Son Pham
Eleven11 | Nashville TN
July 2026
Years before his career in the kitchen began, Son Pham worked in data engineering in the tech industry. But when his father passed away, Pham decided he needed a change and a more fulfilling career. In 2019, he staged at restaurants all over New York City, including Eleven Madison Park, eventually walking away from his desk job to cook full-time in 2020.
In 2021, Pham left New York and spent time at Xiao Bao Biscuit in Charleston, South Carolina, before he went on to stage at The Catbird Seat in Nashville, Tennessee. After a few days spent in the dish pit and doing prep work, Rising Stars alum Brian Baxter invited Pham to join the team. Pham spent the next year cooking and learning in Baxter's kitchen while helping him with the restaurant's robust fermentation program. During Catbird's summer break, Pham hosted a pop-up at Rice Vice, blending recipes from his Vietnamese upbringing with progressive preservation techniques. In 2023, his pop-up, Mister Son's, evolved into a full-time residency at Rice Vice, where he learned more about koji while collaborating with Rising Stars alum Byron Stithem. Following his passion for fine dining and fermentation, Pham went to Copenhagen, Denmark to work at Restaurant Jordnær in the latter part of 2024.
When he came back to the States, Pham joined forces with Restaurateur Alexis Soler and her business partner Michelle Pham, who he had connected with during his residency at Rice Vice. In September 2025, they opened Eleven11. At the sleek restaurant and bar, Pham leads the kitchen with a focus on seasonality and fermentation while highlighting a range of Southeast Asian flavors. That mission is translated into dishes like his crispy tomato rice with wood ear mushrooms, glass noodles, fermented Cherokee purple tomato dashi, and brined nabechan scallion root salt. Pham is also planning to bring those same flavors and techniques to Lakehouse Café, a new all-day bakery concept he is launching in 2027.
Beyond the kitchen, Pham is involved in API Middle Tennessee, Nashville Food Project, and regularly donates meals to The Salvation Army. He is also keen on providing opportunities for his staff to learn new techniques and develop culinary voices of their own.
