SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — The community is remembering legendary San Francisco Chef Charles Phan of Slanted Door.

The 62-year-old chef died over the weekend after having a heart attack.

For decades, he’s been a pillar of the restaurant community.

Supporters say Slanted Door elevated Vietnamese cuisine to a national level after opening in 1995.

The death of celebrated Chef Charles Phan is hitting Bay Area chefs hard.

Many chefs say Phan was a visionary and a trailblazer.

“He really inspired lot of chefs in Bay Area,” said Chef Hoss Zare.

At Fang Chinese Restaurant near Moscone Center, Chef and Owner Kathy Fang appreciates what Phan has done.

“He really paved the way for all of us,” said Fang. “He created a modernized elevated version of it and won awards and won a lot of accolades for a cuisine that I feel is often times misunderstood. And that’s the case for a lot of Asian cuisine.”

Peter Fang, owner of House of Nanking, knew Charles Phan. “This news for me really hurt,” said Fang. He said Phan had eaten at his restaurant and Fang had eaten at Phan’s establishment.

“He was one of my best friends. He’d been here for a long time.”

The Slanted Door Restaurant was at the Ferry Building for more than 15 years. The restaurant and the chef had a lot of fans.

“I remember coming specifically to the Ferry building. It was always yummy and delicious,” said Marla Simon, a former Bay Area resident about Slanted Door. “Everything you ate (was delicious)– garlic glass noodles.”

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Ferry Building officials shared this statement on Tuesday saying:

“Chef Phan’s innovative approach to Vietnamese cuisine and his commitment to sustainable, locally sourced ingredients created a dining experience that shaped the Ferry Building’s legacy as a culinary destination.”

“It’s really sad to hear– a legend in our game of someone who elevated Vietnamese food and just the dining scene in San Francisco,” said Chef Matthew Ho with Bodega SF, a Vietnamese Restaurant on Mason Street. “It was really cool to see and how he’s grown his restaurant and to be able to move into such an iconic building like the Ferry Building as well.”

Phan came to the U.S. from Vietnam at the age of 13 and was a self-taught chef. He won several big awards–including the James Beard Award for Best California Chef in 2004.

“He’s one of the big giants. I stand on his shoulders to get to where I am today,” said Chef Tu David Phu with Gigi’s, a Vietnamese-inspired wine bar in San Francisco.

“The road that he has built– not just for myself, but for other young culinary chefs in the industry, the Vietnamese culture, Asian American culture, brown people, people of color– the success he’s achieved, and the things he contributed in that space…we’re not going to see that for a long time. I thank him and his family, not just for the Bay Area, but also for Vietnamese cuisine.”

Renowned chefs across the Bay Area are remembering phan.

Chef Casey Thompson who was a contestant on Top Chef posted this:

“You will be missed. Memories of what you created will not be forgotten.”

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Chef Hoss Zare, a celebrated San Francisco-based chef and lead operational training executive chef at Bon Appétit at Google, said he has lost a dear friend.

“We had many meals together,” said Zare. “His personality, added to culinary skill, what he established as a legacy in the Bay Area, is a blueprint for us to follow,” said Zare.

Charles Phan– a well-loved and well-respected chef –who many say exemplified the true American dream.