{"id":8178,"date":"2022-07-21T09:24:38","date_gmt":"2022-07-21T14:24:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/?post_type=campus_story&p=8178"},"modified":"2022-07-22T15:17:13","modified_gmt":"2022-07-22T20:17:13","slug":"from-dishwasher-to-iron-chef","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/from-dishwasher-to-iron-chef\/","title":{"rendered":"From dishwasher to ‘Iron Chef’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Photo
Yia Vang, ’10, owner of Union Hmong Kitchen in Minneapolis, has established himself as one of the most celebrated chefs in he Midwest. In June, he was featured in Netflix’s reboot of “Iron Chef.” PHOTO CREDIT: Lauren Cutshall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Known for Hmong cuisine, Yia Vang is a rising restaurateur<\/h3>\n

Yia Vang used to wash dishes and count the days until he would never again have to work in a restaurant.<\/p>\n

Then he had an epiphany.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always looked at working in restaurants as a job I did, living paycheck to paycheck,\u201d Vang, \u201910, explains. \u201cOne day, I had this aha moment where I realized that food isn\u2019t just sustenance. It\u2019s a universal language we can use to speak to one another. You can tell a story through the food you make.\u201d<\/p>\n

A decade later, Vang is one of the most celebrated chefs in the Midwest, known for his highly successful Union Hmong Kitchen in Minneapolis. The window-service-style restaurant blends two of Vang\u2019s favorite things \u2014 Hmong food and storytelling \u2014 and has helped him become a rising star in the food industry.<\/p>\n

On June 15, Vang and fellow Twin Cities chefs Mike Yuen and Marshall Paulsen were featured in the premiere episode of Netflix\u2019s reboot of \u201cIron Chef.\u201d On the show, guest chefs such as Vang square off against resident Iron Chefs in a timed cooking competition based around a secret ingredient.<\/p>\n

It was a pinch-me moment for Vang, who was born in a Thai refugee camp, attended school in rural Wood County, Wisconsin, and grew up watching the iconic cooking show.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I walked into the Kitchen Stadium and saw the whole operation, I felt like a kid again,\u201d Vang says. \u201cThen when I saw the Iron Chef we had to battle against, when they revealed who it was, I freaked out. It was such an honor to be there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even when the cameras were off, it was surreal.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was my first time flying first class, and I was like, \u2018OK, act like you\u2019ve been here before,\u2019\u201d he says. \u201cAnd then when you get there, they put you in a green room with a personal assistant. At one point, I asked for some gum, and he came back with five different types. It was just incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n

While it was a thrill being treated like a star, that\u2019s not why Vang loves to cook. His motivations are much more genuine and heartfelt.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It\u2019s also a chance for him to use the lessons he learned as a communication studies student at UWL.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Hmong culture, our DNA is intricately woven into what we eat. It tells the story of where we\u2019ve been, where we are and where we\u2019re going,\u201d Vang notes. \u201cAs a communications student, I learned a lot about how to communicate that and how to get people to interpret your message. Those are definitely skills I use as a restaurateur.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vang says he owes a debt of gratitude to Hmong chefs who, after immigrating to the United States in the 1970s, became trailblazers in the restaurant industry.<\/p>\n

He is also grateful to his parents, who passed down qualities like creativity and resourcefulness in the kitchen, both hallmarks of Hmong cooking.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo matter where Hmong people go, we make use of the produce and products around us,\u201d Vang says. \u201cTraditionally, we might have bamboo and certain kinds of vegetables and seasoning. But we\u2019re in the Midwest, so instead we\u2019re going to have root vegetables, heavy grain, pork and beef. Hmong food is reflective of the land. That\u2019s an important part of the story.\u201d<\/p>\n

Building upon the success of Union Hmong Kitchen, Vang plans to open a proper sit-down-style restaurant in Minneapolis later this year. It will be called Vinai, named for the Thai refugee camp where Vang and his family lived before coming to the United States.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe restaurant is really a love letter to my parents and where we\u2019ve been as a family,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s going to encompass what Hmong food is all about.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Written by UW-La Crosse<\/p>\n

Link to original story: https:\/\/www.uwlax.edu\/news\/posts\/from-dishwasher-to-iron-chef\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Known for Hmong cuisine, Yia Vang is a rising restaurateur Yia Vang used to wash dishes and count the days until he would never again have to work in a restaurant. Then he had an epiphany. \u201cI always looked at working in restaurants as a job I did, living paycheck to paycheck,\u201d Vang, \u201910, explains. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":8180,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[104],"story_category":[],"class_list":["post-8178","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-la-crosse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/8178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8178"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=8178"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=8178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}