From the United States to Vietnam to Hong Kong, Chef Logan Hester’s culinary journey has been anything but typical. His formative years in Oklahoma City were filled with tending veggie gardens and baking alongside his mother, and his initial foray into the culinary world began with selling foraged blackberries and operating a hot dog stand at a local baseball stadium.
With culinary degrees from Francis Tuttle Tech and Johnson & Wales University, Chef Logan cemented his professional path. A chance encounter with acclaimed chef Peter Franklin in Vietnam led to his first head chef position at Anan Saigon, deepening his love for Vietnamese cuisine, which he has continued to hone ever since.
Along his rich personal and professional journey, Chef Logan’s cooking philosophy has been influenced by various mentors, travel experiences and a pursuit of continuous learning and evolution, all while maintaining a commitment to “doing good” above all. His aim today, as the Head Chef at Chôm Chôm, is to bring people together through the drinks, cuisine and culture of Vietnam.
As Chef Logan and team open the doors to a new chapter in our Vietnamese story, the Chôm Chôm chef shares a look at his typical routine in his “Day In The Life” diary.
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7:40am: It’s my second alarm… I’m a snoozer at heart, but hey, gotta get up sometime.
8am: First coffee of the day is a pour over. I keep a pretty well stocked coffee station at home and tend to geek out about beans, method and way too much on equipment. Next to my scale is a black moleskin filled with notes on times, temps and tasting notes, along with the occasional to-do list from page to page. Right now, I’m on a kick for funky, honey processed beans.
9am: Weather permitting, I like to take a walk into Central; camera in hand. Hong Kong is great for street photography, and gets my mind into the right place for the day. I feel like there are a lot of crossovers in creativity from photography to cooking so it’s a pretty great warm up for me.
9:45am: Cafe Seasons. I’m here for breakfast at least three times a week! It’s at the base of the escalator on Queen’s Road and their corned beef egg bun hits the spot every single time. If I plan it out right, my breakfast and half-sweet iced lemon tea (plus a couple work emails) time out perfectly for the escalator to change direction to SoHo.
10:30am: Stop off at Gage Street Market and pick up fresh rice noodles for the day. (There is a pineapple bun spot in the market, and if I’m feeling cheeky, I’ll grab one to snack on later.)
10:40am: Coffee number two at Fineprint. I love their cold brew — tastes like cacao nibs and dried fruit.
10:45am: I arrive at Chôm Chôm, bring in any deliveries that have arrived and get them checked in. The rest of the team doesn’t arrive until 2pm, so this is my quiet time of the day to knock out emails, admin, testing and photoshoots. I’m usually listening to music during this time — right now it’s Casiopea.
1:30pm: I usually sneak over to the Team Canteen for lunch before the team arrives. I basically lived there while doing the new menu R&D so it feels a bit like another home now!
2pm: The team arrives and prep begins. Chôm Chôm is pretty small, so we largely need to prep everything fresh on the daily. I’m also usually looking for coffee number three around this time!
5:30pm: It’s pre-shift. We go over any news, specials, trainings (especially with the new menu!) and item quantities with the whole team.
6-10:30pm: This is service time, and its full of energy and excitement as we run through soft opening making sure that everything done right as we build up to the grand reopening.
11pm: At this point, I’m usually picking up a Pocari Sweat from 7-Eleven for the ding-ding ride home. Gotta recover and do it all again tomorrow!
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Craving more? Read more ‘Day In The Life’ stories here and here to find out what our teams do to make that Black Sheep magic happen every day.
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