OCA Intern Alum: Crystal Chiu
Interview by Jesse Wu / Written by Amelia Lagna and Kent Tong
ONE PIECE OF ADVICE CRYSTAL CHIU HAS ALWAYS LIVED BY IS: BE CURIOUS. It’s the same advice the titular character of Apple TV’s Ted Lasso often gives to the soccer players he coaches. This shared advice isn’t where Chiu and the fictional Lasso’s similarities end: they’ve both had life-changing experiences abroad and share a love for baked goods—Lasso for his shortbread cookies (“biscuits,” as they’re called in the UK-set series) and Chiu for her decade-plus experience as a pastry chef. She didn’t start her career in the culinary arts, however, and her mid-career pivot perfectly embodies this sense of curiosity.
Chiu was born and raised in Houston, Texas, to Taiwanese immigrants. Her mother, active in the local Asian American community, befriended a staffer at the mayor’s office who was also an OCA member, which led to her learning about OCA and its internship program. She was inspired to apply after taking an Asian American studies course as an undergraduate communications major at The University of Texas at Austin. She became an OCA intern in 2004 and was placed in the communications department at OCA National Center in Washington, D.C., where she helped update databases, organize events, coordinate logistics, and promote opportunities hosted by OCA or its chapters—often convincing other interns to attend.
After graduating with her bachelor’s degree, Chiu returned to D.C. in 2007 as the press advisor to Representative Nancy Pelosi, who had just become the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House. She found her OCA internship experience highly relevant to her work on the Hill: coordinating logistics for events and maintaining communication across different stakeholders. She credits her OCA internship for providing her with real-world work experience and “flourishing because of that.”
After four years at Pelosi’s office, Chiu spent brief stints working in communications on President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign and The Henry L. Stimson Center, and part-time at a bakery, before pivoting full-time to the culinary arts. Her love for food began early, watching her immigrant mother learn to cook American dishes. “Her curiosity combined with a sense of fearlessness to just try a recipe carved a path for me to do the same in our home kitchen,” she says. She studied at The French Pastry School in Chicago while externing at Blackbird Restaurant under James Beard-nominated pastry chef Dana Cree. After earning her l’art de la patisserie certificate in 2013, she moved to New York City and worked at Restaurant Daniel (under James Beard-winning pastry chef Ghaya Oliveira) and Luksus for nearly two years before making another major life pivot—traveling the world. She realized that the great chefs she admired were all influenced by their travels abroad. “Traveling introduced experiences that greatly influence the flavors and techniques chefs develop throughout their careers,” she wrote in her blog CHEWYFOODLIFE, which she created to document her food travels. “That was what I wanted for myself.”
2004 OCA summer interns with Sec. Norman Y. Mineta
During her travels, Chiu interned at restaurants across Asia and Australia: Room4Dessert Ubud in Indonesia, Aberdeen Street Social in Hong Kong, 2am:dessertbar and Tippling Club in Singapore, Callebaut Chocolate Academy and Narisawa in Japan, Le Mout in Taiwan, and Brae in Australia. She returned to Bali in 2016 to work as chef de cuisine at Room4Dessert with world-renowned pastry chef Will Goldfarb. In 2018, she returned to the U.S., first as a pastry chef at The Catbird Seat in Nashville before moving to Seattle in 2019 to become executive chef at Canlis, one of the most award-winning restaurants in the country.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it took a toll on many who made it through—including Chiu. Realizing she needed to step away from the demanding fine dining industry, she left her 60-hour workweeks for the sake of her mental health but remained in Seattle. She’s now the pastry chef at the newly renovated Volunteer Park Cafe & Pantry, a beloved neighborhood staple—part cafe, part corner market—that allows her more time for herself outside of work. There, she brings her global influences into the shop’s seasonal baked goods, such as “hawaij-flavored snickerdoodle, cocoa nib brown butter meringue, strawberry rhubarb galette, and chocolate babka,” as reported by Eater.
Chiu prepping for Room4Dessert pop-up at Burnt Ends in Singapore (2017)
Chiu’s career trajectory demonstrates the possibilities that come from taking risks and embracing new experiences. “As we go on in life, and situations change, and environments change, and interests change,” she explains, “the biggest piece of advice I can give to help give your life purpose and meaning is to stay curious.” She believes everyone should ask themselves why they do what they do, what it is they want to do, and what it is they can do to reach this goal—and that it’s never too late to ask those questions. “It’s something you can ask yourself at any point in your life, not only when you’re in your 20s,” she says. “You are the one in control of figuring out the answers for yourself.”