Hi, nice to meet you!

I'm Wendy—food scientist, content creator, and educator teaching over 600,000 people how to cook plant-based food from scratch, rooted in culture, guided by science, and shared with joy.

 

I grew up in a Cantonese-Vietnamese household in the Netherlands, where food was never just food—it was memory, identity, and love made visible. We made everything from scratch because the foods my parents missed weren't accessible here. That love for cooking and chemistry led me to study Food Technology at Wageningen University & Research. 

 

Today, I combine my cultural roots with food science to help you understand not just what to cook, but why it works. When you understand the science, cooking stops being intimidating and starts being intuitive, creative, and joyful.

From kitchen to lab

When I left for university and stopped eating meat, I started recreating the dishes I'd grown up with—tofu, seitan, fermented staples—all from scratch. I drew inspiration from Buddhist temple food, where plant-based ingredients had always been the star, not substitutes. As I studied protein chemistry, fermentation, and food structure, I wondered: what if I made everything from scratch? Those first experiments felt like unlocking secrets. Watching soy milk transform into tofu, gluten develop into chewy seitan, vegetables ferment into complex flavors—it was predictable, controllable chemistry that felt like magic.

 

I started cooking for friends who'd never tried tofu, seitan, or fermented foods. Watching skeptics become enthusiasts, one dish at a time, I knew I had to share what I'd learned over the past decade.

 

My story starts around the table

Growing up in a Cantonese-Vietnamese household in the Netherlands, I learned early that food is never just food. It's memory. Identity. Love made visible.

 

The foods my parents missed from their homes weren't accessible here, so if we wanted to eat something, we made it from scratch. Handmade dumplings. Freshly steamed buns. The best desserts. I grew up understanding that food should be created, not just consumed.

 

That love for cooking and chemistry led me to study Food Technology at Wageningen University & Research, with one goal: create plant-based, nutritious foods that honor tradition while embracing science.

My approach to food education

Three principles that guide everything I teach

Understanding before technique

I don't just tell you what to do—I explain why it works. When you understand the science, you stop following recipes blindly and start cooking with confidence.

Real food, from scratch

There's power in knowing how to make the basics yourself. It gives you control, saves you money, and connects you deeply to your food.

Joy is not optional

Cooking shouldn't be stressful. It should light you up. When you understand how food works, cooking becomes playful, creative, and genuinely fun.

Then I went viral

In the summer of 2024, I began sharing my recipes online—one video per day. When I decided to follow my heart and add food science explanations, everything changed. A simple tofu technique video reached over 10 million people. My inbox filled with messages: "This changed everything." "I finally understand how to cook tofu." "Why didn't anyone teach me this before?"

 

As someone who grew up making food from scratch, who understands food science, and who exists between Eastern and Western food cultures, I felt the responsibility to share what I know.

 

Within a year, my community grew to 600,000+ home cooks, and I launched my first cookbook, Tofu Mastery. What started as daily recipe videos became a movement of people rediscovering the joy of cooking from scratch.

Let's create some magic together

You might feel overwhelmed by conflicting health advice, want to eat more plant-based but don't know where to start, or wish you understood food on a deeper level. Maybe you're tired of recipes that don't work, or you want to reconnect with the craft of cooking.

 

I see you.

 

My mission is to help you walk into the kitchen with quiet confidence, understanding how food actually works instead of blindly following recipes. I'm not here to create dependency. I'm here to give you knowledge that sets you free to cook your own way.

 

Any humble ingredient can become something magical when you understand how it works. There's more than one path to a meaningful relationship with food, you just have to explore, try, and create your own.

I'm here to give you the knowledge. You create the magic.

 

Real food. From scratch. Backed by science, shared with joy.