Sponsored By
Tune into Menu Feed, a culinary-centered podcast hosted by Senior Editor Patricia Cobe. Menu Feed is produced in collaboration with FSD’s sister publication, Restaurant Business.

How Yia Vang became the leading voice for Hmong cuisine and culture

The chef-owner of Hmong Union Kitchen in Minneapolis tells the story about this food movement through his cooking, podcasts, TV shows and more.

Patricia Cobe, Senior Editor

October 26, 2023

Yia Vang did not set out to be a restaurateur, but after his Hmong food popup took off in Minneapolis, he realized this was his mission.

Yia Vang

Yia Vang

 

Vang emigrated to the U.S. from Southeast Asia with his family as a young child, seeking refuge among other Hmong people in Minnesota. His popup found a home in a trailer and eventually started operating as Union Hmong Kitchen in Minneapolis’ Graze Food Hall. He is now working with partners to open a full-service brick-and-mortar restaurant called Vinai in 2024. Vinai is named after the refugee camp in Thailand where his parents ended up after the Vietnam War and many of the restaurant’s ingredients will be sourced from his parents’ farm.

Vang is spreading the word about Hmong culture and cuisine through his cooking, his podcast called “Hmonglish” and TV appearances on the Food Network, Iron Chef and the Outdoors Channel. Listen as the James Beard-nominated chef describes the culinary influences that make Hmong cuisine so unique and how he’s honoring the legacy of the Hmong people through their food.

Subscribe to Menu Feed on Apple Podcasts.

Subscribe on Spotify.

About the Author

Patricia Cobe

Senior Editor

Pat plans and executes the menu sections of Restaurant Business and FoodService Director, covering food and beverage trends, Menu R&D, profiles of chefs and restaurateurs and Technomic research. She also contributes to the digital content of both RB and FSD and is editor of two weekly e-newsletters, Recipe Report and On the Menu. Pat’s weekly podcast, MenuFeed, covers a wide range of menu topics through interviews with chefs and operators.

Pat came to Winsight from Hearst, where she was an executive editor. She is the co-author of the Mompreneurs series of books as well as two cookbooks. She graduated from Cornell University and earned a Masters in Journalism from Boston University. She is active in several professional organizations, including Les Dames d’Escoffier and the International Foodservice Editorial Council (IFEC), and serves as a judge for the James Beard Media Awards.

Subscribe to FoodService Director Newsletters
Get the foodservice industry news and insights you need for success, right in your inbox.

You May Also Like