I grew up in a Vietnamese-Cambodian household, though I only knew my Vietnamese side. My mom's kitchen was my whole world. I remember sitting on the floor beside her, picking fresh herbs for the many meals she cooked for us, laboriously but happily. The pungent smells I was once embarrassed by have become some of my most treasured memories. Watching her cook was my first education.
My father was the adventurous one. A baker and an explorer who took me on food excursions all over the city, trying new restaurants and chasing new flavors. One parent rooted in tradition, one always reaching for something new. Together, they gave me my greatest inheritance: a deep love of food, a real understanding of palate, and an insatiable curiosity about both.
I was always a curious little girl, sneaking into the pantry, experimenting in the kitchen. Spending Saturday mornings with PBS cooking shows and staying up late watching documentaries. I was completely fascinated by the food I encountered outside our home and equally captivated by the stories I watched unfold on screen. That curiosity is where I learned to cook. It is also where I learned the beauty of telling stories.
Fifteen years of professional kitchens sharpened everything my parents gave me. I have cooked in iconic restaurants in San Francisco and New York, on yachts, at gallery dinners, and for everyone from preschoolers to billionaires. My food is rooted in rustic California Farm-to-Table with my own flair. Fresh, seasonal, clean, and full of personality, with a particular love for wood-fired cooking and anything that tastes like it was made outdoors.
Judy Rodgers of the famous Zuni Cafe, whom I consider my professional culinary mother, showed me what California cuisine truly was and opened my eyes to the beautiful produce I would come to work with every day. I left Zuni shaped in ways I am still discovering. She taught me about ingredients, about simplicity, about letting good food speak for itself.
As a food stylist, I have collaborated, assisted, and worked with some of the industry's finest, bringing visually stunning results to cookbooks, campaigns, and brand partnerships. Every person I work with, I learn from, and, in turn, also share my own strengths with each project.
In between kitchens, I spent several years in documentary film production, contributing to projects for Netflix and HBO, including The Andy Warhol Diaries (Netflix), The Case Against Adnan Syed (HBO) Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York (HBO), It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley (HBO). That work changed how I see everything. I brought all of it back to the kitchen with me.
I am, at my core, a mixtape. Vietnamese-Cambodian with Californian roots, an American pantry, a filmmaker's eye, and a chef's hands.
Recipe Development, Writing & Testing
Creative Menu Ideation
Food Styling
Art & creative direction
Private & Personal Chef
Culinary & Event Production
Culinary Consulting
Food & Media Storytelling