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, spending Saturday mornings watching PBS cooking shows, and completely fascinated by the food I encountered outside our home. Two cultures, one kitchen, endless curiosity. That tension is where I learned to cook. It is still where I cook today.
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 with some of the industry's finest bringing visually stunning results to cookbooks, campaigns, and brand partnerships.
In between kitchens, I spent several years in documentary film production, contributing to projects for Netflix and HBO, including The Andy Warhol Diaries with director Amy Berg, and Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York. 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
Creative menu ideation
Food styling
Art & creative direction
Private & personal chef
Culinary production
Culinary consulting
Recipe writing & testing
Food & media storytelling