Just out., January 05, 2007, Page 25, Image 25

JANUARY ÏW justputi»
of his charity aren’t limited to the gay community or people living with
HIV/AIDS, either; in the past he’s donated proceeds from fund-raisers to
homeless shelters and senior citizens, among others.
“It’s important to me that people know I’m not loaded financially,” he
stresses. “I’ve worked really hard to get where I’m at. If you want some­
thing had enough, you work at it. 1 don’t care what anyone says, America
is still the land of opportunity.”
Hypocrisy bothers him, whether it’s on the left or the right; he prefers
to live his life in moderation. “The older I get, the more I see that on both
sides,” he says. “People who say one thing and do another. They don’t
practice what they preach. I own an SUV, and some people in Portland
would look down at me for that, hut 1 only use it when 1 need to. I ride the
hus; I take rhe train to Seattle.”
I lie Mag ician Reveals (S ome o
is Tricks
Step inside Chameleon today, and chances are you’ll feel at home
immediately. No thoughts of a fish ’n’ chips emporium will enter your
head: The place has been thoroughly converted into a den of unique
epicurean charm. The food is superb and the prices upscale, but the atmos­
phere is cozy and laid-back, classy without being fussy. This is not a place
that will turn you away if you don’t come in a suit. Clearly, Jeung sets out
to create this ambiance of comfort, leisure and the good things in life:
food, drink and friendship. He is the craftsman not only of the dishes but
of the environment in which they are served. Toward the end of the
evening he might play some music to set the mixxl, or project a film onto
the walls.
“You want people to be comfortable, to go with the flow," he says. “I’m
not doing this to get rich. It’s a labor of love; it’s what 1 enjoy. 1 have many
friends who make a lot more money than 1 do."
He speaks of his travels, of which there is much to speak. Once or twice
a year he travels abroad in search of new recipes. “I call it an eating and
cooking tour," he says, and claims his trips are “75 percent business,” but
this is undoubtedly a man who has figured out a way to combine business
with pleasure, as a perusal of his photo albums shows. To enable his free­
dom to travel, Jeung closes Chameleon for at least a month every
September, often longer, and sometimes twice a year. He packs his own
spices—Thai curries, lemongrass and so on.
Jeung closed Chameleon in September 2006 and traversed no less
than seven countries in the space of a month. In Tuscany he presided
as guest chef at a fabulous wedding in a pastoral villa attended by more
than 200 people. “I did a lot of cooking with the other chefs before­
hand,” he remembers, “but the day of the wedding I got to just relax and
taste everything before it went to the guests. It was an incredible
experience.”
His continual travels keep him from burning out and are reflected
in the ever-changing and highly eclectic Chameleon menu, which is
updated every six months—not a complete makeover, but a gradual
shifting and rotation. “My cooking has a heavy Thai influence,” Jeung
observes. But that’s not the only source. Chameleon’s culinary
eclecticism is probably best described as pan-Asian with a side of pan- ;
European. The current menu ranges from traditional favorites—Caesar
salad, spring rolls, bruschetta—to exotic surprises like beef sirloin
goulash with herbed dumplings (a Hungarian recipe inspired by his time
in Budapest last September) and seasonal delights such as butternut
squash ravioli.
Ioward tke Future
Jeung is said to be working on a book, tentatively titled Deep Roots,
about his travels in Italy. “It’s taking a long time," he says. “I’ve never
written a book before. Six years ago, I spent 2 1/2 months in Europf,
mainly Italy. I did a guest spot cooking for a catering company that serves
really high-profile clientele. In Italy people are not as open to foreign food.
They have their own history, and it’s amazing. There’s so much history
there, and every where you look there’s a beautiful landmark.”
His book, when it is published, and if it finds success, might be the first
in a series. He envisions it as a combination travelogue and cookbook,
fusing a textual account of his travel experiences with recipes and color­
ful photographs, often taken by Jeung himself. “I’m also an amateur
photographer on rhe side,” he says.
Quite the Renaissance man, Chef Jeung: epicure, world traveler,
businessman, amateur artist and photographer, gracious host. But after all
his travels, around the globe and back many times, and his real-life limbo-
to-luxury story, where does he call home?
“1 love Portland,” he says. “It’s home.” It’s home for some of his large
family, as well. “One of my sisters owns a Thai grocery in the Gateway
district. My youngest brother lives here, too.”
Clearly, Jeung isn’t the type of person who could be happy in a state of
stagnation. He has further ambitions for the future. Within a year or two,
he plans to buy some land in the country, outside the city, but not too far
from it. “Say 10 or 20 acres, maybe in the Columbia Gorge,” he speculates.
“1 want to do organic farming there, grow all my own stuff for the restau­
rant. I see it as not just a grow-and-sell place but also a parklike property
where 1 can have weddings and host my friends. It’s been a long-term goal
of mine to own sonae land. I’m going to do it for sure; it’s just a matter of
when.”
An additional ambition is to have his own cooking show. “A c<x>king Revelers at Chameleon's Halloween 2005 party.
show with a twist,” he calls it, but says he can’t reveal tcx> much about the
concept in case someone steals it from him. “1 have a good idea,” he shares
coyly. “It won’t be like other cooking shows you’ve seen.” He especially
wants to depart from the stereotype of the Asian specialty chef, which he
feels often depicts the chef as a buffoonish figure of fun rather than a
person whose culinary experience and prowess demand respect.
Looking even further ahead, Jeung sees his soon-to-be-purchased land
as a semi-retirement place. That, naturally, is “the ultimate goal," though
still years in the future.
Even now, far from over, Pat Jeung’s life is the kind of life a person can
look back on with pride and contentment, when the time finally comes to
rest and enjoy the fruits that long labors have earned. It’s the kind of life
that marks a fine balance between learning and teaching, struggling and
enjoying, surviving and flourishing—the kind of life that makes for'a lot
of gixxl stories, the kind of life you could write a book, or many books,
about. ®
“
The I Oth annual CHAMELEON RESTAURANT H at PARTY takes place from
7 to 10 p.m. Jan. 14 at 2000 N.E. 40th Ave. The suggested donation is
$25. Proceeds benefit Dress for Success and Equity Foundation.
An after-party starts at 10. The suggested donation is $5. To RSVP call
503-460-2682. For more information visit www.chameleonpdx.com.
T ony LE T igre is an artist, writer, student, fledgling publisher and brazen
male hussy. E-mail him at anthonylockwood@gmail.com.
Jeung attends the Budapest Wine Festival.
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