Charles Phan, the acclaimed San Francisco chef and restaurant owner who won two James Beard awards with the innovative food at his Vietnamese restaurant the Slanted Door, has died at age 62, according to his family.

Award-winning San Francisco chef Charles Phan, a trailblazer whose modern interpretations of Vietnamese cuisine captivated the Bay Area, died Monday of cardiac arrest. He was 62.

He also expanded his vision to new locations, including a Slanted Door in San Ramon and, more recently, France and Napa.

San Francisco chef Charles Phan, the legendary leader behind the Slanted Door, died unexpectedly on Monday night. He was 62. Phan was 13 when his family escaped Vietnam and moved to the United States.

The James Beard Award-winning chef and restaurateur fled Vietnam at 13 and created a legacy of flavor, fire, and innovative fine dining.

Charles Phan, the influential chef who opened San Francisco’s Slanted Door restaurant and popularized a new style of modern California-Vietnamese cuisine, died unexpectedly on Jan. 20. He was 62 years old.

Phan, who started his career in San Francisco, is largely considered the inventor of modern Vietnamese cuisine in America.

Kevin Ko reports on fellow San Francisco chefs paying tribute to pioneering Slanted Door founder Charles Phan after his sudden passing.

Charles Phan, a chef whose love of food led to opening the popular Slanted Door restaurants and showcasing modern Vietnamese cuisine throughout the Bay Area and beyond, died on Monday, January 20. He was 62.