Coast Magazine July 2009 : Page 34
ORANGE PULP > FOR THE LOVE OF A BOY joints for inventive morning cuisine in OC. Almost every ambitious chef dreams of B opening his own restaurant, but when he was younger, Nguyen never envisioned that his would center around the most humble meal of the day. He never intended to become a chef, for that matter. After arriving in the U.S. from Danang, Vietnam in 1986, Nguyen followed his par- ents’ wishes to become a biology major at UC Riverside, with the ultimate goal of becoming a dentist. It was while he cooked for his roommates that he discovered his true calling. He got his degree in biology, then headed to the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco. Goodbye, dentist’s scrubs, hello, chef’s jacket. After graduating from CCA, he landed a job at The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel, and swiftly made his way up, becoming execu- tive sous chef. Then, his life took a detour. In 2001, his son, Berlin, was diagnosed with Eagle- Barrett Syndrome at about five months in utero. Also called Prune Syndrome, this is a rare disorder in which part or all of the abdominal muscles are missing. In Berlin’s case, his abdominal muscles and urinary tract were malformed. Berlin had several operations in the years that followed, but during one in 2003, he was accidentally deprived of oxygen and went into a coma. When he woke up about a month later, he had brain damage, and developed cerebral palsy. Providing and caring for Berlin became the first priority for Nguyen and his wife, Linh, but the typical hours at most restau- rants made it extremely difficult for them to 34 COAST JULY 2009 Dee Nguyen in his kitchen at Break of Dawn reakfast is the Rodney Dangerfield of fine dining -– it just doesn’t get any respect. But not in the hands of Dee Nguyen, owner and chef of Break of Dawn, one of the best accomplish that. In the late summer of 2006, Nguyen decided to open a restaurant, one that would specialize in breakfast and lunch, and one that would give him the time and flexibility to take his son to physical and occupational therapy sessions. Equally important, the restaurant, Break of Dawn, located in the Oakbrook Village Center outside the Laguna Hills Mall, was close to Berlin’s school and a short drive from the Nguyens’ Lake Forest home. Nguyen readily admits that the transition from the stratosphere of gourmet cuisine was challenging, given how chefs of his cali- ber typically do not do breakfast. But Berlin was enough of an inspiration to motivate Nguyen to elevate the morning meal to new heights. “He’s my hero,” Nguyen says fondly of Berlin. “(The restaurant) is not about money, it’s about the ones you love.” The ever-changing menu features what he calls “creative comfort food,” ranging from eggs benedict with an Asian pesto hol- landaise and potato bread to braised leg of duck with a black Mission fig and onion omelet, kabocha creamed corn and Goji berry gastrique. Talk about giving traditional morning fare the fine dining treatment. What Nguyen didn’t anticipate in all of this was that to food lovers, great food is great food, no matter what time of the day they consume it. The accolades have been streaming in steadily. But the best news of all is that Berlin, now seven, has made tremendous progress, phys- ically and cognitively. “It’s a blessing for him to be where he is,” Nguyen says. “What I did – I don’t regret it for one second. I don’t think I will ever open a dinner restaurant after this. What we have is perfect for us.” Break of Dawn, Oakbrook Village Center, 24351 Avenida De La Carlota #N-6, Laguna Hills, (949) 587-9418, breakofdawnrestaurant.com. –LISA LIDDANE AND CAITLIN SEITZ RALPH PALUMBO
Publication List
