCE), Certified Hospitality Educator (CHE), Certified Executive Chef (CEC), and Certified Culinary Professional (CCP). Robert also received a BA in Culinary Education from Empire State College, and now is on a journey to attain his PhD focusing on the Gastronomy of Southeast Asia. Bringing all of his passions and expertise together, Robert founded Chef Danhi & Co in 2005, a consulting firm based in Los Angeles that works with food manufacturers, restaurants, educational organizations, and professional associations. This full service agency’s expertise resides in menu and product R&D, sales and marketing support, and educational and training programs. For more information go to www.chefdanhi.com. Three years later he founded Mortar & Press, a multimedia group that conceptualizes and produces culinary infused content including Robert’s James Beard Nominated cookbook, Southeast Asian Flavors—Adventures in Cooking the Foods of Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, & Singapore. The book was also the winner of the Best Asian Cookbook of the USA in 2009 by Gourmand and a 2nd Best Asian Cookbook in the World. This labor of love offers readers an intimate look into Southeast Asian cuisine through the lens of Robert’s countless travels and adventures abroad. Robert researched for 20 years, developed all of the recipes, cooked, styled and photographed all of the pictures, designed and published the book himself. Visit www.southeastasianflavors.com for a multimedia experience. Now Robert is ready to introduce his fans to his new book, Easy Thai Cooking - 75 Family-Style Dishes You Can Prepare at Home in Minutes, published by Tuttle Publishing, released in Oct. 2011 Asia/Australia/Europe & March 2012 in the USA. When Robert is not busy in the kitchen experimenting with new recipes, consulting or teaching, he can be found traveling throughout the globe, 26 countries and counting, looking to enrich his culinary repertoire, riding his bike and skateboards along the Pacific Coast, surfing, listening to music or spending time with his lovely Malaysian born wife, Esther.