Meet the chef: Hue-Chan Karels
Hue-Chan Karels is the Chef-Owner of Open Kitchen. Chef Hue-Chan brings to the table not only her diverse palate, adaptability, and joyful exuberance, but also her fine-tuned ability to design and produce fantastic events. With the philosophy “the kitchen is the heart of community!” it was clear Hue-Chan Karels was the perfect match to cook up this year’s event concept along-side Chef Matt Yohalem (to be linked).
Chef Hue-Chan loves being innovative with global flavors using local seasonal Ingredients and passionate about sharing cooking techniques that meld and profile flavors from diverse culinary traditions. Last June, she launched Open Kitchen’s Table 2 ∙ 3 ∙ 1™ concept and partnered with our friend, Chef David Sellers from the Street Food Institute, to present a unique wine pairing dinner featuring dishes using three common ingredients from the Italian and Vietnamese food cultures which benefited Kitchen Angels.
Originally from Vietnam, Hue-Chan has a natural inclination to use fresh, colorful, simple, and affordable ingredients. She started Open Kitchen in Washington DC in 2009, as a multi-faceted business featuring a farm-to-table bistro, a private event space, a cooking school, and a commercial kitchen rental facility. Relocating to Santa Fe in 2014, Open Kitchen has been reimagined and now features specialty cooking classes, event planning, catering, and pop-up cooking events, as well as team-building and other corporate culinary services.
