CULINARY101 STORY — CULINARY 101

Meet Your Instructor

Chef Huong Nguyen, owner of Culinary 101, was born and raised in Vietnam. Her passion for cooking began at an early age, inspired by her mother, who served as Embassy Head Chef.

Chef Huong spent eight years in the Philippines and five years in Thailand, where she developed and refined her expertise in Southeast Asian cuisine. During her time in Bangkok, she owned a bakery specializing in custom cakes and hosted hands-on cooking and baking classes for both children and adults.

Over the years, Chef Huong has expanded her culinary expertise beyond Asian cuisine to include Italian cuisine, pastry arts, and cake decorating.

With 15 years of experience as a culinary instructor, Chef Huong has dedicated her career to sharing the joy of cooking and baking with students of all ages. After relocating to the United States with her family, she continued pursuing her passion for culinary education and was selected to teach culinary arts at Mission Montessori School, San Francisco Day School, and Malcolm X Elementary School.

In 2021, Chef Huong joined Tartine Bakery, where she had the opportunity to learn from experienced pastry professionals and further develop and refine her pastry skills from the ground up.

Over the past eight years in the Bay Area, Chef Huong has hosted more than 400 cooking and baking classes for over 12,000 students. She also specializes in interactive team-building cooking experiences, bringing people together through food, creativity, and hands-on learning.

Her corporate and private clients have included Google, Salesforce, Zillow Group, DocuSign, Instagram, DoorDash, Ernst & Young, Sephora, Grammarly, LiveRamp, Bain & Company, Stripe, Bloomberg, Athena, Okta, Benefit Cosmetics, NEMA Luxury Apartments, Millennium Tower, Emirates, Scale AI, Visa, and many more.

At the heart of Chef Huong’s teaching philosophy is a simple belief: home-cooked meals are special. They bring family and friends together around the table, creating opportunities to share stories, laughter, and meaningful moments.

Chef Huong believes that everyone can learn to cook and bake. It may feel challenging at first, but with practice, experimentation, patience, and a willingness to learn from mistakes, anyone can create something delicious.

Through Culinary 101, Chef Huong is excited to share her stories, recipes, knowledge, and passion for cooking and baking with everyone.

With love and respect,
Chef Instructor Huong Nguyen