Chef Viet Pham’s Cancer Journey

In early 2022, celebrity chef Viet Pham was diagnosed with not one but two cancers, one of which was lymphoma. While his battle with the disease ended well–with confirmation that he’s “practically cancer-free–” the almost year-long fight wore him out “mentally, physically, and spiritually.”

On his 44th birthday on January 27th, 2023, he shared a heartfelt post on social media about his journey.

“I was on the highest high, with two restaurant openings, on my way to get my pilot's license, being on several food competition shows, and then my life literally turned upside down,” wrote Pham. “Tests after tests, biopsies and surgeries, so I had to put a lot of things on hold.”

Though he made the announcement on his own social media page, Pham did not share much information about the specifics of his diagnosis or treatment. Alluding to his preference to remain private, he wrote, “I kept quiet during this time. I didn’t want people to feel sorry for me or treat me differently, so I kept it to myself this past year.”

Here is what we know about Pham’s life as a chef and cancer survivor.

Pham was born in 1979 to Vietnamese parents at a refugee camp in Malaysia. When he was just seven months old, his family immigrated to the United States of America.

Spending his formative years in California with parents who loved food and cooking, Pham’s career began in finance. Out of college, however, he enrolled at the California Culinary Academy in 2002 to explore his passion for food.

During his time at culinary school, Pham landed a job with prominent chef Laurent Gras, who was the first chef he ever worked for. To this day, he attributes much of his success and passion for cooking to this first experience under Gras’ mentorship.

“He inspired me, he pushed me, and never in my life did I want anything more than to be like him — so I pushed and pushed in my cooking career.”

Following culinary school, Pham was first involved in the Salt Lake City food scene through his work at Forage, a molecular gastronomy-influenced restaurant that was a one-of-a-kind for the city. The project was a joint effort with acclaimed chef Bowman Brown and was exceptionally well-received by the community. During this time, Pham also made his first appearance in the competitive, televised cooking scene on season nine of Food Network Star.

Though Forage shut down in 2016, Pham has since taken his love for cooking to new heights. In 2018, he opened Pretty Bird Hot Chicken with his now-wife, Alexis Furikioti Pham. According to Pham, “Pretty Bird is a Nashville-style hot chicken restaurant based on fine dining principles.” As of 2026, Pretty Bird has four outlets in and around Salt Lake City, and according to the Salt Lake City Weekly, “has become Utah’s preeminent fried chicken destination.”

Pham also continued to appear on televised cooking competitions, competing alongside some of the biggest personalities in the culinary industry. He is one of the only chefs who has beaten the celebrity chef Bobby Flay not just once, but twice–first, on Iron Chef America, and later, on Beat Bobby Flay.

In his post sharing the news of his cancer on Instagram, Pham reflected on the exceptional effort made by his cancer care team. “With the help from my amazing oncologist and the wonderful team at The Huntsman Cancer Institute, I will most likely pass from old age than from my cancer.” He has since been on the lookout to contribute to cancer research efforts through the institute.

Pham has been aware of his responsibilities to the community even before his encounter with cancer. In a 2023 interview with Martita Mestey, he noted, “Contributing and giving back is a big part of my responsibility as a chef. Mentoring, doing community events benefiting the youth, and working with the International Rescue Committee in helping displaced refugees are all important to me, because my success was the result of my community, not my own doing.”