My food has generated a lot of stories, tons of different recipes, and perspectives for life. My stories often involve a process of getting from one place to another at home, my work place, and in the community where I live.

Here is an example from my home. Sometimes my husband does not want to try new tastes and textures that I created for us at meal time. For him, he would be happier if I just cooked the dishes he likes. As a result, I often alter my recipes to fit his taste. I have cultivated a gift of planning meals to make my husband happy. My husband said to his relatives, “My wife is an artist in my life.” This is a beautiful compliment from my wonderful husband.

At my work place, I often cater food for meetings, and my coworkers and customers attempt to alter the look and taste of their food to suit their comfort levels. I try to inspire them. I have a cup of tea with intercultural culinary snacks. I recall the happiest moments of my childhood that had to do with food, and I use them as a basis to inspire others.

In the community, I am looking into more activities regarding safety from a resident’s perspective, while trying to find ideas for potential solutions and help turning them into action. In trying to achieve this goal, I am connecting with existing initiatives and groups such as Revitalization, community organizations, local residents, and business partnership projects.

At the end of the day, I ask myself, “What have I yet to do to share ideas concerning our community? The answer is that I am summarizing my feelings, vision, and emotions based on reflections on my life stories. This is how I am trying to strike a balance between the journeys I have traveled throughout my life which have led me to the multicultural community of McCauley.

Nhan is originally from Vietnam. She owns Pacific Cafe and Cooking School at 10874 97 Street.