About

Jessie YuChen(she/they) is a Taiwanese chef, photographer and food stylist based in NYC, now a food editor at Bon Appétit Magazine. She recognizes the latent power that food and images hold, and seeks to utilize that power as a means for creating positive change.

She started her journey in the food industry as a commis chef in Jamie Oliver’s restaurant in Taipei, then moved to NYC in 2018 and has since earned a Certificate of Culinary Arts from the world-renowned International Culinary Center and degrees in Food Studies and Photography from The New School Parsons School of Design. She works as a culinary professional, photographer, and food stylist in commercial and editorial spaces. Jessie’s experience as a queer Taiwanese-American in food media and restaurant kitchens shapes her practice of storytelling that blends food, photography, and visual arts.

Jessie co-founded This Queer Kitchen where she took multiple roles as chef, photographer, designer, event producer and more. This Queer Kitchen was a platform that brings the queer community and its allies together through food-related content and events in NYC.

She spends her free time cooking for loved ones, exploring fun project ideas, occasionally cooking up pop-up events, and eating her way through New York.

Her work can be found in Bon Appétit, Saveur Magazine, and The Kitchen.