Chef Nini Nguyen

Nola peeps! Come join me this Wednesday. We will be pouring martinis 🍸 and making some of my fav dishes. There is limited seating so get your tickets to secure your spot! See you there!

Makes me incredibly sad to know you are gone. Rest in power chef.

Wish I was still here

My fav pie… the frankenpie!
Use code THANKS23 for 40% off site wide.

☀️ 💋

What a glorious weekend celebrating wedding! So much love to be had and so many amazing friends.

It’s pho weather… but make it Dac biet with some Texas style smoked brisket.

24 hours til I get to see my sweet sweet

Still loving my photos took for my upcoming cookbook (summer 2024) Dặc Biệt

Sundays in New Orleans… this is our church!

Summertime Nini

Aspen photo dump. So much fun was had and now I have to live under a rock for a while.

Instagram vs reality nyc & Boston edition 😆

Thanks DC! That was fun 🤩

Chef friends

I’m an extra special fancy woman 💁🏻‍♀️ but I gotta keep it gangsta with the old English 😏

Thanks .ffanystudio

Guess who’s a home owner? ME!

It’s always been a dream of mine to buy my own house in my beloved city of New Orleans. This is a big day for me and I’m over the moon. Thanks for being my friend and helping me find the perfect home.

Happy birthday Bobby. You would have been 35 today 🎈

Feeling Dac biet with this fried shrimp banh mi and charms on my nails 💅🏻

Photo:
Food:
Props: .kim

Today marks 7 years without my brother, Bobby.

Losing a sibling was one of the hardest things I've experienced on earth. And in my attempt to be more vulnerable this year, here are some of my thoughts. I hope people who have lost a sibling can find comfort knowing others feel your pain.

Legacy was a word that came up a lot when my brother and I were in the hospital. I slept there most nights with him. It reminded me of when we were kids and shared a room. Staying up late and talking about friends, school or what video game we would rent at the video store next to my mom's nail shop. He was my best friend. This time we talked about what his legacy would be, what would be his mark and what he wished he could do with the last weeks of his life. I will always cherish those moments even though it still breaks my heart.

Being a big sister and watching over him all his life, when I lost him, it almost felt like losing my own child. I watched him grow up to become a kind spirited man only to lose him so early in life. I was very angry for years. I felt robbed. Bobby died of stomach cancer which felt especially cruel because both he and I dedicated our lives to a career of making food to nurture and fill people’s bellies.

He was my biggest cheerleader and I get really sad every time something big happens in my life because he isn’t here. If it wasn’t for him, I would have never gone to do Top Chef. He would be so excited for everything I got into and was always there to help me. He was my rock. So it feels really lonely without him. Especially now that I’m back in our home town.

This is where I feel like I should say something positive like he is always with me or he is so proud but I am the proud one. I am lucky to be his sister & to have the opportunity to spend time with him in his last months here. I will forever be grateful that I got to say goodbye which isn’t guaranteed.

In making my cookbook this year, the word legacy came up again. I’ve been thinking about Bobby so much. How living my life is for the both of us and that this book is as much his legacy as it is mine because I wouldn’t have been here without him.

I’ve been catfishing y’all this is whole time. 😝

My wife

Che banh lot is one of my favorite desserts. Pandan jelly noodles with palm sugar syrup and coconut milk.

Photo
Props .kim
Food .rites

For the culture

Photo:
Prop: .kim
Food: rites

I ♥️ NYC

36 feels pretty good so far.

Merry Christmas you filthy animals 🎄

San Francisco was fun

The holiday season is here and a tradition my mom and I love to do is make cookies for gift giving. When I was younger it was a way we could make thoughtful and affordable gifts for everyone. My teachers use to look forward to it when I was in school. Nowadays, when I'm making my holiday cookies I usually have to make so many and I also make a huge mess. The cookie press from is my life saver this year. I've also figure out how to organize all my baked goods in containers with labels so now it is a more organized chaos. What's your favorite holiday cookie?

I lost $12 at the tracks today but it was fun lol happy thanksgiving y’all