D E PA R T M E N T S C H E F ' S TA B L E
MC CUISINE
CHEF MICHAEL CHUONG PUTS DOWN ROOTS IN ONE OF CARY’S MOST HISTORIC STRUCTURES
BY ELLIOT ACOSTA ǀ PHOTOS BY MASH PHOTOGRAPHY
A
lthough MC Cuisine is one of downtown Cary’s newer restaurants, it was built on a foundation laid by
history—regarding both its chef and accommodations. Located in the Sams-Jones House at 324 South Academy Street, MC Cuisine’ namesake comes from its owner and executive chef, Michael Chuong. After leaving his native Vietnam at the age of 15, Chuong found his way to New Orleans. It was in the Big Easy that Chuong began to cook professionally, eventually making his way into established kitchens such as The Fairmont, now known as The Roosevelt. It was the prolific Goodnight family that brought Chuong to the town of Cary. SAS CEO Jim Goodnight, who purchased Cary’s Prestonwood Country Club in 1992, hired Chuong to take the helm of the kitchen there. Building off his reputation from his work there, Chuong opened AN Asian Cuisine in 2006 and solidified his place as a marquee chef in the area. When he left the restaurant in 2012 to pursue other projects, like the celebrated Elements restaurant in Chapel Hill, Chuong always dreamed of returning to Cary—the town he had adopted as his home. FRONT-ROW SEAT The Sams-Jones House in downtown Cary
THIS PAGE: CHEF MICHAEL CHUONG LEFT VIETNAM AT THE AGE OF 15. HE ARRIVED IN CARY BY WAY OF NEW ORLEANS. OPPOSITE PAGE: MC CUISINE'S WALNUT PRAWNS.
sits on the corner of South Academy and Dry streets, across from Downtown Cary Park, so it has had a front-row seat to Cary’s evolution. The town purchased the cottage in 2014, then leased it to various restaurants until it sat vacant in 2016. Constructed in 1902, the house’s Queen Anne cottage-style architecture and link to one of Cary High School’s earliest educators, Andrew Fuller Sams, paved the way for it to be designated a Cary Historic
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