Yona Hiseh
Born and raised in a big family in Taiwan, Yona Hsieh was influenced by her grandmother, who taught her a great deal and instilled a passion for food and cooking in her. Yona’s earliest memories of her childhood ar of a large wood burning wok, surrounded with home grown produce and poultry. “Every day, I would watch my grandmother working in the kitchen from dawn until dusk, and it is “Food” that brought everyone together”.
Yona left her native home and moved to New York when she was 18, and has worked in the restaurant service industry ever since. Yona’s formal culinary education was acquired with a certificate in restaurant management from the French Culinary Institute in New York in 2005. Her wine expertise was garnered from a course in Andrea Immer’s Essentials of Wine at FCI.
Ms. Hsieh (pronounced (Shay) began working at restaurants in New York City where she honed her restaurant management knowledge. Haru, Nobu and Bond Street restaurant were her training grounds. Her primary goal was to create and manage her own Asian restaurant. Ms. Hsieh’s first venture was the successful Koo, a neo-Japanese restaurant in Rye, New York, which was awarded Best Asian Restaurant by the Westchester Magazine and an “Excellent rating by the reviewer at the New York Times. Ms. Hsieh sold her interest in Koo to her partner and began work on her next restaurant concept, Asian Fusion, Bambou Asian Tapas & Bar.
Yona is a member of the NRA (National Restaurant Association), WECR (Women Chefs & Restaurants), AWIB (Asian Women in Business), AIWF (The American Institute of Wine & Food), The James Beard Association, and is certified in food safety and protection by the Department of Health.
