Cry Baby? Nathan Brown, executive chef at Ritz-Carlton Financial Street

He hails from Canada, land of fresh fish, wild game and more farmers’ markets than you can shake a fist at. Find out what makes him cry and what he’d eat if the world were ending.

What’s the strangest food you think everyone should try at least once in their life?
This one’s easy. My wife is from the Philippines and I’d say if you haven’t tried “balut,” you’re letting the best in life pass you by. Once you try it, you will never ever forget it. [Balut is a fertilized duck embryo cooked and eaten inside its shell. Yep, we can see how that’d be memorable. –Ed.]

What ingredient do you consistently work with that you don’t actually like to eat?
We used plenty of Brussels sprouts for Christmas. I have tried for years to enjoy those little monsters, but I just can’t do it. I really don’t enjoy them.

How often do you cook for yourself or your family?
If I get a weekend off, I will cook for my family the entire weekend. My daughter Maddie loves to make cookies and muffins and tasty soups (she is in charge of stirring and salt and pepper). I will make bigger batches and freeze them in individual portions for them to eat during the week while I’m working. It’s amazing what she’ll eat if she gets to help make it.

If it were the apocalypse, what meal would spur you on to fight for your life?
To have my mom’s tuna casserole, just one more time … It’s a very simple dish that she makes back on the farm, and it’s the first meal I have every time I go home to visit. I’ve tried numerous times to recreate it over the years, but I just can’t do it the way Mom does.

Has a meal ever made you cry?
Well, I had a papaya salad in Chiang Mai while on a photography trip – it was so spicy I felt like I had actual flames in my mouth. I have never felt so much pain in all my life.

When was the last time you cooked for yourself?
Yesterday. My wife and daughter went home to Cebu for the holidays, so I’m left to fend for myself. I made wok-fried rice with four different types of mushrooms, ginger, garlic, onions and a Philippine-style sausage (similar in flavor to tocino) and added some Guilin chilli paste for a bit of kick.

Get a kick out of Chef Brown’s culinary creations at the Ritz-Carlton Financial Street.

This article originally appeared on page 32 in the February issue of the Beijinger.

Photo courtesy of the Ritz-Carlton Financial Street.