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Kenichi Home to Hung Nguyen, Level II Sake Sommelier

Posted on March 19th, 2009 5:54pm by Nancy Nichols
Filed under Chefs, Events, Restaurant News

Hung Nguyen is one of only 40 Level II sake sommeliers in the world. He is also one of the nicest guys in the world. I met Chef Hung when he attended the SideDish Supper Club at Mercury. We chatted about his new rank and how nice it is to see Dallas palates experimenting with more exotic flavor profiles.

In a semi-celebration of Chef Hung’s impressive achievement, Kenichi Dallas is hosting a Spring Saki Dinner on April 9th. You can read all about it after the jump, but take a moment to leave a note to Chef Hung. He’s a diamond in the rough world of the restaurant business.

Kenichi Dallas is happy to announce that its saké sommelier, Hung Nguyen, has attained Level II Sake Expert certification, the highest level of English-language certification currently available. Fewer than 40 individuals worldwide have attained this level of certification, and Hung is the only Level II expert in Texas.

The certification is accredited by the Saké Educational Council (Tokyo), hosted by the Saké Brewers Association of Japan. The certification exam was developed and administered by John Gauntner, the world’s pre-eminent English-speaking saké professional and author of several definitive books on saké. Passing the certification exam requires in-depth knowledge of saké production as well as the ability to identify saké styles and characteristics in blind tastings.

Joining Hung on the saké team at Kenichi Dallas are Adam Faraizl, who holds a Level I certification–one of about 120 in the world, and Rob Albright, who is scheduled to test for certification in the near future. They oversee the largest saké list in the state and one of the largest in the nation.

On the evening of April 9th, Hung and the saké team will host Kenichi Dallas’ Spring 2009 Saké dinner, which features six courses of specially-prepared food from Chef Garee Battad and Executive Sushi Chef Yuki Hirabayashi (from Tokyo), paired with premium saké.

Planned Menu (pending ingredients’ availability):

Sashimi
Daikon Oroshi, wafu dressing
Stuffed morel and tempura cocktail
Heirloom Tomato Puree
Organic Avocado Pure
Baby Asian greens

Genuine Japanese Wagyu tataki maki
Chef Freddy’s special dipping sauce

Aji study:
Aji nigiri
Aji sanban-su

Choice of:
Caramelized Sea scallops
Asian pesto “salad”
Chipotle-carrot reduction
Truffled haricot verts

Grilled Five Peppercorn-rubbed Kobe-style ribeye
Maytag Blue Cheese Yukon Gold potato purée
Sansho Crispy red onions

Warm chocolate “Soufflé” Cakes
Cardamom cream
Tahitian Vanilla Crème Anglaise

$100 per person plus tax and gratuity
For information and reservations, please call 214-871-8883.
www.kenichidallas.com

5 Comments to “Kenichi Home to Hung Nguyen, Level II Sake Sommelier”

AC @ March 19th, 2009 at 6:35 pm

It might be nice if we knew what the sake offerings were, tweety bird
Nancy Nichols @ March 19th, 2009 at 6:44 pm

Oh, what a great point. Tweety Bird was the name of my pet parakeet. I’ll ask.
jessica @ March 19th, 2009 at 8:06 pm

Wow, quite impressive, congrats to Hung! And as those bad sake jokes go… “sake to me”
ChefHung @ March 20th, 2009 at 1:17 am

Nancy, thank you so much for the nice thoughts. I’m grateful and hope that I can live up to the sentiments.

Jessica, thank you, as well.

As to the saké matches for this dinner, there are two reasons they haven’t yet been announced:

(1) All six courses are “special”, in that they aren’t normal Kenichi menu items. They’re dependent on ingredient availability. The chefs are working with our purveyors to confirm that they can get the right ingredients at the right time. That’s just a long way of explaining that we’re still working out the “contingency” pairings, just in case we have to change the dishes being served because an ingredient isn’t available. But, with a list of nearly 120 sakés to choose from, I’m hopeful and confident that we can select appropriate matches for the food.

(2) Saké, like some wine, isn’t always available in quantity, on demand, especially since I’m a stickler for things like freshness and evidence that a the saké has been well cared for throughout the chain of transport that delivered it to us from Japan. I’m working with our suppliers to confirm availability of not only the selected brews, but also the contingencies–more than 20 in all–to arrive at the collection that will ultimately be served.

We’re working to deliver a great experience at the saké dinner. Thank you for being patient with us, and I hope to see many of you there. If you can’t make the dinner, please visit Kenichi any evening to experience our saké program. I’m proud that our service staff is the most saké-knowledgeable one in Texas.
AC @ March 24th, 2009 at 12:28 pm

great, thanks Chef Hung..Best of Luck to what sounds like a great dinner!