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"content": "\u003cp>Uyên Lê has always loved food. That’s clear from the moment you step into \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/beukitchen/?hl=en\">Bé Ù\u003c/a>, her tiny takeout restaurant in Silver Lake, where she serves up traditional items, like bánh mì, caramelized pork and eggs, spring rolls and rice noodle plates. 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The transition to a new life in a new language was a challenge, especially for her parents. But Lê loved growing up surrounded by so much family in West Covina.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We all stayed in one room together, my cousins, my sister and my brother. And I remember it just really being a blast,” she said. “It was like a slumber party every day. I remember thinking, ‘This is so fun to have your family around you all the time. It’s just like in Vietnam.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Uyên Lê, owner of Bé Ù\"]‘I’m not going to feed somebody something less because it’s cheaper. I’m going to do the right thing because this is where my pride comes from.’[/pullquote]Lê remembers her uncle serving up Mì Quảng, a rice noodle soup with a thick broth, at family gatherings. “ I have just these core memories of food and what motivates me to cook food,” she said. “And it’s definitely family gatherings. When I say family gathering, it’s at a minimum, 50 people. And if the family members bring their friends, that’s 100 plus.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After watching her relatives cook for such big groups, Lê dreamed of one day owning her own restaurant — one that family recipes and the eclectic food scene in the San Gabriel Valley would inspire. But that dream would take years and a pandemic to set in motion.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The First Ingredient: Community Organizing\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>During her final year at UC Berkeley in 2005, Lê found herself drawn to social and environmental justice issues. She traveled to the Gulf Coast, where she helped the Vietnamese community recover from Hurricane Katrina. That led to pursuing a master’s degree and eventually working with the UCLA Labor Center. Her work there focused on advocacy for worker’s rights, particularly day laborers and other low-wage workers in dangerous occupations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I worked to ensure that these jobs led to long-term apprenticeable careers for workers while also helping local businesses generate sustainable economic opportunities,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lê eventually started to get burned out on community organizing work, though, and her love for cooking reemerged. So, she quit her job with an electrician’s union in 2016 to finally pursue a career in the kitchen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11960453\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11960453\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8487-LJ-KQED-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A person fills loaves of bread with meat and vegetables.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8487-LJ-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8487-LJ-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8487-LJ-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8487-LJ-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8487-LJ-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8487-LJ-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Freddy Ward, line cook, prepares bánh mì’s at Bé Ù, a Vietnamese restaurant in Los Angeles, on Sept. 7, 2023. \u003ccite>(Lauren Justice for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Pivoting to Cooking\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>When Lê quit her union job, her initial hope was to create a Vietnamese food business that would not only be focused on the food she grew up with but also set a model for better pay and health benefits in L.A.’s restaurant industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But first, she had to learn the business. She got her feet wet working back of house as a cook in kitchens — including stints at \u003ca href=\"https://www.cassiala.com/\">Cassia\u003c/a> in Santa Monica and \u003ca href=\"https://www.buttonmashla.com/\">Button Mash\u003c/a> in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, an opportunity arose early in the pandemic that she couldn’t pass up. A location for a tiny restaurant opened up in a neighborhood she used to live in, on a mostly residential stretch of Hoover Street on the border of East Hollywood and Silver Lake. Her idea for the small space was to initially start as takeout only, especially since it was the height of the pandemic. She did some remodeling, and Bé Ù opened its doors in February of 2021.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11960455\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11960455\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8546-LJ-KQED-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Two people exchange something through a window at the front of a storefront.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8546-LJ-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8546-LJ-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8546-LJ-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8546-LJ-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8546-LJ-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8546-LJ-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Front-of-house cashier Janet Todd takes carryout orders at Bé Ù, a Vietnamese restaurant in Los Angeles, on Sept. 7, 2023. \u003ccite>(Lauren Justice for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Lê said she had plenty of apprehension opening during a global pandemic, especially given supply chain issues, inflation raising the price of ingredients, employees getting COVID-19, and the threat of new shutdowns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She was also committed, though, to paying her workers well above minimum wage. These days, that means $20 an hour, plus tips, to start — even though that’s a stretch for such a small operation. She’d love to increase wages even more and provide low-cost group plans for health insurance. But with such small profit margins, it’s still a work in progress.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve been able to pay my staff. I’ve been able to pay my rent. And I’ve got some vendors who are nice, who are willing to extend credit out a little bit longer,” Lê said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But inflation has forced her to raise prices on menu items.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I had a lot of heartburn around it because I do want to keep things affordable in this rent-controlled neighborhood,” she said. “I do see this as a time when a lot of other people are struggling.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But she also wants to maintain the integrity of her cooking, with almost all of her menu items made from scratch. “I’m not going to feed somebody something less because it’s cheaper. I’m going to do the right thing because this is where my pride comes from,” Lê said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11960451\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11960451\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8391-LJ-KQED-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Takeout boxes filled with meat and vegetable dishes.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8391-LJ-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8391-LJ-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8391-LJ-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8391-LJ-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8391-LJ-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8391-LJ-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Rice Noodle dish at Bé Ù, a Vietnamese restaurant in Los Angeles, on Sept. 7, 2023. \u003ccite>(Lauren Justice for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Trying to put equity into practice while still paying the bills\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As she celebrates the three-year-anniversary of Bé Ù, Lê said she appreciates the support from the neighborhood and frequent customers. But she knows she has to figure out an expanded business plan to support a restaurant focused on both good cooking and workers’ rights.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her latest idea is to open a marketplace and restaurant. It would change the supply chain model, highlighting the products of indigenous communities in Vietnam and building a distribution pipeline for sustainably grown ingredients like tea and rice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside tag=\"flavor-profile, food\" label=\"More Related Stories\"]“So many of the products that are on shelves now aren’t necessarily sustainable over the long term. [In terms of] how they’re produced, in terms of who’s profiting from them, in terms of how the ecology of the places is impacted,” she said. “And so the idea is [to] work with folks in Vietnam, but also local vendors and suppliers in our Southern California region.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pandemic highlighted age-old questions that so many restaurant owners face. Should we raise prices and possibly turn off customers? How do we pay employees more livable wages? And how do we survive to turn a profit?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lê is determined to keep cooking up her popcorn chicken and rice porridge in a place where employees want to come to work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"title": "LA's Bé Ù Puts a New Spin on Vietnamese Takeout and Workers' Rights | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Uyên Lê has always loved food. That’s clear from the moment you step into \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/beukitchen/?hl=en\">Bé Ù\u003c/a>, her tiny takeout restaurant in Silver Lake, where she serves up traditional items, like bánh mì, caramelized pork and eggs, spring rolls and rice noodle plates. Her weekend specials are often based on recipe ideas from her family.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Okay, which cousin is the best at the crispy pork skin?” Lê laughed. “Let me reach out to [see] which aunty knows how to make handmade noodles the best.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11960456\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11960456\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8640-LJ-KQED-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A restaurant with a blue facade on a city street.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8640-LJ-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8640-LJ-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8640-LJ-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8640-LJ-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8640-LJ-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8640-LJ-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bé Ù, a Vietnamese restaurant in Los Angeles, on Sept. 7, 2023. \u003ccite>(Lauren Justice for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Born in Vietnam, Lê and her family immigrated to Southern California in 1991 when she was seven. The transition to a new life in a new language was a challenge, especially for her parents. But Lê loved growing up surrounded by so much family in West Covina.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We all stayed in one room together, my cousins, my sister and my brother. And I remember it just really being a blast,” she said. “It was like a slumber party every day. I remember thinking, ‘This is so fun to have your family around you all the time. It’s just like in Vietnam.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Lê remembers her uncle serving up Mì Quảng, a rice noodle soup with a thick broth, at family gatherings. “ I have just these core memories of food and what motivates me to cook food,” she said. “And it’s definitely family gatherings. When I say family gathering, it’s at a minimum, 50 people. And if the family members bring their friends, that’s 100 plus.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After watching her relatives cook for such big groups, Lê dreamed of one day owning her own restaurant — one that family recipes and the eclectic food scene in the San Gabriel Valley would inspire. But that dream would take years and a pandemic to set in motion.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The First Ingredient: Community Organizing\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>During her final year at UC Berkeley in 2005, Lê found herself drawn to social and environmental justice issues. She traveled to the Gulf Coast, where she helped the Vietnamese community recover from Hurricane Katrina. That led to pursuing a master’s degree and eventually working with the UCLA Labor Center. Her work there focused on advocacy for worker’s rights, particularly day laborers and other low-wage workers in dangerous occupations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I worked to ensure that these jobs led to long-term apprenticeable careers for workers while also helping local businesses generate sustainable economic opportunities,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lê eventually started to get burned out on community organizing work, though, and her love for cooking reemerged. So, she quit her job with an electrician’s union in 2016 to finally pursue a career in the kitchen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11960453\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11960453\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8487-LJ-KQED-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A person fills loaves of bread with meat and vegetables.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8487-LJ-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8487-LJ-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8487-LJ-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8487-LJ-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8487-LJ-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8487-LJ-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Freddy Ward, line cook, prepares bánh mì’s at Bé Ù, a Vietnamese restaurant in Los Angeles, on Sept. 7, 2023. \u003ccite>(Lauren Justice for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Pivoting to Cooking\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>When Lê quit her union job, her initial hope was to create a Vietnamese food business that would not only be focused on the food she grew up with but also set a model for better pay and health benefits in L.A.’s restaurant industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But first, she had to learn the business. She got her feet wet working back of house as a cook in kitchens — including stints at \u003ca href=\"https://www.cassiala.com/\">Cassia\u003c/a> in Santa Monica and \u003ca href=\"https://www.buttonmashla.com/\">Button Mash\u003c/a> in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, an opportunity arose early in the pandemic that she couldn’t pass up. A location for a tiny restaurant opened up in a neighborhood she used to live in, on a mostly residential stretch of Hoover Street on the border of East Hollywood and Silver Lake. Her idea for the small space was to initially start as takeout only, especially since it was the height of the pandemic. She did some remodeling, and Bé Ù opened its doors in February of 2021.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11960455\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11960455\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8546-LJ-KQED-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Two people exchange something through a window at the front of a storefront.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8546-LJ-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8546-LJ-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8546-LJ-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8546-LJ-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8546-LJ-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8546-LJ-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Front-of-house cashier Janet Todd takes carryout orders at Bé Ù, a Vietnamese restaurant in Los Angeles, on Sept. 7, 2023. \u003ccite>(Lauren Justice for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Lê said she had plenty of apprehension opening during a global pandemic, especially given supply chain issues, inflation raising the price of ingredients, employees getting COVID-19, and the threat of new shutdowns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She was also committed, though, to paying her workers well above minimum wage. These days, that means $20 an hour, plus tips, to start — even though that’s a stretch for such a small operation. She’d love to increase wages even more and provide low-cost group plans for health insurance. But with such small profit margins, it’s still a work in progress.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve been able to pay my staff. I’ve been able to pay my rent. And I’ve got some vendors who are nice, who are willing to extend credit out a little bit longer,” Lê said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But inflation has forced her to raise prices on menu items.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I had a lot of heartburn around it because I do want to keep things affordable in this rent-controlled neighborhood,” she said. “I do see this as a time when a lot of other people are struggling.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But she also wants to maintain the integrity of her cooking, with almost all of her menu items made from scratch. “I’m not going to feed somebody something less because it’s cheaper. I’m going to do the right thing because this is where my pride comes from,” Lê said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11960451\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11960451\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8391-LJ-KQED-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Takeout boxes filled with meat and vegetable dishes.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8391-LJ-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8391-LJ-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8391-LJ-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8391-LJ-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8391-LJ-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/090723_BeU_8391-LJ-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Rice Noodle dish at Bé Ù, a Vietnamese restaurant in Los Angeles, on Sept. 7, 2023. \u003ccite>(Lauren Justice for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Trying to put equity into practice while still paying the bills\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As she celebrates the three-year-anniversary of Bé Ù, Lê said she appreciates the support from the neighborhood and frequent customers. But she knows she has to figure out an expanded business plan to support a restaurant focused on both good cooking and workers’ rights.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her latest idea is to open a marketplace and restaurant. It would change the supply chain model, highlighting the products of indigenous communities in Vietnam and building a distribution pipeline for sustainably grown ingredients like tea and rice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“So many of the products that are on shelves now aren’t necessarily sustainable over the long term. [In terms of] how they’re produced, in terms of who’s profiting from them, in terms of how the ecology of the places is impacted,” she said. “And so the idea is [to] work with folks in Vietnam, but also local vendors and suppliers in our Southern California region.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pandemic highlighted age-old questions that so many restaurant owners face. Should we raise prices and possibly turn off customers? How do we pay employees more livable wages? And how do we survive to turn a profit?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lê is determined to keep cooking up her popcorn chicken and rice porridge in a place where employees want to come to work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Fresno’s New Gordita Shop is an Homage to Mom’s Cooking",
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"content": "\u003cp>On a sunny summer afternoon in Fresno, Lucy’s Gorditas is bustling with the lunch rush. Monica Irene Rainey came here specifically after reading an article about the new establishment’s commitment to keeping the prices affordable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Their whole thing is about being generous to people who are less privileged,” Rainey said. “I love it. That’s why I came here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Lizett Lopez, owner, Lucy’s Gorditas\"]‘The running joke that I always tell my brothers is, ‘Mom is watching you.’’[/pullquote]\u003cbr>\nWhile people may be more familiar with the tacos and burritos offered in many Mexican restaurants, this shop focuses on gorditas, a dish from the Mexican state of Durango. Miners in this mountainous northern region of Mexico favor the gorditas for a quick bite.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[A gordita is] almost like a taco, but the tortilla becomes a very thick tortilla,” said Lizett Lopez, owner of Lucy’s Gorditas. “And instead of having the filling or the meat on top, we just slice it in the middle and fill it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11960647\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-09-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11960647\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-09-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A picadillo gordita with salsa and shredded cabbage.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-09-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-09-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-09-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-09-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-09-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-09-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A picadillo gordita with salsa and shredded cabbage at Lucy’s Gorditas in Fresno on Sept. 11. 2023.a \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The small restaurant focuses on takeout, but there are one or two tables for folks who want to dine in too. The observant customer will notice a framed photo of a woman with short, highlighted hair sporting a white fur stole sitting next to the cash register — Maria Lucille Huerta.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The running joke that I always tell my brothers is, ‘Mom is watching you,’” Lopez said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Taking care of others had always been her calling\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Lopez’s mother, Maria Lucille Huerta — known to all as Lucy — moved from Durango to Fresno in 1976. Her first job was cleaning at a convalescent home. Later, she helped cook and clean for kids with special needs. But she spent most of her career — almost 35 years — working as an in-home caregiver to elderly people. She loved her job because everyone she helped became a friend — she even invited them to family holiday parties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11960645\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-06-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11960645\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-06-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Two women are seen in a kitchen. The woman wearing an apron and closest to the camera turns over a gordita with her hand and utensil.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-06-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-06-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-06-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-06-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-06-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-06-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lizett Lopez cooks gorditas on the griddle at Lucy’s Gorditas in Fresno on Sept. 11, 2023. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"news_11954383,news_11958720\" label=\"Related Stories\"]Huerta was a wonderful cook, but she guarded her recipes carefully, keeping them even from her own daughter. And she was competitive! If a family member praised a dish made by someone else, she would strive to make one better.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Huerta was so well known for her cooking that some clients’ families even asked her to cater their events. She dreamed about opening her own restaurant one day. It would be a small takeout place to serve the working people of Fresno, just like back home in Durango.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Love and Loss During the Pandemic\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While Huerta continued to work as an in-home caregiver in Fresno, her daughter, Lizett Lopez, left her hometown for the glamorous big city. As a kid, Lopez had always wanted to live in San Francisco. After completing her general education requirements at Fresno City College, she applied to transfer to San Francisco State. She graduated with a biology degree and got a job in the Bay Area as a data analyst.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11960646\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-08-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11960646\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-08-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A hand holds a spoon to scoop food in a tray.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-08-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-08-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-08-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-08-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-08-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-08-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The picadillo gordita filling at Lucy’s Gorditas in Fresno on Sept. 11, 2023. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When the coronavirus pandemic hit at the beginning of 2020, Lopez and her husband decided to move back to Fresno to be closer to family. She was pregnant with their first son and wanted her mom’s help with the baby. For several weeks after the birth, Huerta stayed with Lopez, teaching her everything she needed to know as a new mom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Huerta had diabetes, and around this time, she developed an infection in her leg. At first, she didn’t take it too seriously. It was early in the COVID pandemic, and she was scared to go to the hospital. One day, when Lopez called to check on her mom, she realized Huerta wasn’t lucid. Her son rushed her to the hospital.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The infection had turned gangrenous, and Huerta went into sepsis. The doctor did several surgeries to remove the infection, but it was too late. The infection had spread throughout her bloodstream. Huerta passed away at age 61, leaving behind six sons and one daughter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was a very traumatic time for Lopez, who had just given birth. She wasn’t sure if her intense sadness was postpartum depression or just grief at losing her mother.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Lucy’s legacy lives on\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As Lopez and her brothers mourned the loss of their mother, a birthday rolled around. Normally, Huerta would let the person whose birthday it was request a special treat. After her death, Lopez carried on the tradition. She asked her brother what he wanted for his birthday meal. He replied, “gorditas.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11960644\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-05-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11960644\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Two hands shape a piece of dough above a metal bowl.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-05-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-05-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-05-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-05-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-05-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-05-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lizett Lopez shapes the corn dough to make the gordita wrap at Lucy’s Gorditas in Fresno on Sept. 11, 2023. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Lopez had never made gorditas before but promised to do her best. She was nervous, worried she wouldn’t be able to recreate her mother’s recipes from memory. So, she was pleased when her first gorditas turned out well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s when one of her brothers suggested they open a family restaurant. What better way to honor their mother’s memory than following her dream? They quickly found a place on East Clinton Avenue, and Lucy’s Gorditas was born. Lopez works at the shop during the week, while her brothers take over on weekends. The shop has little nods to Huerta all over it — her favorite butterflies and hummingbirds decorate the walls, and, of course, her photo at the cash register.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Lopez, opening this restaurant in Fresno is both heart-warming and humbling. Many customers knew her mom; others have shared their own stories of losing loved ones during the pandemic. It’s comforting to share those memories along with the food, knowing that her mom finally got her gorditas shop.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>On a sunny summer afternoon in Fresno, Lucy’s Gorditas is bustling with the lunch rush. Monica Irene Rainey came here specifically after reading an article about the new establishment’s commitment to keeping the prices affordable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Their whole thing is about being generous to people who are less privileged,” Rainey said. “I love it. That’s why I came here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cbr>\nWhile people may be more familiar with the tacos and burritos offered in many Mexican restaurants, this shop focuses on gorditas, a dish from the Mexican state of Durango. Miners in this mountainous northern region of Mexico favor the gorditas for a quick bite.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[A gordita is] almost like a taco, but the tortilla becomes a very thick tortilla,” said Lizett Lopez, owner of Lucy’s Gorditas. “And instead of having the filling or the meat on top, we just slice it in the middle and fill it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11960647\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-09-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11960647\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-09-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A picadillo gordita with salsa and shredded cabbage.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-09-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-09-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-09-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-09-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-09-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-09-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A picadillo gordita with salsa and shredded cabbage at Lucy’s Gorditas in Fresno on Sept. 11. 2023.a \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The small restaurant focuses on takeout, but there are one or two tables for folks who want to dine in too. The observant customer will notice a framed photo of a woman with short, highlighted hair sporting a white fur stole sitting next to the cash register — Maria Lucille Huerta.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The running joke that I always tell my brothers is, ‘Mom is watching you,’” Lopez said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Taking care of others had always been her calling\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Lopez’s mother, Maria Lucille Huerta — known to all as Lucy — moved from Durango to Fresno in 1976. Her first job was cleaning at a convalescent home. Later, she helped cook and clean for kids with special needs. But she spent most of her career — almost 35 years — working as an in-home caregiver to elderly people. She loved her job because everyone she helped became a friend — she even invited them to family holiday parties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11960645\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-06-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11960645\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-06-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Two women are seen in a kitchen. The woman wearing an apron and closest to the camera turns over a gordita with her hand and utensil.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-06-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-06-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-06-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-06-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-06-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-06-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lizett Lopez cooks gorditas on the griddle at Lucy’s Gorditas in Fresno on Sept. 11, 2023. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Huerta was a wonderful cook, but she guarded her recipes carefully, keeping them even from her own daughter. And she was competitive! If a family member praised a dish made by someone else, she would strive to make one better.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Huerta was so well known for her cooking that some clients’ families even asked her to cater their events. She dreamed about opening her own restaurant one day. It would be a small takeout place to serve the working people of Fresno, just like back home in Durango.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Love and Loss During the Pandemic\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While Huerta continued to work as an in-home caregiver in Fresno, her daughter, Lizett Lopez, left her hometown for the glamorous big city. As a kid, Lopez had always wanted to live in San Francisco. After completing her general education requirements at Fresno City College, she applied to transfer to San Francisco State. She graduated with a biology degree and got a job in the Bay Area as a data analyst.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11960646\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-08-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11960646\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-08-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A hand holds a spoon to scoop food in a tray.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-08-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-08-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-08-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-08-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-08-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-08-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The picadillo gordita filling at Lucy’s Gorditas in Fresno on Sept. 11, 2023. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When the coronavirus pandemic hit at the beginning of 2020, Lopez and her husband decided to move back to Fresno to be closer to family. She was pregnant with their first son and wanted her mom’s help with the baby. For several weeks after the birth, Huerta stayed with Lopez, teaching her everything she needed to know as a new mom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Huerta had diabetes, and around this time, she developed an infection in her leg. At first, she didn’t take it too seriously. It was early in the COVID pandemic, and she was scared to go to the hospital. One day, when Lopez called to check on her mom, she realized Huerta wasn’t lucid. Her son rushed her to the hospital.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The infection had turned gangrenous, and Huerta went into sepsis. The doctor did several surgeries to remove the infection, but it was too late. The infection had spread throughout her bloodstream. Huerta passed away at age 61, leaving behind six sons and one daughter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was a very traumatic time for Lopez, who had just given birth. She wasn’t sure if her intense sadness was postpartum depression or just grief at losing her mother.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Lucy’s legacy lives on\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As Lopez and her brothers mourned the loss of their mother, a birthday rolled around. Normally, Huerta would let the person whose birthday it was request a special treat. After her death, Lopez carried on the tradition. She asked her brother what he wanted for his birthday meal. He replied, “gorditas.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11960644\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-05-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11960644\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Two hands shape a piece of dough above a metal bowl.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-05-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-05-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-05-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-05-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-05-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/091023-LUCYS-GORDITAS-MD-05-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lizett Lopez shapes the corn dough to make the gordita wrap at Lucy’s Gorditas in Fresno on Sept. 11, 2023. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Lopez had never made gorditas before but promised to do her best. She was nervous, worried she wouldn’t be able to recreate her mother’s recipes from memory. So, she was pleased when her first gorditas turned out well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s when one of her brothers suggested they open a family restaurant. What better way to honor their mother’s memory than following her dream? They quickly found a place on East Clinton Avenue, and Lucy’s Gorditas was born. Lopez works at the shop during the week, while her brothers take over on weekends. The shop has little nods to Huerta all over it — her favorite butterflies and hummingbirds decorate the walls, and, of course, her photo at the cash register.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Lopez, opening this restaurant in Fresno is both heart-warming and humbling. Many customers knew her mom; others have shared their own stories of losing loved ones during the pandemic. It’s comforting to share those memories along with the food, knowing that her mom finally got her gorditas shop.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "how-sfs-rize-up-sourdough-puts-black-bakers-on-the-map",
"title": "How SF's Rize Up Sourdough Puts Black Bakers on the Map",
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"content": "\u003cp>Sourdough from Azikiwee Anderson’s Rize Up Bakery in San Francisco has become one of the most sought-after loaves in the Bay Area. Anderson plays with flavors treasured by immigrant diasporas that call California home. Ingredients like gochujang, ube, curry leaves and sesame are woven into the dough, packing a punch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m trying my best to take that source material, turn it on its ear and say this is beautiful as well,” he said. “I just am inspired by this flavor profile and I’m giving you a new offering. If you like these things, you might like this too.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11963737\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11963737 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/230727-AbacaFilipinoRestaurant-07-BL-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/230727-AbacaFilipinoRestaurant-07-BL-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/230727-AbacaFilipinoRestaurant-07-BL-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/230727-AbacaFilipinoRestaurant-07-BL-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/230727-AbacaFilipinoRestaurant-07-BL-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/230727-AbacaFilipinoRestaurant-07-BL-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Avocado toast made with ube bread baked by Rize Up Bakery sits on a table at Abacá restaurant in San Francisco on July 27, 2023, a Filipino-Californian restaurant near Fisherman’s Wharf. Rize Up’s sourdough is known for its inclusive flavors, taking inspiration from the many cultural diasporas found in California. The ube sourdough, made from a sweet purple yam traditionally found in many Filipino desserts, is particularly popular for its taste and purple color. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Anderson, 49, always loved bread. He was that person at a restaurant constantly asking for a refill of the bread basket. His favorite spot: Outerlands in San Francisco’s Outer Sunset neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When I first started [making sourdough], that was like my Holy Grail,” he said. “Like, if I can make bread that’s like that, I would have broken the code.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Azikiwee Anderson, founder, Rize Up Bakery\"]‘The act of actually making sourdough made me happy and so I just did it more and more. And when it made me happy, it made other people happy. I could spend my whole life doing this.’[/pullquote]During shelter-in-place, when it seemed everyone started baking sourdough, Anderson got to work trying to recreate that loaf. The finicky process of fermenting the sourdough starter to produce the right amount of rise and baking the loaves at the perfect temperature became meditative for Anderson. He found baking helped him process the emotional trauma of the pandemic and incidents of police violence that sparked protests in 2020.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I didn’t even know I was going to love to do it, until the act of doing it calmed my mind and kinda healed part of my heart,” he said. “The act of actually making sourdough made me happy and so I just did it more and more. And when it made me happy, it made other people happy. I could spend my whole life doing this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11958690\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11958690 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68058_230817-RizeUpBakery-15-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A person with a goatee and wearing an apron.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68058_230817-RizeUpBakery-15-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68058_230817-RizeUpBakery-15-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68058_230817-RizeUpBakery-15-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68058_230817-RizeUpBakery-15-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68058_230817-RizeUpBakery-15-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68058_230817-RizeUpBakery-15-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Founder Azikiwee Anderson, 49, poses for a portrait outside of Rize Up Bakery in San Francisco on Aug. 17, 2023. Anderson started Rize Up Bakery in his backyard during the pandemic. Now his sourdough loaves have become so popular, he moved to a commercial kitchen to keep up with demand. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Months after he started baking sourdough, he started selling loaves out of his backyard in San Francisco’s Richmond neighborhood. Soon, people lined up for the coveted bread, and Rize Up Bakery was born.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today, Anderson’s loaves are sold at San Francisco grocery stores including Rainbow Grocery and Gus’s Community Market, and is found on menus at buzzy restaurants including Flour + Water, ABACÁ and The Morris. To match the demand, Anderson moved to a commercial kitchen last fall, hiring a slew of new bakers to build his company.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A racial divide in the baking world\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Before the pandemic, Anderson worked in professional kitchens and in private catering. At some of his restaurant jobs, he noticed a racial divide among staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m a 6-foot-3 Black guy. You walk into a kitchen and I stand out like a sore thumb,” he said. “There was this weird color line where it’s like all the brown people come in and get everything ready and then all the white folks with tattoos show up and they make twice as much and they’re the ones you see.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When it came to hiring for his bakery, he wanted to do things a different way. Most of his bakers have no professional experience in kitchens. Many joined after following Anderson on Instagram.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11963739\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11963739 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/230817-RizeUpBakery-11-BL-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A man with a goatee holds his hands above a purple loaf of bread with a woman's back in the foreground.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/230817-RizeUpBakery-11-BL-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/230817-RizeUpBakery-11-BL-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/230817-RizeUpBakery-11-BL-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/230817-RizeUpBakery-11-BL-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/230817-RizeUpBakery-11-BL-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Founder Azikiwee Anderson prepares dough for their Ube Loaf at Rize Up Bakery in San Francisco on Aug. 17, 2023. When hiring more bakers for his kitchen, Azikiwee Anderson looked for enthusiasm, not just prior experience in a kitchen. Most of his bakers have little to no experience in a professional kitchen and joined his team after seeing his bakery grow through Instagram. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s expensive, because most of the people that I hired didn’t have very much experience, so we’re teaching them from the ground up,” he said. “The people here chose to be here. They weren’t headhunted, they weren’t offered a lot of money. They said ‘I want to do this with you.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Susie Breuer worked in the fashion industry for more than 30 years, but right before the pandemic, she decided she wanted a career change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wanted to make something which was compostable and didn’t just land in landfill,” Breuer said. “I’d always enjoyed cooking. I want to work towards a product that nourishes people, that is also better for the planet than a pile of clothes that we don’t need.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She now handles Rize Up’s recipe development and prepares all the inclusions that go into Anderson’s creative loaves. She chops the scallions and shops for the gochujang that go into the K-Pop loaf. She also sources the curry leaves that go into the Masala loaf.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rize Up’s ube sourdough loaf is one of their most popular flavors. When Anderson was creating the flavor, it took several iterations to get right. To make sure the flavors were right, he consulted Filipino chefs, like pastry chef Joana Bautista of \u003ca href=\"https://www.restaurantabaca.com/\">ABACÁ\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I had bought one from him and it was still in the testing phase. He asked me how it was and I was like ‘I don’t really get the ube yet. You need more ube,’” Bautista recalled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ube has taken off as a popular ingredient found everywhere from expensive bakeries to the Trader Joe’s freezer aisle. But Bautista says ube’s nuanced, earthy flavor often gets flattened by sugar and ends up just tasting sweet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I feel like they didn’t do the ingredient justice,” she said. “They jump on the bandwagon but then there’s not really any thought process into how to make it taste authentic or like how a Filipino person would eat it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11963740\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11963740 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/230727-AbacaFilipinoRestaurant-22-BL-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/230727-AbacaFilipinoRestaurant-22-BL-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/230727-AbacaFilipinoRestaurant-22-BL-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/230727-AbacaFilipinoRestaurant-22-BL-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/230727-AbacaFilipinoRestaurant-22-BL-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/230727-AbacaFilipinoRestaurant-22-BL-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Avocado toast made with ube bread baked by Rize Up Bakery sits on a table in San Francisco on July 27, 2023. ABACÁ, a popular Filipino restaurant close to San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf, uses Rize Up’s ube sourdough as a base for their avocado toast. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When Bautista tried Rize Up’s ube loaf while it was still being developed, she knew the loaf needed ube halaya, a milk jam made from the tuber that gives ube desserts their iconic flavor. Now, Anderson and his team make ube halaya from scratch, giving the bread a beautiful purple color and a subtle earthy, sweet flavor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At the beginning, it [cost] over $20 a loaf to make, because of all the stuff that goes into it and all the times I made it and it didn’t turn out because of all the extra stuff I’m putting into it,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you take a bite out of ube halaya and you take a bite of the ube sourdough, they’re not the same thing. But they’re both beautiful and they show that they come from the Filipino background,” he said. “The key is to not pretend like you made something new but to embrace where it came from.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11958688\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11958688 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68052_230817-RizeUpBakery-06-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"The hands of someone wearing an apron works with purple dough.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68052_230817-RizeUpBakery-06-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68052_230817-RizeUpBakery-06-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68052_230817-RizeUpBakery-06-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68052_230817-RizeUpBakery-06-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68052_230817-RizeUpBakery-06-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68052_230817-RizeUpBakery-06-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Founder Azikiwee Anderson prepares dough for their Ube Loaf at Rize Up Bakery in San Francisco on Aug. 17, 2023. His team makes ube halaya, a milk jam made from the root vegetable, that gives the bread a purple color and subtle ube flavor. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Recently, Rize Up’s offerings have expanded outside of bread. Anderson is playing with sourdough to create the best croutons, cookies, biscuits and more by building off the flavors and techniques he’s already working with.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside tag=\"food, flavor profiles\" label=\"More Related Stories\"]“At the beginning, it was just me, so something else [other than sourdough loaves] wasn’t going to happen,” he said. “And then we got to a certain level where there’s opportunity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As someone who has experienced housing insecurity himself, Anderson knew exactly how he wanted to give back to the San Francisco residents who can’t afford his $15 loaves. Last December, Rize Up started offering a “pay-it-forward” loaf, where customers receive a discount if they buy a loaf for themselves and one to donate to a San Francisco food bank.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I know that we make beautiful bread with really high-end ingredients. And I just thought, instead of people getting junk that’s full of preservatives, I wanted to inspire other people to try to make a difference,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Sourdough from Azikiwee Anderson’s Rize Up Bakery in San Francisco has become one of the most sought-after loaves in the Bay Area. Anderson plays with flavors treasured by immigrant diasporas that call California home. Ingredients like gochujang, ube, curry leaves and sesame are woven into the dough, packing a punch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m trying my best to take that source material, turn it on its ear and say this is beautiful as well,” he said. “I just am inspired by this flavor profile and I’m giving you a new offering. If you like these things, you might like this too.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11963737\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11963737 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/230727-AbacaFilipinoRestaurant-07-BL-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/230727-AbacaFilipinoRestaurant-07-BL-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/230727-AbacaFilipinoRestaurant-07-BL-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/230727-AbacaFilipinoRestaurant-07-BL-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/230727-AbacaFilipinoRestaurant-07-BL-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/230727-AbacaFilipinoRestaurant-07-BL-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Avocado toast made with ube bread baked by Rize Up Bakery sits on a table at Abacá restaurant in San Francisco on July 27, 2023, a Filipino-Californian restaurant near Fisherman’s Wharf. Rize Up’s sourdough is known for its inclusive flavors, taking inspiration from the many cultural diasporas found in California. The ube sourdough, made from a sweet purple yam traditionally found in many Filipino desserts, is particularly popular for its taste and purple color. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Anderson, 49, always loved bread. He was that person at a restaurant constantly asking for a refill of the bread basket. His favorite spot: Outerlands in San Francisco’s Outer Sunset neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When I first started [making sourdough], that was like my Holy Grail,” he said. “Like, if I can make bread that’s like that, I would have broken the code.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘The act of actually making sourdough made me happy and so I just did it more and more. And when it made me happy, it made other people happy. I could spend my whole life doing this.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>During shelter-in-place, when it seemed everyone started baking sourdough, Anderson got to work trying to recreate that loaf. The finicky process of fermenting the sourdough starter to produce the right amount of rise and baking the loaves at the perfect temperature became meditative for Anderson. He found baking helped him process the emotional trauma of the pandemic and incidents of police violence that sparked protests in 2020.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I didn’t even know I was going to love to do it, until the act of doing it calmed my mind and kinda healed part of my heart,” he said. “The act of actually making sourdough made me happy and so I just did it more and more. And when it made me happy, it made other people happy. I could spend my whole life doing this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11958690\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11958690 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68058_230817-RizeUpBakery-15-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A person with a goatee and wearing an apron.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68058_230817-RizeUpBakery-15-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68058_230817-RizeUpBakery-15-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68058_230817-RizeUpBakery-15-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68058_230817-RizeUpBakery-15-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68058_230817-RizeUpBakery-15-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68058_230817-RizeUpBakery-15-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Founder Azikiwee Anderson, 49, poses for a portrait outside of Rize Up Bakery in San Francisco on Aug. 17, 2023. Anderson started Rize Up Bakery in his backyard during the pandemic. Now his sourdough loaves have become so popular, he moved to a commercial kitchen to keep up with demand. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Months after he started baking sourdough, he started selling loaves out of his backyard in San Francisco’s Richmond neighborhood. Soon, people lined up for the coveted bread, and Rize Up Bakery was born.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today, Anderson’s loaves are sold at San Francisco grocery stores including Rainbow Grocery and Gus’s Community Market, and is found on menus at buzzy restaurants including Flour + Water, ABACÁ and The Morris. To match the demand, Anderson moved to a commercial kitchen last fall, hiring a slew of new bakers to build his company.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A racial divide in the baking world\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Before the pandemic, Anderson worked in professional kitchens and in private catering. At some of his restaurant jobs, he noticed a racial divide among staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m a 6-foot-3 Black guy. You walk into a kitchen and I stand out like a sore thumb,” he said. “There was this weird color line where it’s like all the brown people come in and get everything ready and then all the white folks with tattoos show up and they make twice as much and they’re the ones you see.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When it came to hiring for his bakery, he wanted to do things a different way. Most of his bakers have no professional experience in kitchens. Many joined after following Anderson on Instagram.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11963739\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11963739 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/230817-RizeUpBakery-11-BL-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A man with a goatee holds his hands above a purple loaf of bread with a woman's back in the foreground.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/230817-RizeUpBakery-11-BL-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/230817-RizeUpBakery-11-BL-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/230817-RizeUpBakery-11-BL-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/230817-RizeUpBakery-11-BL-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/230817-RizeUpBakery-11-BL-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Founder Azikiwee Anderson prepares dough for their Ube Loaf at Rize Up Bakery in San Francisco on Aug. 17, 2023. When hiring more bakers for his kitchen, Azikiwee Anderson looked for enthusiasm, not just prior experience in a kitchen. Most of his bakers have little to no experience in a professional kitchen and joined his team after seeing his bakery grow through Instagram. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s expensive, because most of the people that I hired didn’t have very much experience, so we’re teaching them from the ground up,” he said. “The people here chose to be here. They weren’t headhunted, they weren’t offered a lot of money. They said ‘I want to do this with you.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Susie Breuer worked in the fashion industry for more than 30 years, but right before the pandemic, she decided she wanted a career change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wanted to make something which was compostable and didn’t just land in landfill,” Breuer said. “I’d always enjoyed cooking. I want to work towards a product that nourishes people, that is also better for the planet than a pile of clothes that we don’t need.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She now handles Rize Up’s recipe development and prepares all the inclusions that go into Anderson’s creative loaves. She chops the scallions and shops for the gochujang that go into the K-Pop loaf. She also sources the curry leaves that go into the Masala loaf.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rize Up’s ube sourdough loaf is one of their most popular flavors. When Anderson was creating the flavor, it took several iterations to get right. To make sure the flavors were right, he consulted Filipino chefs, like pastry chef Joana Bautista of \u003ca href=\"https://www.restaurantabaca.com/\">ABACÁ\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I had bought one from him and it was still in the testing phase. He asked me how it was and I was like ‘I don’t really get the ube yet. You need more ube,’” Bautista recalled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ube has taken off as a popular ingredient found everywhere from expensive bakeries to the Trader Joe’s freezer aisle. But Bautista says ube’s nuanced, earthy flavor often gets flattened by sugar and ends up just tasting sweet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I feel like they didn’t do the ingredient justice,” she said. “They jump on the bandwagon but then there’s not really any thought process into how to make it taste authentic or like how a Filipino person would eat it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11963740\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11963740 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/230727-AbacaFilipinoRestaurant-22-BL-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/230727-AbacaFilipinoRestaurant-22-BL-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/230727-AbacaFilipinoRestaurant-22-BL-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/230727-AbacaFilipinoRestaurant-22-BL-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/230727-AbacaFilipinoRestaurant-22-BL-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/230727-AbacaFilipinoRestaurant-22-BL-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Avocado toast made with ube bread baked by Rize Up Bakery sits on a table in San Francisco on July 27, 2023. ABACÁ, a popular Filipino restaurant close to San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf, uses Rize Up’s ube sourdough as a base for their avocado toast. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When Bautista tried Rize Up’s ube loaf while it was still being developed, she knew the loaf needed ube halaya, a milk jam made from the tuber that gives ube desserts their iconic flavor. Now, Anderson and his team make ube halaya from scratch, giving the bread a beautiful purple color and a subtle earthy, sweet flavor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At the beginning, it [cost] over $20 a loaf to make, because of all the stuff that goes into it and all the times I made it and it didn’t turn out because of all the extra stuff I’m putting into it,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you take a bite out of ube halaya and you take a bite of the ube sourdough, they’re not the same thing. But they’re both beautiful and they show that they come from the Filipino background,” he said. “The key is to not pretend like you made something new but to embrace where it came from.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11958688\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11958688 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68052_230817-RizeUpBakery-06-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"The hands of someone wearing an apron works with purple dough.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68052_230817-RizeUpBakery-06-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68052_230817-RizeUpBakery-06-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68052_230817-RizeUpBakery-06-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68052_230817-RizeUpBakery-06-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68052_230817-RizeUpBakery-06-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68052_230817-RizeUpBakery-06-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Founder Azikiwee Anderson prepares dough for their Ube Loaf at Rize Up Bakery in San Francisco on Aug. 17, 2023. His team makes ube halaya, a milk jam made from the root vegetable, that gives the bread a purple color and subtle ube flavor. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Recently, Rize Up’s offerings have expanded outside of bread. Anderson is playing with sourdough to create the best croutons, cookies, biscuits and more by building off the flavors and techniques he’s already working with.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“At the beginning, it was just me, so something else [other than sourdough loaves] wasn’t going to happen,” he said. “And then we got to a certain level where there’s opportunity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As someone who has experienced housing insecurity himself, Anderson knew exactly how he wanted to give back to the San Francisco residents who can’t afford his $15 loaves. Last December, Rize Up started offering a “pay-it-forward” loaf, where customers receive a discount if they buy a loaf for themselves and one to donate to a San Francisco food bank.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I know that we make beautiful bread with really high-end ingredients. And I just thought, instead of people getting junk that’s full of preservatives, I wanted to inspire other people to try to make a difference,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "flavor-profile-beyond-banh-mi-san-jose-pop-up-plays-with-classics-of-vietnamese-cuisine",
"title": "Beyond Bánh Mì: This San José Pop-Up Plays With Classics of Vietnamese Cuisine",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Our Flavor Profile series looks at how people, some with little or no experience, started successful food businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>DuyAn Le and Hieu Le have a habit of diving in feetfirst together. They knew within three days of meeting each other they would marry. “We like to jump in without any plans and figure it out,” said Hieu. “That’s like the theme of us, for sure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How could they possibly know so soon? It’s not just that they both shared the same cultural heritage from the same part of southern Vietnam. It’s also that when they spend time in the kitchen together, they get excited about food in the same way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The couple started \u003ca href=\"https://www.hetsaycali.com\">Hết Sẩy\u003c/a> three-and-a-half years ago during the pandemic, jumping in feetfirst into the food business. Hieu spent three years as a line cook back in college. DuyAn was working retail at Costco. But they decided to make a pivot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today, Hết Sẩy pops up at least three times a week, mainly at farmers markets like the \u003ca href=\"https://www.hotplate.com/hetsay/ad6d8bb1-e42a-4ae0-a122-0889f396343f\">one on Fridays in front of Kaiser Permanente in Santa Clara\u003c/a>. Part of their mission? To shine a light on the flavors of the Mekong Delta, famous for its fish and fresh produce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11958692\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11958692\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68074_230818-HetSayRestaurant-18-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg\" alt='A line of people wait in front of a colorful tent with the words \"Hết Sẩy\" written on it.' width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68074_230818-HetSayRestaurant-18-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68074_230818-HetSayRestaurant-18-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68074_230818-HetSayRestaurant-18-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68074_230818-HetSayRestaurant-18-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68074_230818-HetSayRestaurant-18-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68074_230818-HetSayRestaurant-18-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">People wait in line at the Hết Sẩy pop-up restaurant at the Kaiser Farmers’ Market in Santa Clara on Aug. 18, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I want to showcase my regional food, the culture as well,” said DuyAn. “We are the rice basket of Vietnam, as well as all the produce, a lot of fish,” said DuyAn, whose family is Miền Tây, or from the Mekong Delta region.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The way that I think a lot of the Miền Tây people approach food is that there’s a lot of abundance, in terms of flavor.” said Hieu. “There’s a lot of creativity, playing around with sour, savory, sweet, bitter even.”[aside tag=\"vietnamese, food\" label=\"More Related Stories\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re also looking to deconstruct and reconstruct familiar dishes, to pull in the flavors they’ve encountered in California, and apply those to the Mekong sensibility. They deliver a mash-up that delights the taste buds even if you are not particularly sophisticated about Vietnamese cuisine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We also like using the fresh produce here, like strawberry and fennel. They are going well together,” said DuyAn.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s been a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareabites/93275/40-years-of-vietnamese-food-in-california-a-conversation-with-andrew-lam\">couple of generations now\u003c/a> since a wave of Vietnamese migration washed over California, and bánh mì and phở joined the pantheon of beloved dishes in the state. The Les like to play with the dishes they grew up with in a way they acknowledge their elders might not appreciate or understand. Hieu’s family in particular.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hieu said most of his family said: “No one will get it.” They’re worried that non-Vietnamese customers won’t appreciate the food, or that the flavors won’t work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11958693\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11958693\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68075_230818-HetSayRestaurant-17-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A bowl of rice and shredded meat is arranges on a countertop.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68075_230818-HetSayRestaurant-17-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68075_230818-HetSayRestaurant-17-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68075_230818-HetSayRestaurant-17-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68075_230818-HetSayRestaurant-17-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68075_230818-HetSayRestaurant-17-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68075_230818-HetSayRestaurant-17-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jason Choate prepares a savory sticky rice dish at the Hết Sẩy pop-up restaurant at Kaiser Farmers’ Market in Santa Clara on Aug. 18, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But DuyAn’s family got on board early, including her mother who is coming to live with them from Vietnam. “My family encouraged us, “ she said. But they also offered some advice. “‘If you’re going to do something, focus [on it],’” they told her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The results are a little different from what you’re likely familiar with if you’re a fan of Saigon-centric Vietnamese cuisine. Take a dish like xôi mặn. It’s a rice dish, a classic comfort food in Vietnamese households. Which means, of course, that every household plays with the concept. It’s not just that the lạp xưởng, or Chinese-style smoked sausage is made from scratch. DuyAn and Hieu also center local ingredients. The sticky rice cooked in banana leaves with coconut water comes from \u003ca href=\"https://www.kodafarms.com\">Koda Farms\u003c/a> in the Central Valley. The strawberries and fennel come, when they’re in season, from the local farmers markets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re evolving it to what we think is the best version of what this dish is meant to do,” Hieu said. “By incorporating things like a coconut chili sambal, which is an inspiration from South India, a flavor we’re really into, and incorporating something uniquely us and uniquely Bay Area.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then there’s the bánh mì Hết Sẩy style, served up by Quynh-Mai Nguyen in the Hết Sẩy tent. She first discovered the Les as a happy customer, and then started working for them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Bánh mì basically means bread in Vietnamese,” Nguyen explained, as she put together the dish. “There’s different types of bánh mì with different toppings and ingredients. This bánh mì is made with braised pork and egg that’s cooked in coconut water, and it’s put inside the bánh mì with pickled mustard, as well as some bird’s eye chili and garlic. And then it’s topped off with the braised juices from the meat and egg.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alex Shoor, a candidate for San José City Council, has become a regular at the Rose Garden Farmer’s Market pop up in San José.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My girlfriend and I got three of the bánh mì sandwiches,” said Shoor, grinning. “We got a chicken one, a broccoli, goat cheese and apple one, and the braised pork. So we did a sampling.” His favorite? The braised pork.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shoor says he always appreciates how creative Hết Sẩy is with their ingredients. “They’ve got unusual combinations, and they’ve definitely exposed me to new stuff over the years.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11958691\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11958691\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68064_230818-HetSayRestaurant-06-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A person wearing an apron and plastic gloves works with food in a large metal steamer.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68064_230818-HetSayRestaurant-06-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68064_230818-HetSayRestaurant-06-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68064_230818-HetSayRestaurant-06-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68064_230818-HetSayRestaurant-06-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68064_230818-HetSayRestaurant-06-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68064_230818-HetSayRestaurant-06-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Simon Le prepares dishes at the Hết Sẩy pop-up restaurant at the Kaiser Farmers’ Market in Santa Clara on Aug. 18, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Like many couples in the food business, the Les are trying to figure out the financial calculus of making a pop up work. In their case, one partner still works a day job in tech. But Hết Sẩy is running, in large part, thanks to online crowd funding and the couple’s dynamic \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/hetsay.cali/\">Instagram feed\u003c/a>. It’s taking some time for the money to roll in, but Hieu’s optimistic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think we’re creating something that’s uniquely us and new. there’s a lot of things that we’re excited for,” he said. “And as long as we are able to keep creating and people are interested in what we’re doing, that’s the fulfillment that we’re looking for.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11958694\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11958694\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68077_230818-HetSayRestaurant-20-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A person in a large red hat pours drinks into plastic cups.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68077_230818-HetSayRestaurant-20-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68077_230818-HetSayRestaurant-20-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68077_230818-HetSayRestaurant-20-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68077_230818-HetSayRestaurant-20-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68077_230818-HetSayRestaurant-20-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68077_230818-HetSayRestaurant-20-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hết Sẩy co-owner DuyAn prepares a coffee drink at the pop-up restaurant at the Kaiser Farmers’ Market in Santa Clara on Aug. 18, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Hết Sẩy, a pop-up restaurant based in San Jose, is open mainly at farmers markets in the South Bay. Their mission: to shine a light on the flavors of the Mekong Delta, famous for its fish and fresh produce. We visit as part of our Flavor Profile series.",
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"title": "Beyond Bánh Mì: This San José Pop-Up Plays With Classics of Vietnamese Cuisine | KQED",
"description": "Hết Sẩy, a pop-up restaurant based in San Jose, is open mainly at farmers markets in the South Bay. Their mission: to shine a light on the flavors of the Mekong Delta, famous for its fish and fresh produce. We visit as part of our Flavor Profile series.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Our Flavor Profile series looks at how people, some with little or no experience, started successful food businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>DuyAn Le and Hieu Le have a habit of diving in feetfirst together. They knew within three days of meeting each other they would marry. “We like to jump in without any plans and figure it out,” said Hieu. “That’s like the theme of us, for sure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How could they possibly know so soon? It’s not just that they both shared the same cultural heritage from the same part of southern Vietnam. It’s also that when they spend time in the kitchen together, they get excited about food in the same way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The couple started \u003ca href=\"https://www.hetsaycali.com\">Hết Sẩy\u003c/a> three-and-a-half years ago during the pandemic, jumping in feetfirst into the food business. Hieu spent three years as a line cook back in college. DuyAn was working retail at Costco. But they decided to make a pivot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today, Hết Sẩy pops up at least three times a week, mainly at farmers markets like the \u003ca href=\"https://www.hotplate.com/hetsay/ad6d8bb1-e42a-4ae0-a122-0889f396343f\">one on Fridays in front of Kaiser Permanente in Santa Clara\u003c/a>. Part of their mission? To shine a light on the flavors of the Mekong Delta, famous for its fish and fresh produce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11958692\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11958692\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68074_230818-HetSayRestaurant-18-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg\" alt='A line of people wait in front of a colorful tent with the words \"Hết Sẩy\" written on it.' width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68074_230818-HetSayRestaurant-18-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68074_230818-HetSayRestaurant-18-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68074_230818-HetSayRestaurant-18-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68074_230818-HetSayRestaurant-18-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68074_230818-HetSayRestaurant-18-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68074_230818-HetSayRestaurant-18-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">People wait in line at the Hết Sẩy pop-up restaurant at the Kaiser Farmers’ Market in Santa Clara on Aug. 18, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I want to showcase my regional food, the culture as well,” said DuyAn. “We are the rice basket of Vietnam, as well as all the produce, a lot of fish,” said DuyAn, whose family is Miền Tây, or from the Mekong Delta region.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The way that I think a lot of the Miền Tây people approach food is that there’s a lot of abundance, in terms of flavor.” said Hieu. “There’s a lot of creativity, playing around with sour, savory, sweet, bitter even.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re also looking to deconstruct and reconstruct familiar dishes, to pull in the flavors they’ve encountered in California, and apply those to the Mekong sensibility. They deliver a mash-up that delights the taste buds even if you are not particularly sophisticated about Vietnamese cuisine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We also like using the fresh produce here, like strawberry and fennel. They are going well together,” said DuyAn.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s been a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareabites/93275/40-years-of-vietnamese-food-in-california-a-conversation-with-andrew-lam\">couple of generations now\u003c/a> since a wave of Vietnamese migration washed over California, and bánh mì and phở joined the pantheon of beloved dishes in the state. The Les like to play with the dishes they grew up with in a way they acknowledge their elders might not appreciate or understand. Hieu’s family in particular.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hieu said most of his family said: “No one will get it.” They’re worried that non-Vietnamese customers won’t appreciate the food, or that the flavors won’t work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11958693\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11958693\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68075_230818-HetSayRestaurant-17-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A bowl of rice and shredded meat is arranges on a countertop.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68075_230818-HetSayRestaurant-17-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68075_230818-HetSayRestaurant-17-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68075_230818-HetSayRestaurant-17-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68075_230818-HetSayRestaurant-17-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68075_230818-HetSayRestaurant-17-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68075_230818-HetSayRestaurant-17-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jason Choate prepares a savory sticky rice dish at the Hết Sẩy pop-up restaurant at Kaiser Farmers’ Market in Santa Clara on Aug. 18, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But DuyAn’s family got on board early, including her mother who is coming to live with them from Vietnam. “My family encouraged us, “ she said. But they also offered some advice. “‘If you’re going to do something, focus [on it],’” they told her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The results are a little different from what you’re likely familiar with if you’re a fan of Saigon-centric Vietnamese cuisine. Take a dish like xôi mặn. It’s a rice dish, a classic comfort food in Vietnamese households. Which means, of course, that every household plays with the concept. It’s not just that the lạp xưởng, or Chinese-style smoked sausage is made from scratch. DuyAn and Hieu also center local ingredients. The sticky rice cooked in banana leaves with coconut water comes from \u003ca href=\"https://www.kodafarms.com\">Koda Farms\u003c/a> in the Central Valley. The strawberries and fennel come, when they’re in season, from the local farmers markets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re evolving it to what we think is the best version of what this dish is meant to do,” Hieu said. “By incorporating things like a coconut chili sambal, which is an inspiration from South India, a flavor we’re really into, and incorporating something uniquely us and uniquely Bay Area.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then there’s the bánh mì Hết Sẩy style, served up by Quynh-Mai Nguyen in the Hết Sẩy tent. She first discovered the Les as a happy customer, and then started working for them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Bánh mì basically means bread in Vietnamese,” Nguyen explained, as she put together the dish. “There’s different types of bánh mì with different toppings and ingredients. This bánh mì is made with braised pork and egg that’s cooked in coconut water, and it’s put inside the bánh mì with pickled mustard, as well as some bird’s eye chili and garlic. And then it’s topped off with the braised juices from the meat and egg.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alex Shoor, a candidate for San José City Council, has become a regular at the Rose Garden Farmer’s Market pop up in San José.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My girlfriend and I got three of the bánh mì sandwiches,” said Shoor, grinning. “We got a chicken one, a broccoli, goat cheese and apple one, and the braised pork. So we did a sampling.” His favorite? The braised pork.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shoor says he always appreciates how creative Hết Sẩy is with their ingredients. “They’ve got unusual combinations, and they’ve definitely exposed me to new stuff over the years.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11958691\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11958691\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68064_230818-HetSayRestaurant-06-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A person wearing an apron and plastic gloves works with food in a large metal steamer.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68064_230818-HetSayRestaurant-06-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68064_230818-HetSayRestaurant-06-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68064_230818-HetSayRestaurant-06-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68064_230818-HetSayRestaurant-06-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68064_230818-HetSayRestaurant-06-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68064_230818-HetSayRestaurant-06-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Simon Le prepares dishes at the Hết Sẩy pop-up restaurant at the Kaiser Farmers’ Market in Santa Clara on Aug. 18, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Like many couples in the food business, the Les are trying to figure out the financial calculus of making a pop up work. In their case, one partner still works a day job in tech. But Hết Sẩy is running, in large part, thanks to online crowd funding and the couple’s dynamic \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/hetsay.cali/\">Instagram feed\u003c/a>. It’s taking some time for the money to roll in, but Hieu’s optimistic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think we’re creating something that’s uniquely us and new. there’s a lot of things that we’re excited for,” he said. “And as long as we are able to keep creating and people are interested in what we’re doing, that’s the fulfillment that we’re looking for.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11958694\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11958694\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68077_230818-HetSayRestaurant-20-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A person in a large red hat pours drinks into plastic cups.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68077_230818-HetSayRestaurant-20-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68077_230818-HetSayRestaurant-20-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68077_230818-HetSayRestaurant-20-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68077_230818-HetSayRestaurant-20-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68077_230818-HetSayRestaurant-20-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS68077_230818-HetSayRestaurant-20-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hết Sẩy co-owner DuyAn prepares a coffee drink at the pop-up restaurant at the Kaiser Farmers’ Market in Santa Clara on Aug. 18, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "This Spicy, Crunchy Chili Topping Is the Essence of Balinese Flavors",
"headTitle": "This Spicy, Crunchy Chili Topping Is the Essence of Balinese Flavors | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003ci data-stringify-type=\"italic\">Flavor Profile is our new series looking at how people, some with little or no experience, started successful food businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.\u003cbr>\n\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nOn a leafy residential street in Glendale, Los Angeles, a line of people snaked its way into the driveway of one unassuming house. A sign on the gate informed customers: “Nasi bungkus are 100% sold out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://bungkusbagusla.com/\">Bungkus Bagus, a popular Balinese food pop-up\u003c/a> is run by sisters Tara and Celene Carrara. Two big gold balloons in the shape of the letter “B” floated above the driveway, celebrating the pop-up’s third anniversary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tara served customers from behind a colorful booth at the top of the driveway. She knew many by name, greeting them like old friends. Others were first-timers. The sisters’ signature dish is nasi bungkus, which means “rice to go” or “rice package.” The Bungkus Bagus version features nine dishes all wrapped up in a banana leaf.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a classic hot, spicy, sweet, savory kind of a dish,” said Jim Pickett, who drove from Santa Monica. “Plus, I love the fact that it’s wrapped in banana leaves, and you can have your plate and eat it too.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Tara was serving customers outside, Celene was in the dining room prepping the nasi bungkus. In the middle of a banana leaf she spooned fragrant rice, circling it with three dishes: slow-cooked coconut chicken curry, sweet-spicy tempeh, and long beans with bean sprouts. To finish, she topped each bungkus with a tamari-marinated egg, Bali-style salted peanuts, dried pork garnish, toasted coconut, and the sisters’ house-made sambal goreng, a spicy, crunchy topping of fried shallot, garlic and chili. Celene then expertly folded the whole thing into a bundle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s such a wonderful blend of sweet and spicy,” said longtime fan Cindy Roberts. “And I can just feel the love that they pour into making it.” [pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Jim Pickett, a Santa Monica customer\"]‘It’s a classic hot, spicy, sweet, savory kind of a dish. Plus, I love the fact that it’s wrapped in banana leaves, and you can have your plate and eat it too.’[/pullquote] The banana leaf-wrapped parcel is deceptively small for the amount of food contained inside: a rich, filling meal with contrasting textures and zingy flavors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m quite familiar with the taste because I’m actually from Malaysia,” said Rendra Zawawi. “Bali is nearby, and we sort of share the same taste profile in our food. So when I found out that they were doing this during the pandemic, I was like, ‘Oh, wow.’ It gives a sense of home.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Celene and Tara, taste isn’t enough — they want their bungkus to be eye-catching too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In Bali, there is a very intentional effort to make everything beautiful,” Celene said. “I really wanted the colors to be balanced all the way across. So, if you’re imagining the bungkus like a clock, there’s balance around the clock itself.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The sisters’ creative flare is evident in their desserts too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All of our dishes are colorful and very dense,” Tara said. “Everything’s a little bit unbelievable when you see it, which I think is a very Bali thing. There’s this whimsy to things there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, kueh lapis is a cake made from rice flour, tapioca flour and coconut milk. Each layer is dyed a bright rainbow color.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11960922\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-11960922 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Several colorful dishes and decorations photographed on a white backdrop.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1533\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-05-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-05-KQED-800x613.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-05-KQED-1020x782.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-05-KQED-160x123.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-05-KQED-1536x1177.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-05-KQED-1920x1472.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Some Bungkus Bagus pop-up favorites, including the rainbow-colored, sticky dessert, kueh lapis, in the upper right-hand corner. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Caitlin Timmins)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“You have this really bouncy, chewy cake that you can cut up and peel each of the layers as you’re eating it,” Tara said. “So it’s a tactile, silly, wacky, fun dessert. We call it the sticky hand of desserts because you can literally fling it around like a sticky hand or like stick it on your face. It’s popular with children for that reason, but also with us, because we are children at heart.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Discovering tastes of Bali in LA\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Tara and Celene grew up in Bali, where big family meals were the norm. They would all gather round the table to share feasts, tucking into six or seven dishes at a time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve definitely been on a personal quest since I was young, to figure out how to replicate the recipes that we were eating in Bali,” Celene said. “Our stepmom is Indonesian and she definitely was a huge player in teaching me how to make these dishes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11960920\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11960920\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A group of five young people and a dog pose for a photo with a green verdant background.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-03-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-03-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-03-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-03-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The old Bali family, from left: Celene, Ayu, Tara, Ketut Siwi and Suar Mini at home in Campuhan, Ubud in 1995. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Bungkus Bagus)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>She added that you can’t simply “Google it” and make the recipe. Textures are important. Celene further emphasized that even the measurements are different, “the amounts of ginger that go in one dish are measured in knuckle lengths!” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The sisters both love cooking, but never planned to make food their business. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and they lost their jobs: Tara as a makeup artist and Celene as a doula. They began batting around the idea of a pop-up food business. [pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Tara Carrara, co-founder, Bungkus Bagus\"]‘With our free time, we just started exploring different markets in LA, and trying to look for the right ingredients to make Balinese food.’[/pullquote] “With our free time, we just started exploring different markets in L.A., and trying to look for the right ingredients to make Balinese food,” Tara said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They found galangal (a ginger-like root in appearance, but with a more earthy spice profile) and lemongrass in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.theinfatuation.com/los-angeles/reviews/bangluck-market\">Thai Town market\u003c/a>; and stumbled across long beans and canned jackfruit in a Chinatown warehouse store. On the shelves of a corner store in West Covina, they discovered toasted coconut and crunchy soybean chips. And during a trip to their local Mexican supermarket to stock up on tortillas, Celene spotted large banana leaves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Once we found the leaves, we were like, ‘Oh! we could wrap it,’” Celene said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s when the idea for Bungkus Bagus came together. The name means “good package.” The sisters hosted their first pop-up from home in July 2020. The customers were mostly people they knew — but the word got out fast. Soon, 200 customers were pre-ordering weekly meals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everyone was stuck at home and really craving an opportunity to get out and be in community,” Celene said. “The concept has always really been about connecting with people and sharing this amazing place [where] we grew up through the food.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11960919\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11960919\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Two people with long hair pose for a photo in front of a large bush.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-02-KQED-800x534.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-02-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-02-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-02-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-02-KQED-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Celene and Tara Carrara, sisters and founders of Bungkus Bagus. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Ren Fuller)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The sisters didn’t have experience running a food business, so the first months were difficult. They initially struggled to manage their time, making overly complicated dishes in their home kitchen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everything felt really challenging,” Celene said, “because we were learning so much so quickly, and then also having to problem-solve on the fly all the time. We weren’t sure if we could keep up [that pace].” [pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Celene Carrara, co-founder, Bungkus Bagus \"]‘The concept has always really been about connecting with people and sharing this amazing place [where] we grew up through the food.’[/pullquote] Gradually though, the sisters did find balance. They narrowed the menu to focus on the bungkus. They figured out a system where customers pre-ordered food on a Monday so the sisters had the cash to buy groceries for the following weekend’s pop-up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Running a business together — even living under the same roof for the first nine months of lockdown — would bring many sisters to a breaking point. But for Tara and Celene, being family has made things easier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When things do go awry, or I am really stressed out and tired, it’s really easy to have a meltdown in front of her and recover quickly,” Celene said. “We can’t take ourselves so seriously in each other’s company.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the past three years, Tara and Celene estimate they’ve made over 10,000 nasi bungkus at more than 100 events. But it has taken a toll.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Doing the food pop-ups is a lot of hard work,” Celene said. “I don’t know if our bodies could do it for another 10 years. Even though we love it, it is a very physical challenge to work through.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11960921\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11960921\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-04-KQED.jpg\" alt='A group of people pose for a photo together under a sign reading \"Bungkus Bagus: Balinese Street Food.\"' width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-04-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-04-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-04-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-04-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-04-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The new Bungkus Bagus family, from left: Alex Hernandez-Zapata, Dwinisa Perkel, Celene Carrara, Tara Carrara and Ines Vasquez at their Smorgasburg LA booth in 2022. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Bungkus Bagus)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Carraras are now focusing on increasing production of their condiment, sambal goreng — that crunchy topping of fried shallots, chili and garlic. To make it happen, they’re working out of a busy commercial kitchen in L.A.’s Arts District.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Switching into the commercial kitchen was a dream,” Celene said. “It allowed us to scale rapidly.” [aside label='More from the Flavor Profile series' tag='flavor-profile'] Thanks to an industrial-sized chopping machine and large-scale stoves, Tara and Celene can go from raw ingredients to 500 labeled jars in one day. That’s five times what they could make at home. Their sambal goreng is now available in \u003ca href=\"https://bungkusbagusla.com/pages/stockists\">50 retailers across the country\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When a new person is introduced to sambal goreng, they have this access point to our childhood and to Bali flavor in a really easy, simple way,” Celene said. “You could be living in Lincoln, Nebraska, and buy a jar of sambal goreng and now have one of the flavors of Bali in your own home.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The business isn’t fully supporting them yet — Celene and Tara still take the occasional make-up gig or doula client to supplement their income, but Bunkgus Bagus is demanding more of their attention. Their aim is to make it a full-time job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want Bungkus Bagus to be around for the long haul,” Celene said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Bungkus Bagus is a project that’s about our sisterhood and our origin story as sisters. We both feel that we can really do anything when we are working alongside one another.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>For more information on Bungkus Bagus pop-ups, or Celene and Tara Carrara’s sambal goreng, visit\u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://bungkusbagusla.com\"> \u003cem>bungkusbagusla.com\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ci data-stringify-type=\"italic\">Flavor Profile is our new series looking at how people, some with little or no experience, started successful food businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.\u003cbr>\n\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nOn a leafy residential street in Glendale, Los Angeles, a line of people snaked its way into the driveway of one unassuming house. A sign on the gate informed customers: “Nasi bungkus are 100% sold out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://bungkusbagusla.com/\">Bungkus Bagus, a popular Balinese food pop-up\u003c/a> is run by sisters Tara and Celene Carrara. Two big gold balloons in the shape of the letter “B” floated above the driveway, celebrating the pop-up’s third anniversary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tara served customers from behind a colorful booth at the top of the driveway. She knew many by name, greeting them like old friends. Others were first-timers. The sisters’ signature dish is nasi bungkus, which means “rice to go” or “rice package.” The Bungkus Bagus version features nine dishes all wrapped up in a banana leaf.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a classic hot, spicy, sweet, savory kind of a dish,” said Jim Pickett, who drove from Santa Monica. “Plus, I love the fact that it’s wrapped in banana leaves, and you can have your plate and eat it too.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Tara was serving customers outside, Celene was in the dining room prepping the nasi bungkus. In the middle of a banana leaf she spooned fragrant rice, circling it with three dishes: slow-cooked coconut chicken curry, sweet-spicy tempeh, and long beans with bean sprouts. To finish, she topped each bungkus with a tamari-marinated egg, Bali-style salted peanuts, dried pork garnish, toasted coconut, and the sisters’ house-made sambal goreng, a spicy, crunchy topping of fried shallot, garlic and chili. Celene then expertly folded the whole thing into a bundle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s such a wonderful blend of sweet and spicy,” said longtime fan Cindy Roberts. “And I can just feel the love that they pour into making it.” \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp> The banana leaf-wrapped parcel is deceptively small for the amount of food contained inside: a rich, filling meal with contrasting textures and zingy flavors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m quite familiar with the taste because I’m actually from Malaysia,” said Rendra Zawawi. “Bali is nearby, and we sort of share the same taste profile in our food. So when I found out that they were doing this during the pandemic, I was like, ‘Oh, wow.’ It gives a sense of home.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Celene and Tara, taste isn’t enough — they want their bungkus to be eye-catching too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In Bali, there is a very intentional effort to make everything beautiful,” Celene said. “I really wanted the colors to be balanced all the way across. So, if you’re imagining the bungkus like a clock, there’s balance around the clock itself.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The sisters’ creative flare is evident in their desserts too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All of our dishes are colorful and very dense,” Tara said. “Everything’s a little bit unbelievable when you see it, which I think is a very Bali thing. There’s this whimsy to things there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, kueh lapis is a cake made from rice flour, tapioca flour and coconut milk. Each layer is dyed a bright rainbow color.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11960922\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-11960922 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Several colorful dishes and decorations photographed on a white backdrop.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1533\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-05-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-05-KQED-800x613.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-05-KQED-1020x782.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-05-KQED-160x123.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-05-KQED-1536x1177.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-05-KQED-1920x1472.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Some Bungkus Bagus pop-up favorites, including the rainbow-colored, sticky dessert, kueh lapis, in the upper right-hand corner. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Caitlin Timmins)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“You have this really bouncy, chewy cake that you can cut up and peel each of the layers as you’re eating it,” Tara said. “So it’s a tactile, silly, wacky, fun dessert. We call it the sticky hand of desserts because you can literally fling it around like a sticky hand or like stick it on your face. It’s popular with children for that reason, but also with us, because we are children at heart.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Discovering tastes of Bali in LA\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Tara and Celene grew up in Bali, where big family meals were the norm. They would all gather round the table to share feasts, tucking into six or seven dishes at a time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve definitely been on a personal quest since I was young, to figure out how to replicate the recipes that we were eating in Bali,” Celene said. “Our stepmom is Indonesian and she definitely was a huge player in teaching me how to make these dishes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11960920\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11960920\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A group of five young people and a dog pose for a photo with a green verdant background.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-03-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-03-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-03-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-03-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The old Bali family, from left: Celene, Ayu, Tara, Ketut Siwi and Suar Mini at home in Campuhan, Ubud in 1995. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Bungkus Bagus)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>She added that you can’t simply “Google it” and make the recipe. Textures are important. Celene further emphasized that even the measurements are different, “the amounts of ginger that go in one dish are measured in knuckle lengths!” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The sisters both love cooking, but never planned to make food their business. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and they lost their jobs: Tara as a makeup artist and Celene as a doula. They began batting around the idea of a pop-up food business. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp> “With our free time, we just started exploring different markets in L.A., and trying to look for the right ingredients to make Balinese food,” Tara said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They found galangal (a ginger-like root in appearance, but with a more earthy spice profile) and lemongrass in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.theinfatuation.com/los-angeles/reviews/bangluck-market\">Thai Town market\u003c/a>; and stumbled across long beans and canned jackfruit in a Chinatown warehouse store. On the shelves of a corner store in West Covina, they discovered toasted coconut and crunchy soybean chips. And during a trip to their local Mexican supermarket to stock up on tortillas, Celene spotted large banana leaves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Once we found the leaves, we were like, ‘Oh! we could wrap it,’” Celene said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s when the idea for Bungkus Bagus came together. The name means “good package.” The sisters hosted their first pop-up from home in July 2020. The customers were mostly people they knew — but the word got out fast. Soon, 200 customers were pre-ordering weekly meals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everyone was stuck at home and really craving an opportunity to get out and be in community,” Celene said. “The concept has always really been about connecting with people and sharing this amazing place [where] we grew up through the food.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11960919\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11960919\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Two people with long hair pose for a photo in front of a large bush.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-02-KQED-800x534.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-02-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-02-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-02-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-02-KQED-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Celene and Tara Carrara, sisters and founders of Bungkus Bagus. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Ren Fuller)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The sisters didn’t have experience running a food business, so the first months were difficult. They initially struggled to manage their time, making overly complicated dishes in their home kitchen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everything felt really challenging,” Celene said, “because we were learning so much so quickly, and then also having to problem-solve on the fly all the time. We weren’t sure if we could keep up [that pace].” \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp> Gradually though, the sisters did find balance. They narrowed the menu to focus on the bungkus. They figured out a system where customers pre-ordered food on a Monday so the sisters had the cash to buy groceries for the following weekend’s pop-up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Running a business together — even living under the same roof for the first nine months of lockdown — would bring many sisters to a breaking point. But for Tara and Celene, being family has made things easier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When things do go awry, or I am really stressed out and tired, it’s really easy to have a meltdown in front of her and recover quickly,” Celene said. “We can’t take ourselves so seriously in each other’s company.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the past three years, Tara and Celene estimate they’ve made over 10,000 nasi bungkus at more than 100 events. But it has taken a toll.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Doing the food pop-ups is a lot of hard work,” Celene said. “I don’t know if our bodies could do it for another 10 years. Even though we love it, it is a very physical challenge to work through.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11960921\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11960921\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-04-KQED.jpg\" alt='A group of people pose for a photo together under a sign reading \"Bungkus Bagus: Balinese Street Food.\"' width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-04-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-04-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-04-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-04-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/09/230912-BUNGKUS-BAGUS-04-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The new Bungkus Bagus family, from left: Alex Hernandez-Zapata, Dwinisa Perkel, Celene Carrara, Tara Carrara and Ines Vasquez at their Smorgasburg LA booth in 2022. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Bungkus Bagus)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Carraras are now focusing on increasing production of their condiment, sambal goreng — that crunchy topping of fried shallots, chili and garlic. To make it happen, they’re working out of a busy commercial kitchen in L.A.’s Arts District.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Switching into the commercial kitchen was a dream,” Celene said. “It allowed us to scale rapidly.” \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp> Thanks to an industrial-sized chopping machine and large-scale stoves, Tara and Celene can go from raw ingredients to 500 labeled jars in one day. That’s five times what they could make at home. Their sambal goreng is now available in \u003ca href=\"https://bungkusbagusla.com/pages/stockists\">50 retailers across the country\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When a new person is introduced to sambal goreng, they have this access point to our childhood and to Bali flavor in a really easy, simple way,” Celene said. “You could be living in Lincoln, Nebraska, and buy a jar of sambal goreng and now have one of the flavors of Bali in your own home.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The business isn’t fully supporting them yet — Celene and Tara still take the occasional make-up gig or doula client to supplement their income, but Bunkgus Bagus is demanding more of their attention. Their aim is to make it a full-time job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want Bungkus Bagus to be around for the long haul,” Celene said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Bungkus Bagus is a project that’s about our sisterhood and our origin story as sisters. We both feel that we can really do anything when we are working alongside one another.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>For more information on Bungkus Bagus pop-ups, or Celene and Tara Carrara’s sambal goreng, visit\u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://bungkusbagusla.com\"> \u003cem>bungkusbagusla.com\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Flavor Profile is our new series looking at how people, some with little or no experience, started successful food businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Crystal Wahpepah wanted to be a chef since she was 7 years old.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I really, really loved cooking,” she says. “And I have that connection when it comes to the soil, to the land … this is something that just always came just so naturally.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like her grandfather and mother, Wahpepah is a registered member of the Kickapoo tribe of Oklahoma. She remembers learning to make fry bread with her aunty and grandmother and picking berries on the Hoopa Reservation where she spent time as a child.[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Crystal Wahpepah, owner, Wahpepah’s Kitchen\"]‘I really, really loved cooking. And I have that connection when it comes to the soil, to the land … this is something that just always came just so naturally.’[/pullquote]While growing up on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11880526/who-were-the-first-people-to-live-in-the-bay-area\">Ohlone land\u003c/a> in Oakland, Wahpepah was struck by the Bay Area’s lack of Native restaurants, despite the region’s large Indigenous population and palette for diverse cuisine. So she decided to change that. It wasn’t just a matter of culinary representation, it was a matter of reclaiming \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareabites/134283/indigenous-food-security-is-dependent-on-food-sovereignty\">Native food sovereignty\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I feel this is the human right for everybody to have their own cultural foods and to eat it and to have that relationship with it on their homeland … or even not on their homeland,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2010, Wahpepah graduated from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts. One year later, she launched one of the state’s first Indigenous woman-owned catering businesses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She became the first Native chef to appear on the Food Network show, \u003cem>Chopped\u003c/em>. Wahpepah and her team started cooking for high-profile clients like the White House and the James Beard Awards. But she says she wasn’t just feeding people, she was also educating them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m in San Francisco, in the tech world,” she says. “[I’m] going out of my Native community, serving these foods no one’s never heard of. So I had all the questions brought at me … all the way up to, ‘Oh yeah, this [is] Native American land?’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the beginning of 2020, she had just started selling snack bars online — made with wild rice, amaranth, pepita and cranberries — when COVID hit. Then, she found out that the kitchen where she ran her catering business was closing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She reached out to her community, to see if anyone had kitchen space she could share. A friend came back with a different proposal — she offered Wahpepah an entire restaurant in Oakland’s Fruitvale Station.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11953939\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11953939\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66553_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-12-ks-KQED.jpg\" alt='A woman in a red apron walks through a room on one wall of which a mural is painted of people wearing a variety of indigenous clothing and above which the words \"INDIGENOUS FOOD WARRIORS\" is written.' width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66553_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-12-ks-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66553_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-12-ks-KQED-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66553_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-12-ks-KQED-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66553_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-12-ks-KQED-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66553_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-12-ks-KQED-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66553_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-12-ks-KQED-1920x1278.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Grace Rualo, 53, prepares for the day at Wahpepah’s Kitchen in the Fruitvale neighborhood of Oakland on June 23, 2023. \u003ccite>(Kori Suzuki/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At first, Wahpepah was hesitant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She was used to cooking behind the scenes. A restaurant was different.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When you have a restaurant, this is who you are,” she says. “This is your personality. This is your heart and your soul.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the pandemic, the Bay Area had some of the strictest COVID restrictions around indoor dining. Even if people could go out to eat, a lot of them were too scared to do so.[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Crystal Wahpepah, owner, Wahpepah’s Kitchen\"]‘When you have a restaurant this is who you are. This is your personality. This is your heart and your soul.’[/pullquote]Opening a restaurant in the middle of that climate was a huge risk. Wahpepah meditated on the offer for about a year, weighing the financial uncertainty against what had always driven her. Ultimately, she decided it was time that Oakland needed a Native restaurant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have a huge Native community here in the Bay Area. I felt the need for our community to have that space and to represent when it comes to our foods,” she says. “Without knowing where we come from and who we are and what we ate … you have to ask yourself, who are we?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She opened \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13903531/wahpepahs-kitchen-fruitvale-indigenous-restaurant\">Wahpepah’s Kitchen\u003c/a> in Oakland’s Fruitvale Village in November 2021. Although she wasn’t sure what to expect, the response on opening day blew her away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was just only expecting about like maybe 50, 75 people to show up on our opening. We had almost 1200. There was dancing, drums, music, celebration … I can still tear up to this day,” she says. “I was like, ‘Wow, our time has come.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Lost from this land’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>From the moment white settlers made contact with Native Americans, they strategically used food as a tactic of subjugation and suppression.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the mid-1800s, the U.S. Army “solved” what President Ulysses S. Grant called the country’s “Indian Problem” by slaughtering American bison — the main food and spiritual source of the Plains Indians — to near extinction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A century later, the Indian Relocation Act of 1956 forcibly removed tens of thousands of Native Americans — including Crystal Wahpepah’s grandparents — from their rural reservations into urban cities, severing Native people’s ties to their land and foodways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today, members of the Standing Rock Sioux are fighting to keep the Dakota Access Pipeline from slicing through its reservation and poisoning its tribal water supply.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11953937\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11953937\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66549_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-11-ks-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Chiles ranging in color from red to deep maroon, their seeds and stems are seen in close-up.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1335\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66549_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-11-ks-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66549_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-11-ks-KQED-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66549_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-11-ks-KQED-1020x681.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66549_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-11-ks-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66549_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-11-ks-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66549_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-11-ks-KQED-1920x1282.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A tray of California and New Mexico chiles sits on the counter at Wahpepah’s Kitchen. \u003ccite>(Kori Suzuki/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“All of us [have] the same story of how our foods were lost, just because … being displaced … our foods were pretty much taken away from us,” she says.[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Crystal Wahpepah, owner, Wahpepah’s Kitchen\"]‘Our food is medicine. Our food is healing. If we don’t have these foods in the community … how are we going to heal from the past?’[/pullquote]As a result of this historical trauma, Wahpepah says many Native people are “lost from this land.” Her vision for Wahpepah’s Kitchen is a physical space to heal Native American people by reconnecting them with their Native foods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our food is medicine. Our food is healing,” she says. “If we don’t have these foods in the community … how are we going to heal from the past?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Healing starts with the people. The restaurant’s staff represents 17 different tribes. This includes Wahpepah’s three daughters, who are members of the Big Valley Rancheria Pomo Tribe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, of course, there’s the food.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘A little place of home’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The menus at Wahpepah’s Kitchen are written in the Kickapoo language with English translations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Starters include ihskopihpeniiya peeskoneiihi taquitos — hand-rolled taquitos with smoked hibiscus and a mixture of sweet and white potatoes. You can order a side of peesekithi-a, deer sticks with a chokecherry dipping sauce. For dessert, there’s the popular sweet miinaki keetaheehi, which is a fry bread topped with mixed berries and coconut whipped cream.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11958809\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11958809\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS66541_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-08-ks-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A close-up shot of hands kneading dough in a large, metal bowl. Flour is dusted all over the countertop.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1282\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS66541_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-08-ks-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS66541_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-08-ks-qut-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS66541_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-08-ks-qut-1020x681.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS66541_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-08-ks-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS66541_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-08-ks-qut-1536x1026.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Crystal Wahpepah tests a batch of fry bread dough. \u003ccite>(Kori Suzuki/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>All of the ingredients Wahpepah uses come directly from Native food producers: The blue corn comes from the northern Ute nation, the bison comes from the Cheyenne River, the beans come from the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Nation and the maple comes from the Ottawa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In our culture and our beliefs, we are honored to have these foods … because this is something they have been reclaiming and reviving and protecting and saving,” she says.[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Crystal Wahpepah, owner, Wahpepah’s Kitchen\"]‘It’s my little place of home, of happiness. If you can spark that little food memory, it’s actually a really good endorphin to heal.’[/pullquote]Her favorite dish on the menu is the Three Sisters Veggie Bowl with rice, squash and beans. The other ingredients rotate seasonally, so the bowl features produce from as many as five different tribes at once. This summer, the bowl includes strawberries, which she says remind her of those summers spent with her grandfather.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s my little place of home, of happiness. If you can spark that little food memory, it’s actually a really good endorphin to heal,” she says. “I just want people to come here and be in this space and … relate to the foods.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And they’re not just coming to eat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People come to Wahpepah’s Kitchen bearing gifts. There’s an entire wall in the restaurant displaying the presents people bring for Wahpepah: mason jars packed with butternut squash seeds, seaweed, and blue corn flour, bundles of dried sage, and clay pots filled with succulents. These are gifts of gratitude from her community, to thank her for the home she’s created.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11953940\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11953940\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66561_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-22-ks-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Mason jars filled with various substances -- seeds, powders, herbs -- are aligned on bright yellow shelves\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66561_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-22-ks-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66561_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-22-ks-KQED-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66561_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-22-ks-KQED-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66561_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-22-ks-KQED-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66561_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-22-ks-KQED-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66561_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-22-ks-KQED-1920x1278.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Customers of Wahpepah’s Kitchen often gift mason jars packed with butternut squash seeds, seaweed, blue corn flour, clay pots filled with succulents and more. These gestures of gratitude from Crystal Wahpepah’s community are to thank her for the home she’s created in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Kori Suzuki/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“A lot of elders come in,” she says. “They’ll sit here and they say, ‘I never thought I would sit in a Native American restaurant. And I wanted to come here today.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Others come with an almost spiritual purpose, like the man who traveled all the way from Arizona by himself to spend his birthday at Wahpepah’s Kitchen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Odelia Young and Vina Vo stopped by the restaurant on a Wednesday afternoon lunch break. Young has been a fan of the place since it opened. She’s not Native American and says coming here to eat is an opportunity for authentic connections with Indigenous culture and people.[aside postID=news_11954383 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-05-KQED-1020x816.jpg']“I feel like it’s always like a sharing of culture with us,” Young says. “It isn’t just a place to come and consume — but it’s a place to come and connect.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vo, who is Vietnamese American, agrees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The flavors are very different than what I’m used to,” she says. “I think when you’re able to look at different ingredients [and] different flavors, you can kind of get a feel for what was available at that time, in that land … and there are stories behind that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wahpepah hopes to share her food beyond the Bay Area. She is now working on a cookbook, which, on top of running a restaurant, is tough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s pretty much seven days a week. You definitely got to love what you do … and it’s definitely not about finance,” she says, with a laugh.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But she says it’s worth it when she adds warm corn soups and fresh-baked cornbread to her menu in the fall — and feels her grandmother’s presence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She might not be here physically, but she’s here,” Wahpepah says, smiling. “She would love it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Flavor Profile is our new series looking at how people, some with little or no experience, started successful food businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Crystal Wahpepah wanted to be a chef since she was 7 years old.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I really, really loved cooking,” she says. “And I have that connection when it comes to the soil, to the land … this is something that just always came just so naturally.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like her grandfather and mother, Wahpepah is a registered member of the Kickapoo tribe of Oklahoma. She remembers learning to make fry bread with her aunty and grandmother and picking berries on the Hoopa Reservation where she spent time as a child.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>While growing up on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11880526/who-were-the-first-people-to-live-in-the-bay-area\">Ohlone land\u003c/a> in Oakland, Wahpepah was struck by the Bay Area’s lack of Native restaurants, despite the region’s large Indigenous population and palette for diverse cuisine. So she decided to change that. It wasn’t just a matter of culinary representation, it was a matter of reclaiming \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareabites/134283/indigenous-food-security-is-dependent-on-food-sovereignty\">Native food sovereignty\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I feel this is the human right for everybody to have their own cultural foods and to eat it and to have that relationship with it on their homeland … or even not on their homeland,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2010, Wahpepah graduated from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts. One year later, she launched one of the state’s first Indigenous woman-owned catering businesses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She became the first Native chef to appear on the Food Network show, \u003cem>Chopped\u003c/em>. Wahpepah and her team started cooking for high-profile clients like the White House and the James Beard Awards. But she says she wasn’t just feeding people, she was also educating them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m in San Francisco, in the tech world,” she says. “[I’m] going out of my Native community, serving these foods no one’s never heard of. So I had all the questions brought at me … all the way up to, ‘Oh yeah, this [is] Native American land?’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the beginning of 2020, she had just started selling snack bars online — made with wild rice, amaranth, pepita and cranberries — when COVID hit. Then, she found out that the kitchen where she ran her catering business was closing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She reached out to her community, to see if anyone had kitchen space she could share. A friend came back with a different proposal — she offered Wahpepah an entire restaurant in Oakland’s Fruitvale Station.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11953939\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11953939\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66553_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-12-ks-KQED.jpg\" alt='A woman in a red apron walks through a room on one wall of which a mural is painted of people wearing a variety of indigenous clothing and above which the words \"INDIGENOUS FOOD WARRIORS\" is written.' width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66553_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-12-ks-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66553_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-12-ks-KQED-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66553_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-12-ks-KQED-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66553_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-12-ks-KQED-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66553_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-12-ks-KQED-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66553_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-12-ks-KQED-1920x1278.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Grace Rualo, 53, prepares for the day at Wahpepah’s Kitchen in the Fruitvale neighborhood of Oakland on June 23, 2023. \u003ccite>(Kori Suzuki/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At first, Wahpepah was hesitant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She was used to cooking behind the scenes. A restaurant was different.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When you have a restaurant, this is who you are,” she says. “This is your personality. This is your heart and your soul.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the pandemic, the Bay Area had some of the strictest COVID restrictions around indoor dining. Even if people could go out to eat, a lot of them were too scared to do so.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Opening a restaurant in the middle of that climate was a huge risk. Wahpepah meditated on the offer for about a year, weighing the financial uncertainty against what had always driven her. Ultimately, she decided it was time that Oakland needed a Native restaurant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have a huge Native community here in the Bay Area. I felt the need for our community to have that space and to represent when it comes to our foods,” she says. “Without knowing where we come from and who we are and what we ate … you have to ask yourself, who are we?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She opened \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13903531/wahpepahs-kitchen-fruitvale-indigenous-restaurant\">Wahpepah’s Kitchen\u003c/a> in Oakland’s Fruitvale Village in November 2021. Although she wasn’t sure what to expect, the response on opening day blew her away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was just only expecting about like maybe 50, 75 people to show up on our opening. We had almost 1200. There was dancing, drums, music, celebration … I can still tear up to this day,” she says. “I was like, ‘Wow, our time has come.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Lost from this land’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>From the moment white settlers made contact with Native Americans, they strategically used food as a tactic of subjugation and suppression.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the mid-1800s, the U.S. Army “solved” what President Ulysses S. Grant called the country’s “Indian Problem” by slaughtering American bison — the main food and spiritual source of the Plains Indians — to near extinction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A century later, the Indian Relocation Act of 1956 forcibly removed tens of thousands of Native Americans — including Crystal Wahpepah’s grandparents — from their rural reservations into urban cities, severing Native people’s ties to their land and foodways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today, members of the Standing Rock Sioux are fighting to keep the Dakota Access Pipeline from slicing through its reservation and poisoning its tribal water supply.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11953937\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11953937\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66549_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-11-ks-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Chiles ranging in color from red to deep maroon, their seeds and stems are seen in close-up.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1335\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66549_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-11-ks-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66549_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-11-ks-KQED-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66549_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-11-ks-KQED-1020x681.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66549_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-11-ks-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66549_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-11-ks-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66549_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-11-ks-KQED-1920x1282.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A tray of California and New Mexico chiles sits on the counter at Wahpepah’s Kitchen. \u003ccite>(Kori Suzuki/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“All of us [have] the same story of how our foods were lost, just because … being displaced … our foods were pretty much taken away from us,” she says.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘Our food is medicine. Our food is healing. If we don’t have these foods in the community … how are we going to heal from the past?’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>As a result of this historical trauma, Wahpepah says many Native people are “lost from this land.” Her vision for Wahpepah’s Kitchen is a physical space to heal Native American people by reconnecting them with their Native foods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our food is medicine. Our food is healing,” she says. “If we don’t have these foods in the community … how are we going to heal from the past?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Healing starts with the people. The restaurant’s staff represents 17 different tribes. This includes Wahpepah’s three daughters, who are members of the Big Valley Rancheria Pomo Tribe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, of course, there’s the food.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘A little place of home’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The menus at Wahpepah’s Kitchen are written in the Kickapoo language with English translations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Starters include ihskopihpeniiya peeskoneiihi taquitos — hand-rolled taquitos with smoked hibiscus and a mixture of sweet and white potatoes. You can order a side of peesekithi-a, deer sticks with a chokecherry dipping sauce. For dessert, there’s the popular sweet miinaki keetaheehi, which is a fry bread topped with mixed berries and coconut whipped cream.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11958809\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11958809\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS66541_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-08-ks-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A close-up shot of hands kneading dough in a large, metal bowl. Flour is dusted all over the countertop.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1282\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS66541_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-08-ks-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS66541_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-08-ks-qut-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS66541_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-08-ks-qut-1020x681.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS66541_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-08-ks-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS66541_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-08-ks-qut-1536x1026.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Crystal Wahpepah tests a batch of fry bread dough. \u003ccite>(Kori Suzuki/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>All of the ingredients Wahpepah uses come directly from Native food producers: The blue corn comes from the northern Ute nation, the bison comes from the Cheyenne River, the beans come from the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Nation and the maple comes from the Ottawa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In our culture and our beliefs, we are honored to have these foods … because this is something they have been reclaiming and reviving and protecting and saving,” she says.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘It’s my little place of home, of happiness. If you can spark that little food memory, it’s actually a really good endorphin to heal.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Her favorite dish on the menu is the Three Sisters Veggie Bowl with rice, squash and beans. The other ingredients rotate seasonally, so the bowl features produce from as many as five different tribes at once. This summer, the bowl includes strawberries, which she says remind her of those summers spent with her grandfather.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s my little place of home, of happiness. If you can spark that little food memory, it’s actually a really good endorphin to heal,” she says. “I just want people to come here and be in this space and … relate to the foods.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And they’re not just coming to eat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People come to Wahpepah’s Kitchen bearing gifts. There’s an entire wall in the restaurant displaying the presents people bring for Wahpepah: mason jars packed with butternut squash seeds, seaweed, and blue corn flour, bundles of dried sage, and clay pots filled with succulents. These are gifts of gratitude from her community, to thank her for the home she’s created.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11953940\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11953940\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66561_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-22-ks-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Mason jars filled with various substances -- seeds, powders, herbs -- are aligned on bright yellow shelves\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66561_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-22-ks-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66561_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-22-ks-KQED-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66561_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-22-ks-KQED-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66561_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-22-ks-KQED-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66561_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-22-ks-KQED-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66561_230623-wahpepahs-kitchen-22-ks-KQED-1920x1278.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Customers of Wahpepah’s Kitchen often gift mason jars packed with butternut squash seeds, seaweed, blue corn flour, clay pots filled with succulents and more. These gestures of gratitude from Crystal Wahpepah’s community are to thank her for the home she’s created in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Kori Suzuki/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“A lot of elders come in,” she says. “They’ll sit here and they say, ‘I never thought I would sit in a Native American restaurant. And I wanted to come here today.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Others come with an almost spiritual purpose, like the man who traveled all the way from Arizona by himself to spend his birthday at Wahpepah’s Kitchen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Odelia Young and Vina Vo stopped by the restaurant on a Wednesday afternoon lunch break. Young has been a fan of the place since it opened. She’s not Native American and says coming here to eat is an opportunity for authentic connections with Indigenous culture and people.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“I feel like it’s always like a sharing of culture with us,” Young says. “It isn’t just a place to come and consume — but it’s a place to come and connect.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vo, who is Vietnamese American, agrees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The flavors are very different than what I’m used to,” she says. “I think when you’re able to look at different ingredients [and] different flavors, you can kind of get a feel for what was available at that time, in that land … and there are stories behind that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wahpepah hopes to share her food beyond the Bay Area. She is now working on a cookbook, which, on top of running a restaurant, is tough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s pretty much seven days a week. You definitely got to love what you do … and it’s definitely not about finance,” she says, with a laugh.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But she says it’s worth it when she adds warm corn soups and fresh-baked cornbread to her menu in the fall — and feels her grandmother’s presence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She might not be here physically, but she’s here,” Wahpepah says, smiling. “She would love it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Flavor Profile: How LA's Saucy Chick Explores Mexican and Indian Spices",
"headTitle": "Flavor Profile: How LA’s Saucy Chick Explores Mexican and Indian Spices | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Flavor Profile is our new series looking at how people, some with little or no experience, started successful food businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before the pandemic, Rhea Patel Michel and Marcel Michel were busy working parents, trying to figure out dinner after each day’s exhausting Southern California commute. They didn’t see many choices for quick and healthy to-go meals near their home in the San Gabriel Valley. Mostly just fast food.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were talking about what might be a great fast eat that could service all our palates,” recalled Patel Michel. “I like spicy. Marcel likes bold.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11954187\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-01-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11954187\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-01-KQED-800x600.jpg\" alt='Two smiling people stand next to a bright green sign with the image of a rooster under the words \"Saucy Chick\" on it.' width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-01-KQED-800x600.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-01-KQED-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-01-KQED-160x120.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-01-KQED-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-01-KQED-1920x1440.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-01-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rhea Patel Michel (left) and Marcel Michel, who had no prior restaurant experience, made a pivot from their corporate desk jobs to open Saucy Chick Rotisserie during the pandemic. \u003ccite>(Sasha Khokha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>They landed on chicken, but wanted to figure out how to make it with recipes that represent each of their cultures. Patel Michel is the daughter of Indian refugees from Uganda. Michel’s parents are from Mexico. The couple started experimenting with marinades based on childhood favorites: the cumin chicken curry Patel Michel’s dad made, and the cochinita pibil sauce from the Yucatán that Michel grew up eating.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Rhea Patel Michel, co-founder, Saucy Chick\"]‘We were at a time when we were all being asked to be distant and to have separation. But moving into the food industry, we found actually the exact opposite in spirit.’[/pullquote]When COVID hit in 2020, they were both furloughed from their corporate jobs at Disney, and suddenly found themselves without much income, but a lot of extra time on their hands. Michel started experimenting in the garage, sometimes in 110 degree weather, figuring out how to cook a rotisserie chicken. The pair went on YouTube to figure out how to truss it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Using their marinades, they started asking friends and family if they could feed them for a donation. Word spread, and they found themselves driving all over Los Angeles and Orange County to hand-deliver their chicken meals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They started developing side dishes, too. Charred haldi cauliflower. Basmati rice infused with cumin. “Mom’s beans,” a whipped pinto bean dish with chorizo and cheese, based on a recipe Michel’s mom used to make at Thanksgiving. Sauces made of tangy tamarind reduction or herbaceous greens and garlic. Hand-rolled East African chapatis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite having zero experience as chefs or running a restaurant, they were fascinated by the food world, and by the other entrepreneurs they were starting to meet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were at a time when we were all being asked to be distant and to have separation,” said Patel Michel. “But moving into the food industry, we found actually the exact opposite in spirit. We would not be where we are today if it weren’t for very very generous folks.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11954192\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-06-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11954192\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-06-KQED-800x1067.jpg\" alt='A person works in a hot pink tent with the words \"Saucy Chick\" on it and a bright blue menu beside it.' width=\"800\" height=\"1067\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-06-KQED-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-06-KQED-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-06-KQED-160x213.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-06-KQED-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-06-KQED.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The menu posted outside Saucy Chick’s tent at Smorgasburg, a popular Sunday pop-up food market in downtown Los Angeles. \u003ccite>(Sasha Khokha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Things began to take off after the couple applied for a coveted spot at \u003ca href=\"https://la.smorgasburg.com/\">Smorgasburg\u003c/a>, a weekly pop-up outdoor food market in downtown Los Angeles. They set up a bright pink tent with the words “\u003ca href=\"https://saucychickrotisserie.com/\">Saucy Chick Indian x Mexican\u003c/a>” and began to sell rotisserie chicken nachos, and chaat-chos, a play on Indian street food. They didn’t want to make a fusion menu that simply mashes up Mexican and Indian food, but instead one that highlights the spices and flavors from each cuisine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11954188\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-02-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11954188\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-02-KQED-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"A person in a black apron and black baseball cap handles meat and tortillas on a grill in a professional kitchen.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-02-KQED-800x600.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-02-KQED-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-02-KQED-160x120.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-02-KQED-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-02-KQED-1920x1440.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-02-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Saucy Chick partnered with fellow Smorgasburg chefs The Goat Mafia, to open a brick-and-mortar restaurant in the Beverly Grove neighborhood of Los Angeles. \u003ccite>(Sasha Khokha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Their Smogasburg menu caught the attention of \u003ca href=\"https://www.foodandwine.com/travel/restaurants/los-angeles-ghost-kitchen-pop-up-restaurants\">Food and Wine Magazine\u003c/a>, and Los Angeles Magazine named them a \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CYE-0gEPfeR/\">best new take-out spot\u003c/a>. They were also featured on a Food Network episode about whole rotisserie chickens.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRSOt9SpBMI\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it’s been a bumpy road: Just when they were thinking of putting everything into the chicken business, they got called back to work at Disney.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That was actually the hardest part,” said Michel. “Working for Disney was such a pinnacle in my career. I was working at the studios, working with Marvel and Lucasfilm. It was my dream job. and I [had to decide to] risk losing everything, and start something new in a space that I have no experience in.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Patel Michel was nervous about it. “I am risk averse. If I go to the casino and I win $5, I am done. I’m going to go buy myself a coffee. I’m good,” she laughed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11954189\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-03-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11954189\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-03-KQED-800x600.jpg\" alt='A bright green sign with the picture of a rooster and the words \"Saucy Chick\" on it beside the entrance to a restaurant with glass doors and windows.' width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-03-KQED-800x600.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-03-KQED-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-03-KQED-160x120.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-03-KQED-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-03-KQED-1920x1440.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-03-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Saucy Chick’s new brick-and-mortar restaurant near the Beverly Center in Los Angeles. \u003ccite>(Sasha Khokha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Eventually, they came to an agreement. Patel Michel would keep her corporate job, so they could have health insurance, and some stability. She’d help out on the weekends and evenings with Saucy Chick. Michel would commit full-time to the business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What could happen if we were to swing for the fences?” Patel Michel recalls asking herself. “What does impact and legacy look like? I’m a daughter to refugees and I’ve seen firsthand the power of community. When you start looking at monopolies and major conglomerates owning a big piece of businesses, what does that mean for folks like all of us? What does diversity and representation look like?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11954190\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-04-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11954190\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-04-KQED-800x640.jpg\" alt=\"A plate of tacos and tortilla chips in front of several brightly colored cans of beer.\" width=\"800\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-04-KQED-800x640.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-04-KQED-1020x816.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-04-KQED-160x128.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-04-KQED-1536x1229.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-04-KQED-1920x1536.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-04-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">As the children of immigrants, Saucy Chick’s owners wanted to highlight other fellow BIPOC-owned businesses, like wine from Sipwell, and beer from breweries Brewjeria, Beer Thug Brewing and Norwalk Brew House. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Panna Media)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At Saucy Chick, it means not only highlighting their own immigrant roots, but featuring ingredients and products from other local BIPOC-owned businesses. They source their hand-crafted tortillas from \u003ca href=\"https://enjoymejorado.com/\">Mejorado\u003c/a>/\u003ca href=\"http://burritoslapalma.com/\">Burritos la Palma\u003c/a>, their beer from Latino-owned breweries like \u003ca href=\"https://www.brewjeriacompany.com/about\">Brewjeria\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.beerthugbrew.com/about-1\">Beer Thug Brewing\u003c/a>, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/NorwalkBrewHouse/\">Norwalk Brew House\u003c/a>, and wine from \u003ca href=\"https://sipwell.co/pages/about-sipwell-wine-co\">Sipwell\u003c/a>, a Black-woman-owned company. They’ve also teamed up with fellow Smorgasburg chefs \u003ca href=\"https://www.thegoatmafia.com/\">The Goat Mafia\u003c/a>, to open a new brick and mortar restaurant in the Beverly Grove neighborhood of Los Angeles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their main fan base, though, is at Smorgasburg, where every Sunday, Patel Michel still greets each customer by name, telling them to “have a kind week” as she hands over orders of nachos and \u003cem>chaat-chos\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Making the pivot to food was not something either of she or Michel ever expected, but it’s one way the pandemic opened new horizons for their family.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is no guarantee of success,” Michel said. “There have been many times where we’re just like, ‘what are we doing? Are we on the right path?’\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And it’s hard work. Back hurting, feet hurting. It’s intense. But if you are committed to creating something and have a love and passion for it, follow it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "After being laid off from their corporate jobs at Disney, a Los Angeles couple starts a food business highlighting flavors from their Indian and Mexican heritages. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Flavor Profile is our new series looking at how people, some with little or no experience, started successful food businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before the pandemic, Rhea Patel Michel and Marcel Michel were busy working parents, trying to figure out dinner after each day’s exhausting Southern California commute. They didn’t see many choices for quick and healthy to-go meals near their home in the San Gabriel Valley. Mostly just fast food.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were talking about what might be a great fast eat that could service all our palates,” recalled Patel Michel. “I like spicy. Marcel likes bold.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11954187\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-01-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11954187\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-01-KQED-800x600.jpg\" alt='Two smiling people stand next to a bright green sign with the image of a rooster under the words \"Saucy Chick\" on it.' width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-01-KQED-800x600.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-01-KQED-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-01-KQED-160x120.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-01-KQED-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-01-KQED-1920x1440.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-01-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rhea Patel Michel (left) and Marcel Michel, who had no prior restaurant experience, made a pivot from their corporate desk jobs to open Saucy Chick Rotisserie during the pandemic. \u003ccite>(Sasha Khokha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>They landed on chicken, but wanted to figure out how to make it with recipes that represent each of their cultures. Patel Michel is the daughter of Indian refugees from Uganda. Michel’s parents are from Mexico. The couple started experimenting with marinades based on childhood favorites: the cumin chicken curry Patel Michel’s dad made, and the cochinita pibil sauce from the Yucatán that Michel grew up eating.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘We were at a time when we were all being asked to be distant and to have separation. But moving into the food industry, we found actually the exact opposite in spirit.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>When COVID hit in 2020, they were both furloughed from their corporate jobs at Disney, and suddenly found themselves without much income, but a lot of extra time on their hands. Michel started experimenting in the garage, sometimes in 110 degree weather, figuring out how to cook a rotisserie chicken. The pair went on YouTube to figure out how to truss it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Using their marinades, they started asking friends and family if they could feed them for a donation. Word spread, and they found themselves driving all over Los Angeles and Orange County to hand-deliver their chicken meals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They started developing side dishes, too. Charred haldi cauliflower. Basmati rice infused with cumin. “Mom’s beans,” a whipped pinto bean dish with chorizo and cheese, based on a recipe Michel’s mom used to make at Thanksgiving. Sauces made of tangy tamarind reduction or herbaceous greens and garlic. Hand-rolled East African chapatis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite having zero experience as chefs or running a restaurant, they were fascinated by the food world, and by the other entrepreneurs they were starting to meet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were at a time when we were all being asked to be distant and to have separation,” said Patel Michel. “But moving into the food industry, we found actually the exact opposite in spirit. We would not be where we are today if it weren’t for very very generous folks.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11954192\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-06-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11954192\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-06-KQED-800x1067.jpg\" alt='A person works in a hot pink tent with the words \"Saucy Chick\" on it and a bright blue menu beside it.' width=\"800\" height=\"1067\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-06-KQED-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-06-KQED-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-06-KQED-160x213.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-06-KQED-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-06-KQED.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The menu posted outside Saucy Chick’s tent at Smorgasburg, a popular Sunday pop-up food market in downtown Los Angeles. \u003ccite>(Sasha Khokha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Things began to take off after the couple applied for a coveted spot at \u003ca href=\"https://la.smorgasburg.com/\">Smorgasburg\u003c/a>, a weekly pop-up outdoor food market in downtown Los Angeles. They set up a bright pink tent with the words “\u003ca href=\"https://saucychickrotisserie.com/\">Saucy Chick Indian x Mexican\u003c/a>” and began to sell rotisserie chicken nachos, and chaat-chos, a play on Indian street food. They didn’t want to make a fusion menu that simply mashes up Mexican and Indian food, but instead one that highlights the spices and flavors from each cuisine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11954188\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-02-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11954188\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-02-KQED-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"A person in a black apron and black baseball cap handles meat and tortillas on a grill in a professional kitchen.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-02-KQED-800x600.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-02-KQED-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-02-KQED-160x120.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-02-KQED-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-02-KQED-1920x1440.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-02-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Saucy Chick partnered with fellow Smorgasburg chefs The Goat Mafia, to open a brick-and-mortar restaurant in the Beverly Grove neighborhood of Los Angeles. \u003ccite>(Sasha Khokha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Their Smogasburg menu caught the attention of \u003ca href=\"https://www.foodandwine.com/travel/restaurants/los-angeles-ghost-kitchen-pop-up-restaurants\">Food and Wine Magazine\u003c/a>, and Los Angeles Magazine named them a \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CYE-0gEPfeR/\">best new take-out spot\u003c/a>. They were also featured on a Food Network episode about whole rotisserie chickens.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/rRSOt9SpBMI'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/rRSOt9SpBMI'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>But it’s been a bumpy road: Just when they were thinking of putting everything into the chicken business, they got called back to work at Disney.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That was actually the hardest part,” said Michel. “Working for Disney was such a pinnacle in my career. I was working at the studios, working with Marvel and Lucasfilm. It was my dream job. and I [had to decide to] risk losing everything, and start something new in a space that I have no experience in.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Patel Michel was nervous about it. “I am risk averse. If I go to the casino and I win $5, I am done. I’m going to go buy myself a coffee. I’m good,” she laughed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11954189\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-03-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11954189\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-03-KQED-800x600.jpg\" alt='A bright green sign with the picture of a rooster and the words \"Saucy Chick\" on it beside the entrance to a restaurant with glass doors and windows.' width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-03-KQED-800x600.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-03-KQED-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-03-KQED-160x120.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-03-KQED-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-03-KQED-1920x1440.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-03-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Saucy Chick’s new brick-and-mortar restaurant near the Beverly Center in Los Angeles. \u003ccite>(Sasha Khokha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Eventually, they came to an agreement. Patel Michel would keep her corporate job, so they could have health insurance, and some stability. She’d help out on the weekends and evenings with Saucy Chick. Michel would commit full-time to the business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What could happen if we were to swing for the fences?” Patel Michel recalls asking herself. “What does impact and legacy look like? I’m a daughter to refugees and I’ve seen firsthand the power of community. When you start looking at monopolies and major conglomerates owning a big piece of businesses, what does that mean for folks like all of us? What does diversity and representation look like?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11954190\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-04-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11954190\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-04-KQED-800x640.jpg\" alt=\"A plate of tacos and tortilla chips in front of several brightly colored cans of beer.\" width=\"800\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-04-KQED-800x640.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-04-KQED-1020x816.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-04-KQED-160x128.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-04-KQED-1536x1229.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-04-KQED-1920x1536.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230626-SAUCY-CHICK-04-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">As the children of immigrants, Saucy Chick’s owners wanted to highlight other fellow BIPOC-owned businesses, like wine from Sipwell, and beer from breweries Brewjeria, Beer Thug Brewing and Norwalk Brew House. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Panna Media)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At Saucy Chick, it means not only highlighting their own immigrant roots, but featuring ingredients and products from other local BIPOC-owned businesses. They source their hand-crafted tortillas from \u003ca href=\"https://enjoymejorado.com/\">Mejorado\u003c/a>/\u003ca href=\"http://burritoslapalma.com/\">Burritos la Palma\u003c/a>, their beer from Latino-owned breweries like \u003ca href=\"https://www.brewjeriacompany.com/about\">Brewjeria\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.beerthugbrew.com/about-1\">Beer Thug Brewing\u003c/a>, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/NorwalkBrewHouse/\">Norwalk Brew House\u003c/a>, and wine from \u003ca href=\"https://sipwell.co/pages/about-sipwell-wine-co\">Sipwell\u003c/a>, a Black-woman-owned company. They’ve also teamed up with fellow Smorgasburg chefs \u003ca href=\"https://www.thegoatmafia.com/\">The Goat Mafia\u003c/a>, to open a new brick and mortar restaurant in the Beverly Grove neighborhood of Los Angeles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their main fan base, though, is at Smorgasburg, where every Sunday, Patel Michel still greets each customer by name, telling them to “have a kind week” as she hands over orders of nachos and \u003cem>chaat-chos\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Making the pivot to food was not something either of she or Michel ever expected, but it’s one way the pandemic opened new horizons for their family.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is no guarantee of success,” Michel said. “There have been many times where we’re just like, ‘what are we doing? Are we on the right path?’\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And it’s hard work. Back hurting, feet hurting. It’s intense. But if you are committed to creating something and have a love and passion for it, follow it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
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"marketplace": {
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"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
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"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
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"politicalbreakdown": {
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"title": "Political Breakdown",
"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
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"possible": {
"id": "possible",
"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
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"pri-the-world": {
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"title": "PRI's The World: Latest Edition",
"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"radiolab": {
"id": "radiolab",
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"info": "A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.",
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"reveal": {
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"info": "Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, Reveal is public radios first one-hour weekly radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting. Credible, fact based and without a partisan agenda, Reveal combines the power and artistry of driveway moment storytelling with data-rich reporting on critically important issues. The result is stories that inform and inspire, arming our listeners with information to right injustices, hold the powerful accountable and improve lives.Reveal is hosted by Al Letson and showcases the award-winning work of CIR and newsrooms large and small across the nation. In a radio and podcast market crowded with choices, Reveal focuses on important and often surprising stories that illuminate the world for our listeners.",
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},
"rightnowish": {
"id": "rightnowish",
"title": "Rightnowish",
"tagline": "Art is where you find it",
"info": "Rightnowish digs into life in the Bay Area right now… ish. Journalist Pendarvis Harshaw takes us to galleries painted on the sides of liquor stores in West Oakland. We'll dance in warehouses in the Bayview, make smoothies with kids in South Berkeley, and listen to classical music in a 1984 Cutlass Supreme in Richmond. Every week, Pen talks to movers and shakers about how the Bay Area shapes what they create, and how they shape the place we call home.",
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"order": 16
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},
"science-friday": {
"id": "science-friday",
"title": "Science Friday",
"info": "Science Friday is a weekly science talk show, broadcast live over public radio stations nationwide. Each week, the show focuses on science topics that are in the news and tries to bring an educated, balanced discussion to bear on the scientific issues at hand. Panels of expert guests join host Ira Flatow, a veteran science journalist, to discuss science and to take questions from listeners during the call-in portion of the program.",
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"snap-judgment": {
"id": "snap-judgment",
"title": "Snap Judgment",
"tagline": "Real stories with killer beats",
"info": "The Snap Judgment radio show and podcast mixes real stories with killer beats to produce cinematic, dramatic radio. Snap's musical brand of storytelling dares listeners to see the world through the eyes of another. This is storytelling... with a BEAT!! Snap first aired on public radio stations nationwide in July 2010. Today, Snap Judgment airs on over 450 public radio stations and is brought to the airwaves by KQED & PRX.",
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