TONY GOURMET GROUP - About Tony

●	Tony (Xiaojun) Hu, a chef and restaurateur, is the president of the Tony Gourmet Group that contains five Chinese restaurants in Chicago and Connecticut. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of Sichuan, China, Tony has a vivid passion about what an authentic Chinese restaurant should be ever since.


Exceutive Chef/Owner Tony Hu Teaching at Field's Culinary Studio	Exceutive Chef/Owner Tony Hu and Famous Chefs at Opera House

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In 1993, chef Tony came to the United States and established himself in Chicago, working at Szechuan House and handling special banquets. He opened his first restaurant, the well-known Lao Sze Chuan, in Chicago Chinatown in 1998, which spawned two other branch locations in Downers Grove and in Connecticut. Lao in Chinese means old, authentic, and traditional. His goal was to bring his customers the authentic flavor of Chinese cuisine at a reasonable price. In spring 2008, Tony opened two more sibling restaurants, Lao Beijing and Lao Shanghai, each with its own regional focus. The trio of Tony’s restaurants in Chicago Chinatown represents three of the four major cuisines in China, Sichuan, Mandarin, and Shanghai, making Tony Gourmet Group a restaurant empire. Tony’s motto then and now remains, “one style for one dish, a hundred dishes have a hundred different tastes”.

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In order to ensure the authentic flavor of his dishes, chef Tony imports all the ingredients, such as peppercorn, Sichuan pickles, Chili bean paste, directly from China. Working at a fast daily pace, Tony bullets between his three restaurants-Lao Sze Chuan, Lao Beijing, and Lao Shanghai-overseeing his chef’s rapid work at the fiery stoves and weaving through tables to greet customers. He always values the opinions and comments of his customers, feeds them back to his chefs and staff to improve customer satisfaction. It is this type of attention to details and quality that established the reputation of his restaurants.

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Chef Tony’s restaurants have received a number of awards from the media, including: “One of the best” by Chicago Tribune; “The best authentic Chinese food” by Zagat Survey; “Possibly the most interesting menu in Chicago, they do a super job on all selections” by Chicago Reader; “This is the best spot for Szechuan cuisine in town” by Time Out Chicago; “Authentic – the food is the Real Deal” by Check Please in WTTW Channel 11. Tony’s signature dishes had been featured on TV channels such as CBS2, NBC5, ABC7, WGN9, WTTW11, FOX32. Tony had his own cooking show on channel 13 for about two years. He even taught in Marshall Field Cullinary Studio. He showed many people how to cook real Chinese food. In 2007 Mayor of Chicago, Richard Daley, invited Tony to City Hall to introduce Chinese food and Chicago Chinatown. He has also been awarded “Asian American Outstanding Leadership Award”.

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Besides his restaurant business, Tony has been actively involved in the community and public services. He is the president of the Southwest Chinese Association, of which the mission is to unite and help the Chinese Americans immigrated from the southwest part of China. In May 2008, the devastating earthquake hit Sichuan and many other provinces in China. Tony initiated leaders in the Chinese community and fundraised over one million dollars to donate to the earthquake area. Collaborated with Yao Ming Foundation, Tony Gourmet Group invited NBA star Yao Ming at Lao Beijing in May 2009 and hosted a successful fundraising event to help rebuild schools in Sichuan earthquake area. Tony has been serving as the board of directors of Chicago Chinatown Chamber of Commerce to help promoting Chinatown and Chinese culture. He is also the vice chairman of the Chinese American Association of Greater Chicago, the largest non-for-profit organization in the Chinese Community in Chicago

●	Chef Tony attributes the success of the Tony Gourmet Group to his respected customers. He deeply appreciates the continuous support by his customers and wish them have a wonderful dinning experience at one of the Tony Gourmet Group restaurants.