about
Hello! I'm Jenny. I'm a professional chef, author, and speaker based in New York City. I am currently a Fulbright-National Geographic Research Fellow pursuing research in Singapore and a recent M.Ed of Harvard's Graduate School of Education.
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As a chef, I use food to express the full range of human emotions and social commentary about the world around us. I believe food has a unique way of exposing the origins of social norms we choose to be bound by. Often, the food and the environments I create make people uncomfortable, and that's the point. I don't plan on being complicit with how things are; I want to change the world with my art, one honest conversation at a time.
photo by Matt Kalinowski
As an educator and food politics scholar, my mission is to showcase how food, both literally and metaphorically, forms the basis of human meaning-making and identity formation. It organizes our social hierarchies, the development and enforcement of our laws, and the design of our economic systems. Food shapes who we believe we are by telling us what version of ourselves is “right,” what perspective we should take in relating to other people, and what our roles are within larger social, economic, and cultural groups.
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 becoming 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.
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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 have helped me narrow in on which social issues I'm passionate about, and that birthed the first iteration of Studio ATAO. The Studio is the nonprofit baby that keeps me up at night as I rack my brain for ways to keep pushing people to connect with the world around them and 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?".
bylines & appearances
Reported & Features
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How to Fund a Food Business for People Who Have No Idea Where to Start - VICE
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Media Can Make or Break a Food Business, But to Some, It Feels Like a Pay-to-Play System - Washington Post
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How Virtual Reality is Training the Next Generation of Restaurant Workers -- Tasting Table
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How Augmented and Virtual Reality Will Reshape the Food Industry -- TechCrunch
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Drink Cocktails in Outer Space with this VR Experience -- Thrillist Supercall
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Sommelier Chad Walsh on Why All-American Wine Menus Matter -- Michelin Guide USA
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Chef Tatsu and the Art of Edomae Sushi -- Michelin Guide USA
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A Chef Uncovers the Secrets of Umami -- The Takeout
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Best Matcha Powders - EatingWell
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Best Ramen Restaurants in America - Thrillist
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The Two Signs of a Great Recipe -- The Kitchn
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What Will Happen to Food Influencers Post-COVID? -- Food & Wine
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21 Questions to Ask When Interviewing for Restaurant and Hospitality Jobs - Eater
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Op-Eds
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Why Do Fast-Casual Restaurants Get a Pass on Appropriation? -- Eater
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Mentors Aren’t Saviors. And Industry Training Programs Need to Understand That. -- The Counter
Personal Essays
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I’m Chinese, but It Took Me 28 Years to Buy My First Wok -- Food52
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Yes, This Meal Is Supposed to Make You Feel Uncomfortable -- Narratively
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Sitting at the Table with Shame -- Sumac Magazine
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I Left My MBA To Become A Chef... And This Is What Happened -- The Huffington Post
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Asian in America: A Symbolic 3 Course Meal -- Hyphen Magazine & Goldthread
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Naem: The Art of Fermentation with Sticky Rice -- Life & Thyme
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Of Meat and Men -- PRISM
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Columns
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Classic Chinese Tomato and Egg -- Serious Eats (nominated for a James Beard Media Award 2023)
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Khao Piak Sen Is Lao-Style Chicken Noodle Soup With Soul -- Serious Eats
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Kanuchi and the Search for a Native American Soup for Thanksgiving -- Serious Eats
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This Mochi Soup Is How Japan Welcomes the New Year -- Serious Eats
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Obe Ata Is Saucy, Spicy, and It's Good With Anything -- Serious Eats
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A Silkier Way to Soothe the Soul: Chinese Herbal Silkie Chicken Soup - Serious Eats
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How to Make Nem Chua (Vietnamese Cured Pork with Garlic & Chile) -- Serious Eats
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Ditch the Can and Make Mussels Escabeche at Home -- Serious Eats
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牙ç¾ç¾Šè‚‰ (Toothpick Lamb) - Serious Eats
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A Week of Meals -- LA Times
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Books (Print)
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Avatar the Last Airbender Official Cookbook -- Insight Editions, 2021 (#1 Best Seller in Animation Graphic Design on Amazon)
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The Infrared Grill Master -- Ulysses Press, 2020
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Healthy Cocktails -- SkyHorse Publishing, 2019
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Mastering the Instant Pot -- SkyHorse Publishing, 2019
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Joie de Vivre -- Boucherie Restaurant, 2019
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Kodawari -- Omakase Room by Tatsu Restaurant, 2018
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One Pot Meals -- Dash, 2018
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Air Frying for Everyone -- Dash, 2018
Video Features
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Weird Combinations: Octopus & Blackberry, Spot Prawn & White Chocolate, Goldfish & Banana -- Food & Wine
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Fish Sauce Caramel Ice Cream -- Food52
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Salt & Vinegar Chicken Wings -- VICE Munchies
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Cannabis-Infused Yuba Noodles -- VICE Munchies
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Made by Hand: Ceramics -- ChefsFeed
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Her Stories -- NowTHIS
food portfolio
See complete food & styling & photography portfolio.
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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
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San-J
Eventbrite
Ito En
June Life
BCBG Max Azria
Vox Media
Milk Money Kitchens
National Honey Board
Food Loves Tech
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Well+Good
IACP
Charleston Wine + Food
Noodlelove
Everyday with Rachael Ray
Chef's Feed
Chef's Roll
Xiao Chi Jie
awards & speaking engagements
2023-24 Fulbright Research Scholar & National Geographic Explorer -- Singapore
2023 James Beard Foundation Media Awards Nominee, "Home Cooking"
2022 World's 50 Next: Trailblazing Activists
2022 Food & Wine Game Changers
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 gave my first TEDx talk in pre-pandemic 2020 titled How Food Can Be A Source of Intimacy, Identity, and Vulnerability (watch above).​
National Museum of Women in the Arts
Future of Storytelling Summit
Culinary Institute of America
DoorDash Main Street Summit
Charleston Wine + Food Festival
Crushing the Myth
Yellow Creative Summit
NUS Baba House Museum, Singapore
FAB Charleston
Harvard Graduate School of Education
Union Square Hospitality Group
Tiffany & Co.
Thomson Reuters
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)