Headnotes Live

Nite Yun was born in a refugee camp after her parents escaped war-torn Cambodia. Inspired by trips to Cambodia to learn about her heritage, Nite dedicated herself to bringing the flavors of Cambodian food back to the Bay Area. She opened her first restaurant, Nyum Bai, in Oakland in 2018 and now runs Lunette, in San Francisco. Nite has been recognized as one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People, named a Food and Wine Best New Chef 2019, was a recipient of the Vilcek Foundation Prize for Creative Promise in Culinary Arts, 2019 and was featured on Netflix's Chef's Table in 2024. You can find her @nite_nite_nite

Michelin-starred, James Beard Award-winning chef Rogelio Garcia is known for his refined, seasonal approach to modern Mexican cuisine, drawing from his heritage and Northern California's agricultural richness.

Garcia is the author of Convivir: Modern Mexican Cuisine in California's Wine Country, winner of the 2025 James Beard Award for Cookbook of the Year. He previously served as Executive Chef of Auro in Napa Valley, earning a Michelin star for three consecutive years (2023–2025). His career includes roles at The French Laundry and Spruce, and he appeared on Bravo's Top Chef Season 15.

Today, Garcia focuses on collaborative dinners, authorship, mentorship, and thoughtful hospitality. You can find him at @chefrogeliogarcia

Arnold Myint, a 2024 James Beard Best Chef Southeast semifinalist and MICHELIN chef/owner International Market in Nashville, TN which his family originally opened in 1975.  He actively works with the Tourism Authority of Thailand and Thai Trade USA and his restaurant is the first and only to currently be recognized by the Royal Thai Consul as Thai Select in Nashville.  A former culinary instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education, he competed on “Top Chef” and “Food Network Star” and works with numerous media platforms including Food Network, Tastemade and Buzzfeed where he celebrates Thai food and his family heritage.  Arnold is also a contributor for Epicurious, Eater, and Saveur and his debut cookbook Family Thai is a New York Times Best Cookbook of 2025. Additionally, Arnold had a drag alter ego, Suzy Wong, and was crowned Miss Gay America in 2017. Find him at @arnoldmyintbna

Brandon Jew is the executive chef / owner of Mister Jiu's and Moongate Lounge, and chef / partner of Mamahuhu. At Mister Jiu's, Brandon’s contemporary Chinese-American restaurant in San Francisco's Chinatown, he combines the local, seasonal and organic bounty of the Bay Area together with classic Chinese techniques and flavors. Brandon's dedication to evolve and define Chinese American cuisine in the Bay Area, and advocate for Chinese food's global recognition has earned him top honors at Mister Jiu’s, including James Beard nomination for Best Chef California 2018, 2020, 2021 and winner for the honor in 2022, one Michelin star for 9 consecutive years running, Bon Appetit Hot 10 2017, and SF Magazine Chef of the Year. Brandon’s cookbook Mister Jiu’s in Chinatown is a 2022 winner of the James Beard Media Award in the Best Restaurant and Professional category. Brandon considers Judy Rodgers (Zuni Café), Michael Tusk (Quince) and his grandma, Ying Ying, to be his most influential mentors. Find him @brandoj and @misterjius

Jillian Knox is an interdisciplinary artist and creative polymath whose work lives at the intersection of food, culture, and memory. Based in San Francisco with a BFA in Photography from SCAD, she brings a trained eye for beauty and a deep reverence for heritage to every project she touches. Her editorial work has appeared in Food & Wine, Bon Appétit, Southern Living, and Real Simple, and she has contributed to more than 14 acclaimed cookbooks, some earning James Beard Foundation Media Award recognition along the way. In 2022, she was named a Top Creator by Black Women in Food and self-published Cocteles de Temporada under her luxury homewares brand, Casa Ojo.

Soleil Ho is a cookbook author and journalist living in Berkeley. You can find them at @soleil_ho

Known as the Creativity Therapist, Lisa Anderson Shaffer, LMFT brings 25 years of experience at the intersection of art and psychology, mentoring creatives across disciplines—from artists, entertainers, and writers to executives and founders—in developing their work and sustaining meaningful creative lives. Author of These Three Things, a guided journal rooted in daily creative practice, and founder of Study Hall, Lisa facilitates supportive opportunities for creatives to execute their work and build the conditions necessary for a sustainable, thriving creative process.

Chef Crystal Wahpepah, an enrolled member of the Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma, has long been a warrior for Indigenous food sovereignty. She is the creative tour de force behind the inventive, healthy, and delicious dishes served at her restaurant, Wahpepah’s Kitchen, in Oakland, California—the first Native woman-owned restaurant in Northern California. Crystal understands the deep and powerful role that food holds in our lives and uses it as a bridge to connect others with Native issues that are important to her and Wahpepah’s Kitchen. By acknowledging the Indigenous inhabitants of the land upon which we currently live, she reasserts the legacy of Native foodways. Through this connection, Crystal is then able to educate others on the health benefits of Indigenous foods through the knowledge that has been passed to her. Crystal has been inducted into the Native American Almanac for her work on behalf of indigenous food systems. She has appeared on Food Network’s Chopped and Beat Bobby Flay. She was named a finalist for the James Beard Award for Emerging Chef in 2022. Wahpepah’s Kitchen was the best new restaurant in the Bay Area in 2022. From 2025-2026, Crystal served as the chef-in-residence for the Rou Dalagurr Food Sovereignty Lab at Ca Cal Poly Humboldt. Crystal has cooked for the White House Hunger Conference with the James Beard Foundation and for the Academy of Motion Picture of Arts and Sciences. Her debut cookbook, “A Feather and a Fork: 125 Intertribal Recipes from an Indigenous Food Warrior” will be released by Penguin Random House in March 2026. You can find her @wahpepahskitchen

Harold McGee has been writing about the science of food and cooking since 1980. He’s the author of the award-winning book "On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen," a visiting lecturer in Harvard University’s course “From Haute Cuisine to Soft Matter Science,” and a former columnist for The New York Times. His latest book is "Nose Dive: A Field Guide to the World’s Smells." You can find him at @mcgee.onfood.onsmells

Hetty Lui McKinnon is a James Beard Foundation Award and IACP winning cookbook author and food writer, with a passion for vegetables and community. She has written six bestselling cookbooks, including her latest Linger, the acclaimed Tenderheart, the much-loved To Asia, With Love, and the genre-defining Community. Hetty is a regular recipe contributor to New York Times Cooking and ABC Lifestyle. She also currently writes the popular weekly newsletter To Vegetables, With Love. Born and raised in Sydney, Australia, she now resides in Brooklyn, New York. You can find her at @hettymckinnon

John Birdsall is the author of What Is Queer Food?: How We Served a Revolution (Norton, 2025) and The Man Who Ate Too Much: The Life of James Beard (Norton, 2020). He's the recipient of two James Beard Awards for food and culture writing. He lives in Tucson, Arizona. You can find him @john_birdsall

Jon Kung is the popular Chinese American chef, content creator and podcast host, who has amassed an online following of more than 2 million people for his unique style of third culture cooking, blending cultural traditions, flavors and ingredients that are meaningful and personal to him. You can find him at @jonkung

Justin Burke is an award-winning pastry chef, queer food writer, recipe developer, author of Potluck Desserts: Joyful Recipes to Share with Pride (Countryman Press, 2025), and podcast host of That Ate: Queer Food Podcast. Justin's writing has appeared in Eater, Food & Wine, Garden & Gun, Southern Living, Better Homes & Gardens, and more. Justin lives in Columbia, SC, with their husband and son. You can find him at @justintsburke

Ali Bouzari is a culinary scientist, author, and co-founder of Pilot R&D. He’s a chef with a Ph.D. in food biochemistry who collaborates with the country’s most innovative restaurants. Ali has been featured on Forbes'/Zagat's 30 Under 30 lists, as a contributor to Bon Appétit, Popular Science, Eater, WIRED, the San Francisco Chronicle, and as a guest expert on NPR, TEDx, TODAY, and Iron Chef America. His book, Ingredient: Unveiling the Essential Elements of Food, won the IACP award for Best Reference Book. Ali is also a judge on the Netflix cooking competition series Snack VS Chef. Find him at @bouzariali

Michele Norris is one of America’s most trusted voices in journalism, earning several honors over a long career, including Peabody, Emmy, Dupont, and Goldsmith awards. She has worked as a columnist for The Washington Post Opinion Section. She is currently the host of the Podcast, Your Mama’s Kitchen, and Norris is now a senior contributing editor at MSNOW. From 2002 to 2012 she was a cohost of NPR’s All Things Considered. Norris is also the founding director of The Race Card Project, a Peabody Award–winning narrative archive where people around the world share their reflections on identity—in just six words. Her first book, The Grace of Silence, was named one of the best books of the year by the San Francisco Chronicle, The Christian Science Monitor, and The Kansas City Star. Before joining NPR, Norris spent almost ten years as a reporter for ABC News covering politics, policy, and the dynamics of social change. Early in her career, she also worked as a staff writer for The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and the Los Angeles Times. You can find her @michele_norris and @yourmamaskitchen