Behind every dish created and served by a chef, there is a story.
How was this food cultivated by its native culture? How and why is it prepared in a particular way?
Learning about the dish and its background richly enhances the dining experience, which is why Chef Mimi Lan joyfully shares this knowledge with her guests. An international chef who takes great care to develop flavors and sourcing for a vast variety of plates, she understands the importance of connecting diners with the menu.
And, like these culinary offerings, each chef has a unique, personal story. For Lan, it began with an aunt who cooked a pot of her homeland’s most popular soup to help make ends meet and connect a displaced population in her community to cherished memories and each other.
Early inspiration
When Lan was a child, her family emigrated to the United States from Vietnam after the fall of Saigon in 1975. They settled in New Orleans and began to rebuild their lives.
During this time, her aunt cooked that first pot of phở and invited people to dinner in her small, one-bedroom apartment, charging a minimal fee. Thus launched a series of weekend dinners that held a particular appeal to the many Vietnamese refugees seeking ways to assimilate into their new American culture while still holding onto their heritage.
As a girl, Lan assisted her aunt and witnessed the moving scene.
“I would see tears in their eyes as they were talking about their homeland and who they left behind,” she said.
The dinners were so popular that her aunt began to make two huge pots of phở, and both were empty by midday.
“She loved it,” Lan said. “If you love to cook — ask any chef — the biggest reward, the thing that makes them happiest is to see people enjoy their food.”
These dinners had a profound effect on Lan’s decision to launch Taste Curator many years later.
Life’s journey
But first, Lan’s career moved in a different direction.
For about 15 years, she ran a successful, full-service marketing firm in Houston. That changed, however, when her husband was offered a job at the Mayo Clinic. Suddenly, the family needed to move to Jacksonville.
Because her business relied heavily on contacts, Lan had to give it up; she knew no one here.
For a while, that suited her. She was a stay-at-home mom as her daughter attended high school. Then, after her daughter’s transition to college, Lan began to think about a career in cooking.
“I just had the itch to introduce people to Vietnamese food,” she said, “doing it my way with high-quality ingredients.”
She began by doing multi-course dinners for friends, one of whom suggested she offer these at restaurants. Thus, she began doing “pop-up dinners,” which she continues to offer today.
Many are held at restaurants with suitable private rooms, but she has also conducted some in farm settings, which offer guests a unique experience where they might also tour the farm, learn about the produce grown there and see the animals.
Guests learn about upcoming pop-up dinners via an email blast. The dinners are very popular and tickets go quickly.
Personal Chef
At the requests of many friends, Lan began to offer private dining in people’s homes. These are intimate gatherings of multi-course meals that replicate her wildly successful, sold-out popup dinners, but held at private homes rather than in restaurants.
“They tell me what they like and what they don’t like, and then I customize the menu,” Lan said. “We agree on it, and then I get to be a part of their beautiful celebration.”
Though she offers dishes from her Vietnamese heritage — and visits the land of her birth frequently, enhancing her knowledge of regional specialties — Lan is a global chef who has traveled extensively and apprenticed at Michelin-starred kitchens.
“Eat local, think global”
“I don’t want people to think of me just as a ‘Vietnamese chef,’ although I’m very proud of it,” she said. “Think of me as a global chef; I can do anything and do it well.”
Her repertoire includes more than 200 items from a list of several menus, including Italian, French, Cajun, American (including Southern), Asian, Mediterranean, South American, vegan and vegetarian.
Because some dishes are unfamiliar to diners, she has cultivated an ability to combine flavors from multiple cultures.
“People can see that there are more similarities than differences when it comes to cultures, when it comes to their foods,” she said.
Though she offers dishes from around the world, Lan doesn’t have to use only imported ingredients. In fact, her slogan is “Eat local, think global.”
“Most of the ingredients I use are very local,” she explained. “They are from farmers, they are from grocery stores here, but I season them differently.”
In other words, the taste may be authentic Asian, but the ingredients do not have to be grown in Asia.
“I work with so many farmers all the time,” Lan said. “I love it because we’ve got to support them. Without farmers, there’s no food!”
Inspiring others
In addition to her pop-up dinners and private dining experiences, Lan also offers classes — both hands-on and demonstration-only varieties. These are great for groups and clubs but also as a romantic activity for a couple, a “girls’ night out,” a team-building event, etc.
Lan, who didn’t launch Taste Curator until she was in her 40s, hopes to inspire other women to do as she did. Moms with grown children and women who have been out of the workforce for a long time can always start something new.
“It’s never too late,” Lan said. “And it doesn’t have to be done in the traditional way. I hope I can inspire people to think outside the box.”
To learn more about Lan, see sample menus, schedule a class or private dinner or be added to her list to receive emails about upcoming events, go to tastecurator.com. She’s also on Instagram: @thetastecurator.
PHOTO CUTLINE
Contributed photo
Chef Mimi Lan specializes in flavors from around the globe.
