‘Walk-Ins Welcome’ Dishes on Pivots, Cleanses and Scoops of OC Flavor
- Ivy Dai
- 13 minutes ago
- 3 min read
This month’s episodes feature Kei Concepts chef Viet Nguyen, holistic health coach Kelsey Sullivan, private chef Shey Garland and Strickland's Ice Cream owner Neil Liu, each sharing how they built – and rebuilt – their careers in Orange County's food scene.
We have fusion restaurants, ice cream, a private chef and a health coach discussing cleanses this past month on “Walk-Ins Welcome.”
If you didn’t catch Kei Concepts chef and co-founder Viet Nguyen on Episode 3, you must listen to his unique origin story and how he and his restaurants pivoted during COVID. They originally opened Gem Dining but had to close its doors during COVID, and instead opened Nep Cafe out of desperation in order to serve customers and follow COVID restrictions. Nguyen promises that Gem Dining is still a concept that is planning to make a comeback. He also talks about plans to go national and shares his ideas for going into media, consumer packaged goods and other verticals outside of hospitality. What is most inspiring is how he raised the money and built the first restaurant and scaled the business.
In Episode 4, we hear from registered nurse and holistic health coach Kelsey Sullivan. She walks clients through the nine-day Medical Medium cleanse, a plant-based gluten-free diet of soups, smoothies and salads to flush the liver and heavy metals from your system. We also hear about how she made the career switch and what inspired her.
Shey Garland is an Orange County local private chef who achieved celebrity status while cooking for NBA stars and royalty. In Episode 5 she talks about the ups and downs of living the fast-moving life and earning more money than she had ever dreamed of, and going into burnout. She shares about her switch to merging food with AI, finding balance and starting a nonprofit called Hospitality Hospital to mentor others in the food industry.
We had a chance to chat with Strickland’s Ice Cream franchise owner Neil Liu in Episode 6. The former C-suite executive changed gears to become a small business owner working seven days a week. The only location outside of Ohio, the Costa Mesa location launched inventive flavors that reflect the diverse Orange County community like mangonada and sweet red bean. He talks about creating a community with his customers, managing high schoolers vs. executives and what it's like working with his wife and sons in the business.
Finally, we sat down with an environmental scientist turned artist turned chef Jo Situ in Episode 7. Situ won the Laguna Art Museum Directors Circle Artist of the Year in June 2024. The Laguna Beach local is also the former chef founder of Mo Mi Mei restaurant in Costa Mesa. Her latest series of dinners called Eat Like An Artist exposes diners to California-inspired and market forward Chinese cuisine. She also talks about her favorite meals to cook at home, tips navigating through divorce as well as her beauty secrets.
Coming up later this month, we speak to Anne-Marie Panoringan, an award-winning Culture OC food writer and James Beard Foundation judge, and chef of the Park Club, Daniel Hohng.
