Aug 27 2020 36 mins
“I feel so reinvigorated and I want to teach people the comfort foods that I grew up eating. I want to keep Vietnamese food alive in America.”
Chef Nini Nguyen is a New York City based chef, instructor, recipe developer and recent contestant on Bravo’s Top Chef All Stars. Nini grew up in New Orleans East where there is a big Vietnamese population and growing up, she predominantly ate Vietnamese food and cooked Vietnamese food with her grandmother. This is where she fell in love with food and cooking - in a place with such a rich culinary background with so many delicious things to eat. Now, Nini feels reinvigorated and wants to teach people about the comfort foods of her heritage that she grew up eating.
During Nini’s time in college at LSU, she realized she wanted to be a chef and after college, took the leap and went culinary school but felt that she learned so much more on the job. She quickly fell in love with the industry - she loved the culture of restaurants and the people the restaurants attract to work there. She worked at restaurants across Louisiana including Coquette and at a bakery where she honed in on her pastry skills, which landed her a gig at the famed Eleven Madison Park in NYC. Not too long after, she secured a spot on Top Chef Kentucky, which then led her to become a contestant on Bravo’s most recent season, Top Chef All Stars. These experiences have inspired her cooking and have given her a platform to teach - which is what she really loves to do. Here’s what we cover in this episode: how Top Chef has impacted her career, launching virtual and on-demand cooking classes in the wake of the pandemic, how New Orleans native chefs are starting to explore and use Vietnamese ingredients in New Orleans cooking and why Nini loves this industry and cooking so much. Tune in and follow @chefnininguyen and @fromthegrounduppod on Instagram and check out www.chefnininguyen.com for more info on Nini’s classes.