Christina Nguyen

Might still be recovering from too much fun @beardfoundation weekend! (That’s what happens when you’re 40 🫠) An action packed few days filled with the most impressive people, so many tasty bites & meals, more than a few glasses of bubbly, gin martinis and ESPRESSO martinis. A JBF winner once told me that it’s more fun being nominated so you can keep going to the parties. I can see what he was talking about! I had maximum joy meeting new friends, fangirling over some of my heroes & taking some time to celebrate which we don’t always do enough of. It’s a gift to meet likeminded folks that you connect with immediately bc you share common industry struggles & that bond helps cut through layers of small talk and bullshit, straight to real talk like what to do to keep your mind and body healthy, how can chefs of color get on the same page so we’re not underselling ourselves, how do we navigate an ever changing restaurant landscape? Chicago friends & @beardfoundation , thank you for your hospitality and an unforgettable weekend!! Extra big shout out to friends who nourished and spoiled us with real meals so we didn’t pass out from eating only canapés @perillafare @tomoh44 @andrewjlim @lulacafe @jasonhammel @monteverdechi @chefsarahjayne @jaimecanete !!

Please wish this sweet sweet boy @birksg the Happiest Birthday! (It was actually yesterday but we been busy) OR do it in person this Sunday at our Hola 10 Year Party!! I know he’d love to see you! Always here to celebrate Birk’s many facets! 🦥 Lover & feeder of cute animals. 🌿Hater of top buttons and the reason why everyone we know calls a tropical shirt “a Birk shirt”. 🏊 Doggie swim instructor of Mochi & Tofu. 🪼Total aquaman, waterboy. 🤡 Always down to clown. 🐐The GOAT of doing anything for a laugh. ☁️Best bear wrangler. 🍬Handsomest arm candy. 🥂Always here to toast & get roasted ⚓️ My forever captain 🫡 I love you the most, and I will fight anyone who doesn’t agree that you are the most incredible, thoughtful, generous, kind & ridiculous human around. PS don’t worry - you’re still fun 😉

BRUNCH BUNCH of my wildest dreams! Last @beardfoundation award weekend, I got to cook brunch with the industry G.O.A.T.s @girl.and.the.goat in Chicago! Of the many times I had eaten there as a guest over the past decade, I would have never dared to dream that I would be cooking with an all-star crew of the most talented and loveliest women in the industry. THANK YOU @stephanieizard @chefkarenakunowicz @leeannewong @cheffalkner for making me feel welcome and like part of the crew even though I was a big ball of nerves when I rolled into the kitchen. There is truly a special magic among female chefs where you just feel seen. We do our best to lift each other up bc we know what we’ve been through to get where we are. Fittingly, the brunch benefitted @beardfoundation Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Program! Love you, ladies!! 😘❤️🥰 Also, thank you @moetchandon for providing us with the ✨goooood✨ bubbles, making it the best shifty ever! 🥂🍾 Shoutout to @chefjholig , Chef Rahn, G&G kitchen team for helping us bring our @haihaimpls Laksa Shrimp & Grits to Chicago! 🫶

WOWWOWWOWWOW!!! The last couple days have been a real whirlwind but in case you didn’t hear the good news, our Chef @christinanguyenmpls and her amazing @haihaimpls team took home a @beardfoundation award🏅 for Best Chef Midwest!! 🥂🍾 To summarize the acceptance speech: Thank you to our Hai Hai teams, past and present, whose dedication to excellence and consistency is an inspiration. Without them, none of this would be possible! There are too many people to name, but you know who you are and you’ve been an integral part of our success. Thank you to @birksg , best partner in life & business - he knows how to fix everything that breaks in restaurants all the time. Thank you to my parents who have always had my back. They are refugees from Vietnam and had to pick up and move, and start their lives over without any warning. They’ve taught me that anything is possible and not to be afraid to start over. Thank you to the @beardfoundation for recognizing the value of immigrant food. When we started our restaurant journey 10 years ago, restaurants like ours could only hope to win cheap eats awards and things have come a long way. And of course, there was a lot of crying and no walk in cooler to duck into at all! 😭 A shoutout to my fellow nominees who are all extremely talented and inspiring chefs! It was so special to get to rep Mpls with the amazing chef friends @chefannahmed & @gustavo_romero_veytia & Kate from @nixtampls ! A very big thank you to everyone in our community who has supported us and given us the chance to serve them. Thank you to the Mpls restaurant community who has always lifted us up. This is a special place with an incredible, diverse and rich restaurant scene that we’re so proud to be a part of! We hope to see you all again soon! Cheers! 🥂🍾 📷: @eliesajohnson @the_restaurant_project for @beardfoundation

It’s always a good time when I get to cook with a few of my favorite people who also happen to be some of the most talented chefs in the Twin Cities. For around 5 years now, @jonwipfli has been leading the charge to wrangle chefs together to cook an intimate dinner for 10 people that gets auctioned off to @arcsvaluevillage gala to benefit people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This year we did back to back dinners and raised $42k while having a blast. Bravo @jonwipfli - I hope that whoever you pass the torch to makes sure that the chef chemistry is primo and the vibes are immaculate, as you always have! (And they must keep the kitchen twerking, edible glitter assaulting, and chef-roasting alive and well) ✨ You friends are magic! Hope we get to cook together soon! My dish was spring pea wontons with lobster in tom kha broth. A couple photos courtesy of the lovely @annbkool & @zoebakes 🫶

In between feeding us ( @swainstudios ), plating all the new @haihaimpls food, coming up with great image ideas, and running several restaurants @beardfoundation award winning chef @christinanguyenmpls proves she can do the hardest job in the world - take a cute color card photo.

Entering a new decade on @islandstandardtime surrounded by some of my favorite people & turquoise waters was a BIG MOOD. St Martin, St Barth & Anguilla were the perfect places to explore, relax & let real loose. Probably some of my favorite Caribbean islands yet and not just because of the availability of exquisite French pastries. 🥐🥂 40 is bringing me confidence and clarity. I find myself surrounded by high vibration people that are easy to love and have laughs with. Love you the most @birksg for making this the most special birthday imaginable & for all my friends who made it incredibly memorable & special!

We are super grateful for this @beardfoundation nomination for Best Chef Midwest 2024 @haihaimpls and are beyond honored that our food and restaurant would be considered among this incredible group of nominees. There are no great chefs or restauranteurs without amazing teams alongside them, making and serving the best food and drinks they can with passion and attention to detail. Thank you to our whole team for embodying Southeast Asian hospitality and making all feel welcome to eat at our table. Thank you to our many guests and community who have made @haihaimpls their happy place! It’s your good energy that keeps us happily buzzing after all of these years of being open! We wouldn’t be here without your support. We are thankful everyday for our mgmt team who leads with compassion @rubyscher @chefjholig @2nddaysushi @owenismee @runlikeacantelope @chef__bishara @nathanmiller612 and our incredible entire crew! Last but not least, big congratulations to fellow nominees @chefannahmed @khaluna.mpls @gustavo_romero_veytia & Kate @nixtampls for your well-deserved recognition! Can’t wait to rep Mpls with you at the awards in Chicago! 🩷❤️🧡 With love, CN @christinanguyenmpls

WORK HARD, PLAY HARD! Making memories in the BVIs on @islandstandardtime during a lil upper mgmt retreat (plus SO’s) to reward the crew for their daily grind. Well deserved after a grueling couple of months of holidays, menu changes, superbowl, V-day & Lunar New Year! Team building in the form of laughs, Jenga, sunshine, day drinking, Shaggy singalongs, swimming with the fishies, and turquoise waters everywhere. Thanks @yachtchefmila @caydonharris for spoiling us and showing us an extraordinary time. This was our first charter where we didn’t have to cook and sail, so thank you for taking care of us so we never had to think too hard! Feeling relaxed, reset and ready to tackle the busy season. 💪 #crewlove #thebestofthebest

DIP IN A BOX! Sometimes we like to have fun! 🤣🤣🤣 Preorder yours now @holaarepa ! This one goes out to all the people who think a box of empanadas & 7 layer dip are sexier than a box of chocolates 🫦❤️‍🔥 Anyone with me??

BEAMING WITH GRATITUDE that me and my incredible @haihaimpls team were nominated as semifinalists for @beardfoundation 2024 Best Chef Midwest! Last Wednesday AM, I was working out and afterwards, I saw that I had 15 missed messages on my phone! Any restaurant/business owner knows the sheer panic you feel when you see that many messages in an hour bc usually it’s an emergency! Relief and joy washed over me when I realized it was bc of the JBF nomination and that I got to head into the restaurant to work on some new menu stuff with a very giddy & excited team after that. I’m so proud of my whole team @haihaimpls for their continued commitment to excellence & for making it a special place. Even though we’ve been nominated 2x finalist & 3x semifinalist in this category, it’s not lost on us what this means. We have the privilege and responsibility to keep making food that pushes boundaries by introducing people to new flavors, textures and ingredients, and at the same time respects and shines a light on traditions of Southeast Asian cooking. Januaries in Minnesota can be a little slow & dull, but this nod has put some pep in our step, and we’re so grateful and committed to making Hai Hai your tropical little oasis in Minneapolis and to deliver you an experience like nowhere else! Huge congrats to my talented fellow semifinalist nominees @chefannahmed @katomlinson @oro.minneapolis @nixtampls DDP @porzanasteaks @marcheuofficial @chefshack @meteor_mpls ! I hope we can all caravan down to Chicago for the awards & rep big for the Twin Cities 💪 📷: @mattlien @_mattlien

In the Coati Chasing Era of our relationship 🥹. Been obsessed with these cuties since we saw one in Belize 10 years ago. They’re like a cross between a trash panda and a lemur, and apparently they keep snakes away so now they’re my best friends. (The groundskeeper at the resort told us we could feed them so don’t @ me!)