Los Angeles has recently legalized home-cooked food sales, offering culinary enthusiasts a platform to showcase their skills. For instance, Vivian Wu’s kitchen has become a local favorite, known for its delicious offerings. The San Gabriel Valley’s Chinese community is embracing this trend, crafting local snacks and homemade meals that create opportunities for aspiring chefs. Some have humorously noted that the pandemic birthed a wave of culinary talents, transforming what were once personal cooking practices into thriving businesses.
One such talent is Joey Huang from Glendora. She launched her cooking venture during the pandemic, starting with traditional Shanghainese dishes. Over time, she expanded her menu to include a variety of delicacies such as Northern and Southern-style pastries, student lunch boxes, and festive foods, gaining popularity as a home kitchen influencer in the foothills of the San Gabriel Valley.
“It all began with me making food to share with friends and neighbors,” Joey shares. “I didn’t expect such positive feedback, and soon everyone was asking me to make more for their friends to try.” Starting with her first small order, her client base has since spread across the Chinese communities in the San Gabriel Valley, reaching towns like Arcadia, Temple City, Pasadena, Walnut, and Diamond Bar, with some orders even making their way to Yorba Linda. In the Glendora and San Dimas areas alone, she now serves hundreds of regular customers, including many international students longing for a taste of home.
Previously working in logistics back in China, Joey never imagined she would one day earn a living from her culinary skills. Influenced by her mother, a dim sum chef, she developed a knack for cooking at a young age. “I enjoy sourcing and preparing all my ingredients,” she explains. She goes the extra mile to create traditional Mooncakes and fresh meat pastries, even rendering her own lard from whole pork cuts for flaky crusts. Her work includes everything from ingredient preparation to baking and packaging.
In El Monte, another popular culinary figure is Hongying Wu, who runs a “part-time home kitchen.” After moving to the United States from Guangdong during high school, she became part of families traditionally involved in the restaurant business. However, she has always pursued a path in education and the arts. Friends often encouraged her to share her culinary talent.
“It’s really not about making money for me,” she notes. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, she enjoys making traditional pastries like Mooncakes, Egg Yolk Pastries, and Cantonese Taro Pastry Dumplings with her family. Around the Lunar New Year, she prepares sausages and cured meats, only charging her customers for the cost of ingredients.
Joey Huang emphasizes that the legalization of home-cooked food sales in Los Angeles has provided her with a new entrepreneurial avenue. She now earns double what she made working in a delivery company while also managing household duties and caring for her children.
