Vietnamese-American Chef Tu David Phu Talks About His Upbringing, His E-Commerce Food Store, and What Community Means to Him

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On the podcast this week, I have chef Tu David Phu. Tu is a first generation Vietnamese-American, born and raised in Oakland, California. You might know him from season 15 of the Bravo Tv show Top Chef. He’s also a San Francisco Chronicle Rising Star Chef. 

Tu uses the medium of food as a vessel for meaningful work like cooking with incarcerated men in San Quentin, and being a community ambassador in Oakland, working with Asian Health Services and the Oakland Asian Cultural Center.

We discuss his upbringing, and what life was like for his family, coming to the United States after enduring two wars. Tu dealt with food insecurity, struggled with identity, and experienced some confusion around the foods that he ate growing up. We talk about Vietnamese restaurants, how he got into cooking professionally, and touch on his experience on Top Chef.

You can find cooking tutorials on his website cheftu.com, and he’s also started an E-commerce shop called Tumami Spices where you can order kimchi, pho kits, Asian snacks, spice blends and more.

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Tu David Phu
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Tu’s Instagram 
Tumami Spice’s Instagram 

Tu’s Twitter  

Tu’s Website 

The Tumami Spices Website 

Tu’s YouTube Page 

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Chefs Without Restaurants Founder Chris Spear of Perfect Little Bites

If you want to support the show, our Venmo name is ChefWoRestos and can be found at https://venmo.com/ChefWoRestos. If you enjoy the show, have every received a job through one of our referrals, have been a guest, been given complimentary Chefs Without Restaurants swag, or simply want to help, it would be much appreciated. Feel free to let us know if you have any questions.

Outro music provided by podcast guest Dylan Ubaldo (check out Toyomansi)

A Conversation with Pastry Chef Kate Holowchik of Lionheart Confections

You can listen to the show on BuzzsproutITunesSpotifyTuneInStitcherAmazon MusicPandora and I Heart Radio.

This week I speak with pastry chef, and self-proclaimed culinary renegade Kate Holowchik. After working her way through some of Boston’s eclectic kitchens, she’s now finding her personal voice with the launch of Lionheart Confections. Her desserts are a mix of the refined, with a touch of nostalgia. 

We discuss:

empowering your staff
standing up for yourself
toxic work environments
food as intellectual property
pop-ups

and so much more

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Kate Holowchik and Lionheart Confections

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Kate’s  Instagram 

Lionheart Confections Instagram

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CONNECT WITH US

 =========================== 

Subscribe to The Chefs Without Restaurants Newsletter

Check out our other website  https://chefswithoutrestaurants.org

Like our Facebook page 

Join the private Facebook group 

Join the conversation on Twitter 

Check our Insta pics 

Watch on YouTube 

Chefs Without Restaurants Founder Chris Spear of Perfect Little Bites

If you want to support the show, our Venmo name is ChefWoRestos and can be found at https://venmo.com/ChefWoRestos. If you enjoy the show, have every received a job through one of our referrals, have been a guest, been given complimentary Chefs Without Restaurants swag, or simply want to help, it would be much appreciated. Feel free to let us know if you have any questions.

Outro music provided by podcast guest Dylan Ubaldo (check out Toyomansi)

Mr. Bake – Talking Sweets, Cooking on TV and Representation in the Food Media

You can listen to the show on BuzzsproutITunesSpotifyTuneInStitcherAmazon MusicPandora and I Heart Radio.

This week have Kareem Queeman, better known as Mr. Bake. He’s the owner and operator of Mr. Bake Sweets, a small dessert studio located in Largo, MD. He’s been baking for 20+ years. 

In the years that Mr. Bake Sweets has operated, he’s done a few television appearances on Food Network, Fox, ABC, and Discovery Family. He’s also a 2020 Business of Pride honoree by the Washington Business Journal. Mr. Bake prides himself on diversity, inclusivity, community outreach and always making the world a better place, one cake at a time. 

We discuss: 

·         how he got onto cooking TV shows 

·         representation, especially for chefs of color, and those in the LGBTQ community

·         branding

·         taking your business to the next level

·         baking with cake mixes and using scales

·         so much more…


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Mr. Bake

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Mr. Bake’s Instagram 

Mr. Bake’s Website 

Mr. Bake’s YouTube 

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CONNECT WITH US

 =========================== 

Subscribe to The Chefs Without Restaurants Newsletter

Check out our other website  https://chefswithoutrestaurants.org

Like our Facebook page 

Join the private Facebook group 

Join the conversation on Twitter 

Check our Insta pics 

Watch on YouTube 

Chefs Without Restaurants Founder Chris Spear of Perfect Little Bites

If you want to support the show, our Venmo name is ChefWoRestos and can be found at https://venmo.com/ChefWoRestos. If you enjoy the show, have every received a job through one of our referrals, have been a guest, been given complimentary Chefs Without Restaurants swag, or simply want to help, it would be much appreciated. Feel free to let us know if you have any questions.

Outro music provided by podcast guest Dylan Ubaldo (check out Toyomansi)

25 Years at Crook’s Corner Restaurant – A Conversation with Chef Bill Smith

You can listen to the show on BuzzsproutITunesSpotifyTuneInStitcherAmazon MusicPandora and I Heart Radio.

On the show this week, I have chef Bill Smith. Bill was the chef at Crook’s Corner in Chapel Hill, North Carolina for 25 years, before retiring in January 2019. I wanted to talk to Bill about his time working at Crook’s Corner, and what he plans to do now that he’s retired. Bill’s always been an activist. Many of his employees at the restaurant were from Mexico, and have become like family to Bill. He’s been talking about immigration, and trying to find ways to support those former employees. Mexico has become one of his favorite places to travel to.

We also talk about food. From his Atlantic Beach Pie, to the famous Shrimp & Grits that Crook’s Corner helped put on the map. Bill has authored two cookbooks, been nominated for a number of James Beard awards (and won one), and was the owner of the Cat’s Cradle music venue.

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Bill Smith

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Bill’s Instagram

The Crook’s Corner Website

Read more about Bill here

Bill’s cookbook Seafood in the South

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CONNECT WITH US

 =========================== 

Subscribe to The Chefs Without Restaurants Newsletter

Check out our other website  https://chefswithoutrestaurants.org

Like our Facebook page 

Join the private Facebook group 

Join the conversation on Twitter 

Check our Insta pics 

Watch on YouTube 

Chefs Without Restaurants Founder Chris Spear of Perfect Little Bites

If you want to support the show, our Venmo name is ChefWoRestos and can be found at https://venmo.com/ChefWoRestos. If you enjoy the show, have every received a job through one of our referrals, have been a guest, been given complimentary Chefs Without Restaurants swag, or simply want to help, it would be much appreciated. Feel free to let us know if you have any questions.

Outro music provided by podcast guest Dylan Ubaldo (check out Toyomansi)

Discussing the State of the Catering and Personal Chef Industries with Chef Brendon Hudson of Liliahna Catering

You can listen to the show on BuzzsproutITunesSpotifyTuneInStitcherAmazon MusicPandora and I Heart Radio.

On the podcast this week I have chef Brendon Hudson. He’s owner and chef of Liliahna catering company. Brendon was recently voted Best Chef by Baltimore Magazine’s readers poll.

We discuss the state of the catering and personal chef business, the rise of the micro-wedding, the Thumbtack platform and more.

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Brendon Hudson

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Liliahna’s Instagram 

Liliahna’s Facebook Page 

The Liliahna Website 

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CONNECT WITH US

 =========================== 

Check out our other website  https://chefswithoutrestaurants.org

Like our Facebook page 

Join the private Facebook group 

Join the conversation on Twitter 

Check our Insta pics 

Watch on YouTube 

Chefs Without Restaurants Founder Chris Spear of Perfect Little Bites

If you want to support the show, our Venmo name is ChefWoRestos and can be found at https://venmo.com/ChefWoRestos. If you enjoy the show, have every received a job through one of our referrals, have been a guest, been given complimentary Chefs Without Restaurants swag, or simply want to help, it would be much appreciated. Feel free to let us know if you have any questions.

Outro music provided by podcast guest Dylan Ubaldo (check out Toyomansi)

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