Anh Luu is a prominent figure in NOLA’s culinary scene. She has had her ups and downs in life and Netflix’s Queer Eye’s Fab Five chose to bring some changes in her life. Read all about her in this article below.
Who are her parents? Is she married? How old is she? The answer unfolds as this article proceeds.
Anh Luu On Netflix’s Queer Eye
According to Netlix’s Queer Eye, Anh Luu’s world completely fell apart in the middle to late 2010s after she lost her mother in a horrific automobile accident and understood how important her role had been to their entire immigrant family. But the real thing that pains this young woman the most is that, for a variety of reasons, they weren’t close in the past, which leaves her with a lot of regrets and “what if” questions.
This is due to the cultural differences, as she was the only one born in the US, in New Orleans, Louisiana, and had chosen to prioritize her career over her ties to pursue a new endeavor. Anh claimed that after Hurricane Katrina, they had been relocated to Portland, where she focused on her culinary skills to pursue a career as a chef. She even had plans to buy her restaurant and launch it with a distinctive menu that reflected her heritage and identity.
However, the week that her mother was supposed to open, her mother passed away in an automobile accident while traveling with her father. Fortunately, the latter did not suffer too much. However, his relationship with the family also changed soon after, as he married someone else within six months without telling anyone.
After all of this, Anh went back to her hometown in search of some stability and calm, only to discover that she was shortly to meet her soulmate, Sam Jones, and take up the role of Executive Chef at Bywater Brew Pub. But things didn’t go as she had hoped since she fell into a deep melancholy very quickly and lost the spark of her enthusiasm to the point that she started using it as a means of escape; it no longer inspired her or brought her joy.
That’s when Sam brought the Fab Five into the scene, helping his three-year girlfriend rediscover her passion after obtaining some closure. Since she was unable to reconcile with her mother face-to-face, she managed to do so with the assistance of a summer club dinner at the pub and talked to her father one-on-one to make her hurt clear.
In the end, Anh conceded, “I really thought I was going to be stuck in my mindset that I was in before this for a long time. And it feels really good to know how to cope and have the courage to accommodate myself. I feel like a new person.”
It turns out that Anh needed the shake-up that the Fab 5 caused a weeklong disruption to her life. Since then, the chef has quit from her position at the Bywater Brew Pub, citing a desire to “really do something different” with her life. Anh is now going it alone as the proprietor of her own private chef service, Busy Be. She also runs pop-up restaurants, caters to private parties, teaches cooking classes, and serves as a consultant for other eateries.
“I have a lot more time for myself, and I am a bit more financially free,” she says. “I love the fact that I can pick and choose the projects I want to work on and just be sick when I’m sick and not have to worry about anyone else.”
Is Anh Luu Married?
No, Anh Luu is not married but in a relationship with her long-time boyfriend Sam Jones. Most recently in December 2023, Anh wished her boyfriend his birthday writing, “Happy Birthday Sam! 🥳 @trailmixed The big three-four looks good on ya! Aging like delicious prosciutto 🤌 The best adventure partner I could ask for. Love you 😍.”
They likely started dating each other in 2019.
Sam is working as a bar back at Pepp’s Pub. He previously worked as a driver at UBER and at Honda of Slidell. He graduated from Portland Community College.
Anh Luu Age
In January 2024, Anh Luu reached 35 years of age.
Who Are Anh Luu Parents?
After fleeing Hanoi, Vietnam, Anh Luu’s family first made their home in Michigan before relocating to New Orleans East. Despite having no command of English, her mother Tran Thi Tam was a culinary pro who would chop herbs and stir stews as soon as she could get to the stove with her youngest child, Luu.
Due to levee failures and the subsequent floods after Hurricane Katrina, her family lost everything. While Luu was attending college, her parents relocated from New Orleans to Portland, Oregon, to live with their eldest daughter.
“My cooking is based on my food memories of my Vietnamese mother’s cooking growing up in New Orleans. My food is not traditional Vietnamese food by any means, because I am not a traditional Vietnamese person,” Anh shared with Willamette Week. “And, now, with this life-shattering tragedy of the loss of my mother, it’s even more important to me to honor her by creating dishes that are based on her cooking when I was growing up in New Orleans.”
Anh Luu lost her mother Tam in a tragic car accident in March 2017. To honor her mom, Anh prepared a YouTube video showcasing her mom’s Pho recipe.
Anh and her sister were in the process of buying Tapalaya when her mother was killed in a car accident in 2017. “Everything was so surreal,” Anh says. “My sister had to leave to take care of things, and I pushed ahead with buying the restaurant.” She worked nonstop, felt beaten up, and needed time to grieve her mother’s death.
Posting a picture of her mother’s side of the family, Anh captioned the post, “Vietnam 1989. From the left: my aunt, my mother, me, my grandmother, and my uncle in the background. My first visit to Vietnam after being born in America. My mom is where I get my “don’t fuck with me and babies” face from. Happy Birthday Mom. You are with me every day. I feel your spirit in mine. Thank you for making me tough as nails. Love you forever.”
Tran was born on 2 January 1950 and was 67 at the time of her passing.
Since appearing on Netflix’s show, Anh’s relationships have also never been stronger, as she’s now in communication with her previously estranged father. “When we do talk, there’s more connection now than before the convo with Karamo,” she says.
Anh Luu Job
Anh Luu is a chef who was raised on traditional French, Spanish, Caribbean, and African dishes as well as the tastes of Southeast Asia from her parents’ cooking.
Luu was raised at the crossroads of two of the greatest riverbank food cultures in the world, thanks to the massive wave of Vietnamese immigration to Louisiana. Years later, she was inspired by this delectable blend of flavors to create the distinctive Asian-Cajun cuisine that she debuted at Tapalaya in Portland, Oregon, in the fall of 2014.
At Tapalaya, she started enhancing the flavors of Cajun staples using tried-and-true Vietnamese methods, just like her mother had done when she added shrimp paste, lime, and lemongrass to her étouffée and deepened the flavors of crawfish boils with lemongrass.
Subsequently, Anh has gained recognition for her appearances on Food Network Chopped, numerous local TV commercials, and her viral Phorrito Pop Ups. In March 2017, Chef Anh Luu acquired Tapalaya, having spent seven years there perfecting her skills.
Anh worked as a part-time restaurant employee while transferring schools to earn her degree. 2009 saw her go to Portland to live with her family, where she attended the Western Culinary Institute. She accepted a position at Tapalaya, a tapas bar serving New Orleans and Cajun food. More dishes with Vietnamese influences were introduced to the menu as she advanced to the position of executive chef.
In 2014, she made her TV debut on the food program “Chopped” after becoming a local celebrity. Moreover, she threw a well-attended pop-up showcasing her phoritto.
Anh also worked as an executive chef at Bywater Brew Pub, the airy microbrewery and restaurant from father and son partners Nahum and Dylan Leventhal. She followed a roundabout path to her cooking career. She has been working at Bywater Brew Pub since September 2019.
Related FAQs
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When Is Anh Luu Birthday?
Anh Luu’s birthday falls in January.
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Where Is Anh Luu From?
Anh Luu is currently based in New Orleans, Louisiana. She also lived in Portland, Oregon.
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Is Anh Luu On Instagram?
Yes, Anh Luu is available on Instagram (@anhroux).
