Anh Luu
Chef Anh Luu is a Vietnamese chef born and raised in New Orleans who is in pursuit of cultivating a community through her cooking as well as discovering what is truly most important to her. Luu has had an extensive background working in New Orleans restaurants, ultimately leading to her being featured on Netflix’s Queer Eye, and has become a respected individual in the industry. Looking towards the future, Luu dreams of returning to Vietnam in pursuit of connection with family and reconnecting to an inspiring food culture.
“I was a little bit more prepared for the intensity of chef life because I had my experience in New Orleans. The service industry in New Orleans is a different place than most places, and the relationships you form here are really special.”
Jacque-Imos, one of the restaurants where Luu worked and got her start in the culinary world.
Chef Anh Luu brings her unique flavors and fierce determination to the kitchen in Food Network's Chopped Season 23, Episode 2!
"Every time I encounter someone who doesn't know who I am in the industry, they will automatically always assume I don't know anything. But that's my superpower… I always get underestimated."
I feel like getting to Vietnam is my main goal right now…I feel like I put so much focus on work in the first part of my life that now I’m going into the second half of my life, I don’t want to focus on that as much. My goals for myself are not as work-oriented anymore. I mean, I would love to own a restaurant one day but only if I know I don't have to be there every second of the day. I love being collaborative so working with other chefs and connecting with chefs in Vietnam would be a good goal of mine to have. Hanoi and New Orleans are kind of like sister cities, they're both very French influenced and when you walk around the old quarter in Hanoi it kind of feels like the French Quarter, the same architecture and stuff so I want people in New Orleans to experience that. Its like they don't realize that it's taken so long for the Vietnamese Community to be in the forefront of things here in New Orleans. We've been here since the 80s the 70s, so my goals are to go to Vietnam. I feel like that'll be the final piece of me that I can have.
Anh and her father, Tac Luu.
Looking back, what’s something you know now that you wish you’d known sooner?
Oh gosh, so many things. At times in the past, I wish I would have spoken up for myself a little more, instead of staying quiet because that's what I learned from my dad is to stay quiet when you're angry about something, my mom was the exact opposite. I wish I would have spent more quality time with her before she left It's still is an issue that I deal with now, is forgiving myself and forgiving myself for making the decisions that I made and prioritizing work over family was a mistake, it was, it was a mistake for a life and I obviously can't do anything about it now but if I could tell my young self anything now it would be “hey work a little bit less, spend a little bit more time with your mom” and that's it… Work isn't everything and family and relationships are everything, the most important things in your life.
A picture of Luu’s mother
Born and raised in New Orleans, Anh Luu grew up in a Vietnamese immigrant family, where food and cooking were central to daily life. Her mother, Tam Thi Tran, cooked dinner from scratch every night using ingredients grown in their backyard.
After moving to Portland four years later, Anh began attending the Western Culinary Institute, where she further honed her culinary skills. Also, hired as a line cook at Tapalaya, a Cajun/Creole bistro in Portland, she reinvented the food she grew up with and developed her culinary craft over the next seven years.
Anh became a semi-finalist for the Eater Young Gun award in 2016 and went viral for her innovative Phorrito.
Chef Anh appeared on Grill Dads.
After the sudden death of her mother, Anh decided to close Tapalaya and moved back to New Orleans in February 2020 to seek comfort and reconnect with her roots.
Anh launched Busy Be LLC, focusing on private dinners, pop-ups, restaurant consulting, and private cooking classes. The name reflects her family nickname “Be” and her busy life as a chef. Also, started a Vietnamese street food pop-up called Xanh Nola, which means “green” in Vietnamese, celebrating her culinary heritage and inspired by her mother’s cooking.
2016
1980’s
2010
2018
2019
2023
At age 19, her family was displaced by Hurricane Katrina, prompting them to relocate to Portland, Oregon.
Chef Anh became the owner and operator of Tapalaya, gaining national attention by appearing on two Food Network shows: Chopped (2015) and Grill Dads (2018).
2005
2015
Featured in the “Portland Cooks” cookbook in 2017.
2017
2020
Anh helped open The Bywater Brew Pub in New Orleans, where she designed the kitchen and became the executive chef.
Teaching cooking classes at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts culinary program for high school students, sharing her passion and knowledge with the next generation. Recconecting with family and heritage and forming a community utilizing
Current Engagement