Nite Yun ( km, ណែត យុន; born 1982) is a

Cambodian American Cambodian Americans,; also Khmer Americans, are Americans of Cambodian or Khmer ancestry. In addition, Cambodian Americans are also Americans with ancestry of other ethnic groups of Cambodia, such as the Chams and Chinese Cambodians. According ...

chef A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a kitche ...

and

restaurateur A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspec ...

. She is the owner of the Cambodian restaurant Nyum Bai in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

Biography

Yun was born in September 1982 at the

Khao-I-Dang The Khao-I-Dang (KID) Holding Center ( th, เขาอีด่าง, km, ខាវអ៊ីដាង) was a Cambodian refugee camp 20 km north of Aranyaprathet in Prachinburi (now Ta Phraya District, Sa Kaeo Province, Thailand). The l ...

Holding Center in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. When she was two years old Yun's family was sponsored to go to

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, but they decided to settle in

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instead, which was already home to a large Cambodian community. As a child Yun spent a lot of time in the kitchen helping her mother prepare food. After graduating high school she moved to

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

at the age of 19 to study

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at the

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...

but dropped out during her senior year after realizing it wasn't her passion. Yun had been captivated by San Francisco's diverse food scene but she had also noticed how there were no good Cambodian restaurants. Being away from her family, Yun began learning Cambodian recipes from her mother over the phone and exploring her Cambodian roots. While eating ''

kuyteav ''Kuyteav'' ( km, គុយទាវ, UNGEGN: ) is a Cambodian noodle soup consisting of rice noodles with pork stock and toppings. A popular breakfast dish in Cambodia, ''kuyteav'' can be found at marketplace stalls, roadside vendors, restau ...

'' at a noodle staff in

Phnom Penh Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំពេញ, ) is the capital and most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since the French protectorate of Cambodia and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its economic, indus ...

during Yun's fourth trip to Cambodia she had the idea of opening her own Cambodian food business. In May 2014 Yun joined La Cocina's food entrepreneur incubator program. She earned her place in the program by serving the La Cocina's board of directors ''kuyteav'', which later also became her restaurant's signature dish. Initially, Yun ran a

pop-up restaurant A pop-up restaurant is a temporary restaurant. These restaurants often operate from a private home, former factory, existing restaurants or similar space, and during festivals. Various other names have been used to describe the concept of settin ...

in the

Mission District The Mission District (Spanish: ''Distrito de la Misión''), commonly known as The Mission (Spanish: ''La Misión''), is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California. One of the oldest neighborhoods in San Francisco, the Mission District's name is ...

and catered for private events, before moving to a food stall in the Emeryville Public Market in February 2017.

Breakthrough

On 18 February 2018 after a successful

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campaign Nyum Bai opened in its first

brick and mortar Brick and mortar (also bricks and mortar or B&M) refers to a physical presence of an organization or business in a building or other structure. The term ''brick-and-mortar business'' is often used to refer to a company that possesses or leases r ...

location at the former site of The Half Orange near

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with an expanded menu. The same year Yun was named one of

Eater Eater may refer to: * Eater (band), an English punk rock group * "Eater" (''Fear Itself''), a 2008 episode of the NBC television horror anthology ''Fear Itself'' * ''Eater'' (novel), a 2000 science fiction novel by Gregory Benford * ''Eater'' (w ...

's Young Guns and won the Eater Award as the Breakout Star of the Year, while her restaurant Nyum Bai was included in

Food & Wine ''Food & Wine'' is an American monthly magazine published by Dotdash Meredith. It was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and season ...

magazine's Biggest Restaurant Openings of 2018 list,

Bon Appétit ''Bon Appétit'' is a monthly American food and entertaining magazine, that typically contains recipes, entertaining ideas, restaurant recommendations, and wine reviews. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered at the One World Trade Center i ...

's America's Hot Ten: Best New Restaurants list, Eater's 18 Best New Restaurants in America list,

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's Best New Restaurants of 2018 and

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

's favorite new restaurants of the year list. In 2019 Yun was named one of F&W Best New Chefs, included in the Time magazine's 100 Next List, and awarded the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Culinary Arts, while Nyum Bai was included in

Michelin Guide The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin star (classification), stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The ac ...

's Bib Gourmand Selection for San Francisco.

References

External links

Lindsay Gardner & Nite Yun , Why We Cook , Talks at Google
via

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

. 29 March 2021. {{DEFAULTSORT:Nite, Yun 1982 births Cambodian chefs Living people Cambodian businesspeople Cambodian emigrants to the United States