photo by Hannah Burton for Bustle
about
Hello! I'm Jenny. I'm a professional chef, food writer, speaker, and social entrepreneur based in Los Angeles. I use food to express the full range of human emotions and social commentary about the world around us. I believe food has a special way of exposing the banal routine and social norms we find ourselves in. It can be a powerful medium for storytelling and create a place for genuine interaction -- if we choose to use it as such.
My mission is to use culinary arts as a platform to evoke introspection, empathy and real emotion. Sometimes my food or the environments I create make people uncomfortable, and that's the point. I don't plan on being complicit with the way things are; I want to change the world with my art, even if it's just one honest conversation at a time.
Before I started my journey in food, I was addicted to social acceptance (I still am, just less so). I started my career as a very (literally) hungry management consultant in the fashion industry before moving on to become the youngest MBA candidate at Columbia Business School. Shockingly, resume accolades do not make us truly happy and I found myself depressed and lost. I decided to take a sabbatical and go "find myself" -- which led me to culinary school, various fancy-schmancy starred restaurants and a bizarre set of jobs (ironic highlight: selling cold-pressed juice door-to-door to Silicon Valley VC firms). Through these twists and turns, I parlayed my abilities into a culinary consulting business, which I feel lucky to say has been successful and rewarding while forcing me to grow up and be a professional.
But I wanted more. At the beginning of 2017, I had an epiphany (at acupuncture) that I should use augmented & virtual reality to make my work more impactful. My experiments with these emerging technologies in the 'immersive' world has helped me narrow in on which social issues I'm particularly passionate about, and with that has birthed Studio ATAO. The Studio is my nonprofit baby that keeps me up at night as I rack my brain of ways to keep pushing people's boundaries with food & art and make them feel something. Where does this road lead? I'm still not sure. It's been a hell of a ride so far, but there's no saying what excitements and failures it still has in store. What I do know, however, is that I'll never wake up and wonder "what if?".
And yes, that's a photo of me being doused in honey mustard, because life is about living and the internet is forever.
My company Studio ATAO (pronounced ah-tao, stands for all together at once) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that creates educational tools, resources, and spaces for individuals and organizations to advance systems-based change through a social justice lens and the all-affected principle*. Our vision is a world where all people can realize their power to secure equitable and inclusive change.
You can learn more about Studio ATAO at www.studioatao.org. If you have benefitted from our infrastructure-building and training work, please consider supporting us by via Patreon (monthly patrons) or GiveLively (one-time donation). If you're interested in learning alongside us, make sure to sign up for our newsletters full of original content, good reads, and opportunities to get engaged with your community.
bylines & appearances
Articles
How to Fund a Food Business for People Who Have No Idea Where to Start - VICE
Media Can Make or Break a Food Business, But to Some, It Feels Like a Pay-to-Play System - Washington Post
How Virtual Reality is Training the Next Generation of Restaurant Workers -- Tasting Table
How Augmented and Virtual Reality Will Reshape the Food Industry -- TechCrunch
Drink Cocktails in Outer Space with this VR Experience -- Thrillist Supercall
Sommelier Chad Walsh on Why All-American Wine Menus Matter -- Michelin Guide USA
How One Chef Is Rising to Obama’s Call for Action -- Taste.Company
Chef Tatsu and the Art of Edomae Sushi -- Michelin Guide USA
Naem: The Art of Fermentation with Sticky Rice -- Life & Thyme
A Chef Uncovers the Secrets of Umami -- The Takeout
The Best Ramen Restaurants in America -- Thrillist
Make Restaurant Leftovers Your Cooking Superpower -- Eater
The Two Signs of a Great Recipe -- The Kitchn
What Will Happen to Food Influencers Post-COVID? -- Food & Wine
Why Do Fast-Casual Restaurants Get a Pass on Appropriation? -- Eater
A Comforting Braised Pig Feet Recipe Perfect for Your Pressure Cooker - Eater
21 Questions to Ask When Interviewing for Restaurant and Hospitality Jobs - Eater
Personal Essays
I’m Chinese, but It Took Me 28 Years to Buy My First Wok -- Food52
Yes, This Meal Is Supposed to Make You Feel Uncomfortable -- Narratively
Celebrating Lunar New Year As A Form of Resistance -- TODAY
Failure Chronicles: The Surprising Power Of Being ‘Chopped’ -- Girlboss
Sitting at the Table with Shame -- Sumac Magazine
I Left My MBA To Become A Chef... And This Is What Happened -- The Huffington Post
Asian in America: A Symbolic 3 Course Meal -- Hyphen Magazine & Goldthread
Columns
Khao Piak Sen Is Lao-Style Chicken Noodle Soup With Soul -- Serious Eats
Kanuchi and the Search for a Native American Soup for Thanksgiving --- Serious Eats
This Mochi Soup Is How Japan Welcomes the New Year -- Serious Eats
Obe Ata Is Saucy, Spicy, and It's Good With Anything -- Serious Eats
A Silkier Way to Soothe the Soul: Chinese Herbal Silkie Chicken Soup - Serious Eats
How to Make Nem Chua (Vietnamese Cured Pork with Garlic & Chile) -- Serious Eats
Ditch the Can and Make Mussels Escabeche at Home -- Serious Eats
牙签羊肉 (Toothpick Lamb) - Serious Eats
A Week of Meals -- LA Times
Books (Print)
Kodawari -- Omakase Room by Tatsu Restaurant, 2018
One Pot Meals -- Dash, 2018
Air Frying for Everyone -- Dash, 2018
Mastering the Instant Pot -- SkyHorse Publishing, 2019
Joie de Vivre -- Boucherie Restaurant, 2019
Healthy Cocktails -- SkyHorse Publishing, 2019
The Infrared Grill Master - Ulysses Press, 2020
Avatar the Last Airbender Cookbook - Insight Editions, 2021
Branded
Inside Eater and Hennessy V.S.O.P’s 2nd Annual Supperclub -- Eater
4 Unexpected Foods to Pair with Sake -- Eater
Where to Drink Sake (and Pair It With Delicious Food) in NYC - Eater
Tea & Cognac: A Match Worth Celebrating - Eater
Video Features
Weird Combinations: Octopus & Blackberry, Spot Prawn & White Chocolate, Goldfish & Banana -- Food & Wine
Salt & Vinegar Chicken Wings -- VICE Munchies
Spam Wontons -- VICE Munchies
Alt Baking Bootcamp -- Well+Good
Made by Hand: Ceramics -- ChefsFeed
Her Stories -- NowTHIS
food portfolio
See complete food & styling & photography portfolio.
If you are interested in my custom ceramics that are often paired with my food, click here.
I've been fortunate to work with a wide range of interesting companies, from Fortune 500 brands to nonprofits to local chains. My background in finance, management consulting, and global R&D has given me a unique perspective on what makes for a successful food-based venture, and I enjoy tackling age-old problems in creative new ways. I've launched new restaurant and culinary concepts (nationally and internationally); developed recipes and wrote cookbooks; planned and executed custom events large and small; made experimental content (branded and non) for audiences from social media to editorial. I love projects where I have the freedom to take big, abstract ideas and turn them into culinary content or experiential events. If you have an interesting concept you'd like to make even more delicious, please contact me below.
client list
OpenTable
Fair Trade USA
Panda Restaurant Group
Storebound
Hill's Pet Nutrition
Harper's Bazaar
Blue Marble Dreams: Bel Rev
O2 Aspen
Food Arts Center
San-J
Eventbrite
Ito En
June Life
BCBG Max Azria
Vox Media
Milk Money Kitchens
National Honey Board
Food Loves Tech
Well+Good
IACP
Charleston Wine + Food
Noodlelove
Everyday with Rachael Ray
Chef's Feed
Chef's Roll
Xiao Chi Jie
awards & speaking engagements
2021 "Other Notable Food Writing" Mention in Best American Food Writing 2021
2020 IACP Best Personal/Editorial Photograph
2019 Regional Finalist (North America), San Pellegrino Young Chefs
2019 The Art of Plating "On the Rise" Honoree
2019 James Beard House Featured Chef
2018 Finalist, Future of Storytelling "Bridging the Divide" Award
2017 Les Dames D'Escoffier Legacy Awards
2016 Winner, Beat Bobby Flay on Food Network
2016 James Beard Foundation Jean Louis Palladin Professional Work/Study Grant
2015 Bocuse d'or Ment'or Continuing Education Grant
2012 Les Dames D'Escoffier New York Culinary Arts Scholarship
I've been fortunate to share my story in front of a wide variety of audiences these last few years. In everything from keynotes and workshops to moderating panels or judging, I pride myself in being authentic and honest about all parts of my journey, even the ugly, scary, and disappointing moments. I've had the great pleasure of speaking at many companies, organizations and conferences I respect, and just gave my very first TEDx talk in March 2020.
National Museum of Women in the Arts
Future of Storytelling Summit
Culinary Institute of America
Tech Inclusion Conference
Charleston Wine + Food Festival
Crushing the Myth
Yellow Creative Summit
Happy Family Night Market
FAB Charleston
Union Square Hospitality Group
Tiffany & Co.
Thomson Reuters
Food Network
Boston Consulting Group
Asia Society
Institute of Culinary Education
Museum of Food & Drink
ATTN
International Association of Culinary Professionals
If you're looking for a culinary voice for an event, please contact me below.
press
Knives & Ink (Bloomsbury, 2016)
Adventures of Women Entrepreneurs (Radius, 2017)
Dark Horse (HarperOne, 2018)
