back in 2010 ,” says Chef Tai , as he is commonly known . Ten years have passed since he won the Food Network ’ s “ America ’ s Favorite Food Truck ” competition , in large part because of his immense fan base rooted in the Aggie network . Winning “ America ’ s Favorite Food Truck ” came with a handsome monetary prize , some of which he used to fix up the food truck to be interstatetravel ready , he says . Much has changed for Chef Tai in the past decade , save for the truck itself . “ It ’ s the same vehicle which earned me the ‘ Favorite Food Truck ’ title ,” Tai says . Sixty thousand miles later , that truck is still carting food to folks in and around B / CS .
In the 2010s , Paolo ’ s Italian Kitchen , Madden ’ s Casual Gourmet and Urban Table were added to the roster of what became the Chef Tai Food Group . Chef Tai was on a run : earning loyal customers , making good friends , giving back to the community and serving the on-air sportscasters during an ESPN College GameDay visit to Kyle Field . Then , in early 2020 , Chef Tai feared the good times might be coming to an end as events unfolded on the other side of the world .
“ It was the first food truck in the Bryan College Station area
COV ID-19
“ When stories of the coronavirus in China began to circulate , my friends and family still in South Korea suggested that it could be an event on par with the SARS epidemic in the early 2000s ,” Chef Tai says . “ Well before COVID arrived here , I was already concerned how it might affect my business .” Not only did Chef Tai want to keep his businesses open , but he also wanted to keep his employees safe .
At first , Texas Governor Greg Abbott mandated restaurants reduce their occupancy to 50 %, which provided Chef Tai a glimmer of hope . But when that proved insufficient to stem the pandemic tide , restaurants were ordered to eliminate in-house dining . By the summer of 2020 , Tai was forced to close Veritas . At year ’ s end , Madden ’ s ceased operations as well .
Tai ’ s loyal following was also affected by the pandemic . For many , takeout , curbside pickup , or even a trip to the mobile bistro was a daunting proposition . “ Curbside take-out isn ’ t going to go away ,” Chef Tai says . “ As we move forward , we will continue to keep more space between tables . As we expand , our dining rooms will be smaller .”
Zoom
What COVID couldn ’ t do was stem the community ’ s demand for Chef Tai Lee . Before COVID , rare was the local charity event that didn ’ t feature a live or silent auction item from the Chef Tai Food Group : dinner for two at Veritas , an in-person cooking lesson , or a catered in-home dinner for 10 . Not even a deadly coronavirus could dampen Chef Tai ’ s enthusiasm and passion for giving back . “ We quickly learned to make adjustments ,” he says . “ If someone paid $ 4,000 at a charity event for us to provide a catered meal in their home , we had to deliver .”
Deliver he and his team did , with Chef Tai on hand to lead the proceedings — Zoom-style . “ People were surprisingly open to letting me help them prepare their meals via an online connection ,” Chef Tai says . “ We would send out the food in a chef ’ s or butcher ’ s pack ; then I would get with the customer via Zoom and give them instructions for preparing the meal .” They ’ d be cooking in their own kitchen at their own pace , and Chef Tai would be there on their laptop screen guiding them through the process , he says . “ It was a little timeconsuming , yes , but it was also a lot of fun .”
Chef Tai used video-conferencing technology to come to the rescue in other ways , too . When a studyabroad trip to Russia through Texas A & M University was cancelled , Chef Tai pitched in .
He invited the 12 disappointed Aggie students to his Urban Table restaurant and hosted their virtual cooking class . “ I was the Russian chef ’ s ‘ avatar ,’” Tai says with a laugh . “ I had gotten the recipe ahead of time , so I had everything ready to go . [ It was a ] good thing her English was a lot better than my Russian ,” he says . “ All of us had a very memorable time that day .” That experience made him think : What if I took advantage of streaming video technology to bring the Chef Tai experience to others ? And so , the Chef Tai YouTube channel was born .
YouTube
Chef Tai ’ s YouTube channel is still relatively new , and with every how-to episode , he experiments , trying out different locations , including his own kitchen ; adjusting at-home lighting configurations ; and finding his groove in front of the camera .
“ My first video on YouTube was pretty hideous ,” Chef Tai admits . “ The lighting was too dim , and I was , like , rambling on and on . But I wasn ’ t discouraged . I figured I had more of these coming , so I ’ d better get used to how to present myself on camera .” He practiced with his cell phone , he says , “ and sure enough , I got better .”
“ I ’ m giving myself a full year to take the YouTube idea as far as I can ,” Chef Tai says . Right now , he has approximately 350 subscribers . As he formalizes the effort and begins to promote it via his social media and Aggie networks , that number will likely increase .
“ I have all sorts of plans for YouTube ,” he says . “ I envision offering cooking lessons and how-to advice on subjects like cleaning pots and pans and sharpening knives .” A series of video recipes is also in the works : a Chef Tai streaming video cookbook . “ I think people are going to love that ,” he says .
Chef Tai thinks he has found a home in front of a camera . “ Even if I have only one viewer , even if my mother is the only person watching , that ’ s okay ,” he says . “ If my mom can share it with my grandma , well , that ’ s cool , too .” insitebrazosvalley . com 25