Had a "splash" styling my first COVER for @bonappetitmag with these powerhouses! What a journey it's been since moving here from Vietnam... 🙈
Always thought I would have a lot to say when this day came, but all I can think of is that it's been an incredible ride and I'm grateful for all the kind people I've got to work with along the way 🥹
Photography: @isa.zapata
Drink styling: @thubuser
Prop styling: @marinabevi
Photo assistance: @aaronbarton__
Drink assistance: @clarereidy_
Prop assistance: @versace2001
Recipe by the amazing @inesanguiano
Special thanks to @jose_ginarte , @caronewt and @mac_marccc ❤️
legumé puppetry 🥬 (sound on)
- Inspired by Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s Vertumnus, ca. 1591
- Reimagined in the form of Viet land puppetry (distinct from water puppetry)
- The Commander and Dame are based on the “Đào” and “Kép” characters in Viet Opera - hát bội
Beautifully captured by @henry_hargreaves_photo
Retouched by @zachvitale
Legume puppets by @thubuser
Special thanks to @taylorbuser for helping me w/ all the mechanics and structures 🤪🫶
PINCH ME!!! MY RAU CÂU MADE IT TO @bonappetitmag 😭
I remember dreaming about this magazine when I first arrived to the US, before I even knew what my place in it could look like. All I knew is I wanted to work in that kitchen, even if it just meant cleaning the floors.
Much love to @meganistamcfly who continues to tell cultural stories and spotlight traditional arts.
I have so much to say, but I’m honestly still processing this.
I’m just super grateful for all the beautiful people in the industry who took a chance on me thru out the years...
and props to past me for getting my ass out of bed even when I just wanted to sleeeeep in :3
Creative Director: @caronewt
Article by @meganistamcfly
Photograph by @deiman_marcus
Set by @lutz_o
I made the jello✌️
@anco.banquet community project in the motherland 🤍
Ăn Cỗ started as my way of bringing village-style feasting to New York and honor traditional Viet food arts and culture.
but for this trip, I’m bringing the love back to where it all started. Going to my maternal homeland to give back, cook with my grand-aunties, and reconnect to the soil that nourished my family for 11 generations.
Days of peeling, chopping, and slicing to make Collina Strada (@collinastrada )’s table into a haven for funky crudité fixings. Thu Buser (@thubuser )’s approach to deconstructing and reshaping produce served as the perfect complement to the Collina aesthetic—a vibrant palate cleanser before the final course.
butter objects for @jcrew
Turns out butter is not like clay (duh).
It's temperamental, softens under your hands, and collapses under its own weight.
Winter makes working with this material much easier!
(I turned the house into a walk-in fridge for a couple days, and put the sculptures in time out on the porch to refreeze if it got too worked up)
As an independent artist, I feel that itch to keep pushing myself to experiment with different materials, stay tuned for more <3
created for @tanner.fletcher
event produced by @careofchan
5 tables, 5 designers, 1 night only for @jcrew NYFW to celebrate the remix of their classic rollneck sweater 🤍
@careofchan gifted me the opportunity to conceptualize a unique edible experience for each designer that highlighted different moments of beauty I saw in their work and ethos.
@tanner.fletcher classic cream colored sweater and bows were given a butter still life moment with butter vases and sculptural breads 🧈
@patricktaylorldn nautical-themed sweater with an ice castle raw bar accented with seashells and rope 🌊
@eckhaus_latta an homage to their playful patchwork/textures with piped mousses and piled crackers 🥨
@collinastrada had a whimsical veggie forest with hot pink accents and a hand carved logo on a gourd 🤪
@buci_nyc sensual, black sweater received a divine feminine show stopper of Pavlova and berries that my team and I baked for 2 days nonstop! 🍒
hands down one of the most treasured projects that pushed me in some new, fun directions - and loved every minute of the challenge 🥹🙏
Creative Culinary Direction and Production: @thubuser@taylorbuser
Project team: @abby.kirn@sophiaissophie@tatancooks@kimberchou@estelle_monbi@yasminalishav@daniellakahn
In collaboration w/ @grandcook to put on this feast!
Seamstress: @1inamilli0nangel
Set dec: @laurahugh.es
Produced by @careofchan@wavybaby@ohhhliviaj@zj.marshall@tatianasy@saima_name 🫶
Gallery: @olneygleason
Chúc Mừng Năm Mới - Mã Đáo Thành Công to all my Viet baddies 🧧🪭
Growing up, I used to watch my mom turn a pile of produce into beautiful carved displayed - carrots into flowers, cucumbers into leaves… it always meant going the extra mile for Tet and that candied coconut, braised pork belly, stuffed bittermelon and RED ENVELOPES were right around the corner.
They only lasted a day or so and really struck me why she spent so much time on something so ephemeral, but getting older I learned it was the ritual itself that was important, marking the seasons turn with a simple meditative craft.
When I put on my first @anco.banquet , I also wanted to stamp it with a “one night only” symbol, and so learned how to do these carvings. As an immigrant far from home, I wanted to keep the traditions that brought me joy.
Thank you to @voguemagazine for shining the spotlight on our humble Tet carving ritual !! Representation matters SO much these days, and to be featured alongside other Viet creatives is a privilege and an honor 🥹
So grateful to @minhanhnguyen for taking such a thoughtful lens to our small NYC Viet community - it really is the small moments that breathe life into these big global celebrations 🙏❤️
The year of learning to how to say yes AND no,
to let go of what was quietly holding me back,
relationships that no longer blossomed,
and letting go of the FEAR of burning out
(For the record, since a lot of you asked, I DID burn out but come on it is so worth it!)
fear of having to fit into a specialty
but integration of all my talents
here’s to all us jack-of-all-trades
interdisciplinary dialogue is the spice of 2026 🫶
