Christina Nguyen is an American chef and restaurateur. In 2024, she won the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: Midwest.

Early life

Nguyen's parents, who both grew up in Saigon, Vietnam, immigrated separately in 1975 to the United States as refugees. ^{[1] [2] [3]} They met as students at the University of Minnesota. ^[3] Nguyen has a brother. ^[3]

Nguyen is self-taught. ^{[1] [2]}

Career

Nguyen opened a food truck, Hola Arepa, in 2014. ^[2] She opened a bricks-and-mortar restaurant also called Hola Arepa, which serves Venezuelan street food, in Minneapolis. ^{[1] [4]}

Nguyen opened Hai Hai in Minneapolis, which serves Southeast Asian street foods, in the late 2010s. ^{[1] [5]} The restaurant had previously been a night club. ^{[6] [3]} National Geographic said it had 'rocketed to prominence as a "new-school” Asian-inspired restaurant. Its menu is almost entirely unlike any of its peers—it’s filled with under-the-radar dishes you can’t order anywhere else, and evolves constantly'. ^[7]

Recognition

Nguyen won the James Beard James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: Midwest in 2024. ^[1] She had been nominated for the award several times and had been a finalist for the award previously. ^{[1] [2]}

Personal life

Nguyen is married to Birk Grudem. ^[6]

References