{"id":12997,"date":"2025-11-18T09:57:02","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T15:57:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/?post_type=campus_story&p=12997"},"modified":"2025-11-18T09:57:27","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T15:57:27","slug":"the-ink-in-their-quill-how-a-passion-for-food-and-family-propelled-yia-vang-to-culinary-stardom","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/the-ink-in-their-quill-how-a-passion-for-food-and-family-propelled-yia-vang-to-culinary-stardom\/","title":{"rendered":"The ink in their quill: How a passion for food and family propelled Yia Vang to culinary stardom"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Photo:<\/a>
Yia Vang is the award-winning chef and creative force behind the Minneapolis restaurant Vinai. After countless accolades, Vang still sees himself as a shy kid from rural Wisconsin \u2014 one who is still inspired by his parents. Photos from PBS<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When talking with Yia Vang \u2014 the widely known Twin Cities chef with a myriad of accolades \u2014 he\u2019ll be the first to tell you he\u2019s still just a shy kid from a small town in Wisconsin.<\/p>\n

Vang, \u201910, still gets excited about free snacks on flights \u2014 not out of necessity, but nostalgia.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m the dude who gets flown first class \u2014 I have an agent who schedules things for me,\u201d he says. \u201cBut I\u2019m still the guy who puts the free snacks in my bag for later.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a small thing, but then again, Vang has never forgotten where he came from.<\/p>\n

These days, Vang is known across the country as a James Beard-nominated chef and host of\u00a0\u201cRelish,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0a Twin Cities PBS series that recently won a James Beard Media Award, celebrating immigrant food culture.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\"\"
In the past several years, Vang has established himself as one of the country’s best rising chefs.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

He\u2019s the creative force behind\u00a0Vinai<\/a>, a beloved restaurant in Northeast Minneapolis, and Vernacular, a culinary \u201cexchange program\u201d where chefs collaborate across cities and cultures.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s been on Netflix\u2019s \u201cIron Chef,\u201d a guest on \u201cDiners, Drive-Ins and Dives,\u201d in addition to appearing as a special guest on a variety of other shows and podcasts.<\/p>\n

Most recently, Vang and his team were honored by Bon App\u00e9tit magazine, which named Vinai its Best New Restaurant.<\/p>\n

Vang is cheered on by fans in classrooms, kitchens and everywhere in between. Still, to him, it\u2019s surreal.<\/p>\n

\n

Vang\u2019s path to success was not a straight line. In fact, it nearly ended before it began.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy first three semesters at UWL were really tough,\u201d Vang recalls. \u201cI struggled with school, and I failed out \u2014 and I thought that was the end of life. How could I face my parents?\u201d<\/p>\n

Embarrassed, he stayed in La Crosse, working quietly in a kitchen and avoiding the subject altogether. But something clicked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came back to UWL with a new desire to learn and be curious about life,\u201d Vang says. \u201cNot because of the idea of \u2018pulling yourself up by your bootstraps,\u2019 but because I thought about my dad. He never gave up. When he fought in a war, when he went to a refugee camp, he never gave up because everything he did was for his kids. That thinking was what got me through school.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s one of many stories Vang shares, and it all goes back to his parents \u2014 the original storytellers in his life.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not my story,\u201d Vang says. \u201cIt\u2019s Mom and Dad\u2019s story. They are the quill, and I am the ink. What\u2019s a quill without ink? It\u2019s a useless feather that gets blown away by the wind. I found my purpose because I saw this story inside of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

At Vinai, Vang tells those stories in the language he knows best: food.<\/p>\n

\u201cVinai is a place of belonging, and great food happens to be the byproduct of what we do,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019re creating a place of belonging, no matter where you come from.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vang\u2019s parents, now in their 70s, still farm and provide produce to the restaurant \u2014 a physical and symbolic throughline from one generation to the next.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\"\"
For Vang, food is much more than sustenance; it is a way to share stories and build connections.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re still toiling with the ground for their children,\u201d Vang shares. \u201cAll they care about is making sure they take care of their babies.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a deeply personal act, but also a universal one.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a human story \u2014 not just specifically Hmong, or refugees, or immigrants, or people of color,\u201d Vang explains. \u201cI\u2019m doing it from the perspective of a Hmong kid because that\u2019s what I know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vang graduated from UWL with a degree in\u00a0communication studies<\/a>, and to this day, he sees a direct link between communication and the work he does now.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I give talks \u2014 most recently to the American Society for Nutrition in Orlando \u2014 I always start with this question: \u2018What is communication?\u2019\u201d Vang says. \u201cWhat\u2019s more important: the intention of the message or the interpretation?\u201d<\/p>\n

That question carries over to his food. \u201cIf I intend to send a message through food and the receiver interprets it wrong, and comes back saying they don\u2019t get it, I have to adjust to make sure the message comes through. We do that every day in the kitchen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Fame has brought many full-circle moments. Vang\u2019s high school Spanish teacher once wrote in his yearbook: You have a great personality. You\u2019re going to change the world. One day, I\u2019m going to turn on my TV and see you there.<\/p>\n

When he landed his first national press with CNN, he snapped a photo of the yearbook and sent her a message: \u201cMs. B., turn on your TV!\u201d<\/p>\n

He still keeps in touch with teachers from Port Edwards and communication studies professors from UWL.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\"\"
Vang says he still leans on the lessons he learned at UWL, and remembers the staff and faculty who made a difference in his life.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll always be that kid from central Wisconsin,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ll always remember who the teachers and professors who were there for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

That kid \u2014 who once thought UWL felt like the biggest campus in the world \u2014 has not changed much, even if his surroundings have.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy first night away from home alone was at UWL. My parents dropped me off at Wentz Hall for a summer program. My dad gave me $20, and I walked to Kwik Trip and got Twizzlers, Sunny D and a cookie,\u201d Vang recalls. \u201cI still feel like that kid. As long as I have my Sunny D and Twizzlers, I\u2019m good.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Vang doesn\u2019t claim to know the future \u2014 and he\u2019s okay with that.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not a Pinterest board kind of guy,\u201d Vang says. \u201cIf opportunities come to us and they align with our mission, vision and goals, we\u2019ll explore it.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s talk of more collaborations, more storytelling. Jokingly, a retirement plan consisting of a frozen food line (\u201cIt doesn\u2019t sound too bad …\u201d). And, perhaps most importantly, more representation.<\/p>\n

Vang\u2019s show \u201cRelish\u201d is being shown in classrooms across the country, sparking conversations about history, culture and food. Families write in to say how meaningful it is for their kids to see a male Hmong role model on TV.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose interactions show me that what we do doesn\u2019t just stay within the four walls of our restaurant in Minneapolis,\u201d Vang says. \u201cTo this day, I still find it weird being stopped by people on the street for pictures, or being thought of as a \u2018celebrity.\u2019 I\u2019m just a small-town Wisconsin kid.\u201d<\/p>\n

As long as there\u2019s a story to tell \u2014 whether it\u2019s on a plate, a screen or in a classroom \u2014 Vang will keep being the ink, telling stories of family and culture in all that he does.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\"\"
.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\n

Written by UW-La Crosse<\/p>\n

Link to original story: https:\/\/www.uwlax.edu\/news\/posts\/the-ink-in-their-quill-yia-vang\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When talking with Yia Vang \u2014 the widely known Twin Cities chef with a myriad of accolades \u2014 he\u2019ll be the first to tell you he\u2019s still just a shy kid from a small town in Wisconsin. Vang, \u201910, still gets excited about free snacks on flights \u2014 not out of necessity, but nostalgia. \u201cI\u2019m […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":12999,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[104],"story_category":[],"class_list":["post-12997","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-la-crosse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/12997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12997"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=12997"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=12997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}