Chef Dez Lo brings more than 20 years of global culinary experience, sharp leadership, and a strong storytelling instinct to every table. Born in Hong Kong, raised in Taiwan, and now based in Vancouver, she first built a successful finance career at Morgan Stanley in New York before making a bold shift into the kitchen. After training at the French Culinary Institute, she honed her craft in acclaimed New York restaurants including La Grenouille, Oceana, and Locanda Verde. Since moving to Vancouver in 2016, Dez has held leadership roles, including Executive Sous Chef at CinCin Ristorante and opening Head Chef at Old Bird, while also deepening her expertise in seafood sourcing and sustainability. She gained national recognition as the runner-up on Top Chef Canada Season 10 and now leads Chef Dez Lo Catering while serving as Corporate Chef for the B/S/H Experience and Design Centre. She speaks English, Mandarin, and Cantonese.
What first inspired you to become a chef, and how has your journey led you to Vancouver?
What first inspired me to become a chef was missing my grandmother’s cooking. Being in New York for university opened my eyes, palate, and senses to so many different cuisines, but nothing ever compared to the food and memories tied to her. After she passed away shortly after I left for college, I found myself trying to recreate her dishes in my dorm room as a way to feel close to her again.
Around that same time, 9/11 happened, and it really shifted my perspective. It made me realize life is too short to stay complacent or put off the things you feel called to do. I started going to cooking school at night while working full-time in finance, and spent my free time interning in New York restaurants. When the moment felt right, I left my six-figure job and never looked back.
I originally came to Vancouver because of a relationship, but even though that chapter ended, the city stayed. I fell in love with Vancouver, joined CinCin on Robson Street as a sous chef, and built a life and career here. At a certain point, I stopped wondering why I had come and simply trusted that I was where I was meant to be.
Who were some of your biggest influences, either chefs or family, in shaping your approach to cooking?
My grandmother had a huge influence on the way I think about food. She was incredibly adventurous for her generation. Living in Taiwan in the 1930s under Japanese rule, she was blending Japanese influences into her home cooking long before fusion was a trend. And because my father was from Hong Kong, she was also creating dishes that brought together Taiwanese, Japanese, and Cantonese influences in a way that felt completely natural. Looking back, that shaped how I see food today. It can hold memory, culture, and creativity all at once.
Professionally, I have also been deeply influenced by the late Chef Gray Kunz, Chef Andrew Carmellini, who I worked for for four years in New York, and my good friend Hung Huynh, winner of Top Chef U.S. Season 3. Hung really took me under his wing early on and taught me so much about efficiency, discipline, and what no-waste cooking looks like in a professional kitchen.
What’s the story behind your business — how did it come to life?
After Top Chef Canada, I wanted to learn catering properly, so I worked in Vancouver and Langley to understand the business from the inside. Once private opportunities started rolling in, I decided to make it official. I did not want to live off random cash jobs and risk a run-in with the tax man, so I started my own company. Law-abiding citizen, chef edition.
How does the food culture of Vancouver influence your cooking style or menu choices?
Vancouver has definitely made me cook more with local and seasonal produce and proteins. I would not say my food is strictly West Coast cuisine, but living here has made me much more connected to what local farmers, fishers, and producers are doing, and that naturally shapes how I cook.
What I love about Vancouver is that you have access to incredible ingredients, and there is a real appreciation for freshness and seasonality. That inspires me to take dishes I grew up with or flavours I am drawn to and reinterpret them using what is available here at its best. I might start with a childhood favourite, but then build it around seasonal B.C. ingredients in a way that feels current, local, and personal.
So my cooking is still very much rooted in my own background and taste, but Vancouver has pushed me to look at those flavours through a more seasonal and locally driven lens.
What’s one local ingredient you can’t live without in your kitchen?
Maple syrup. It is one of my kitchen staples because it adds natural sweetness, depth, and that beautiful amber shine. It can round out a sauce, glaze a protein, or bring warmth to a dessert. Basically, if it is not in my kitchen, we have a national problem.
If someone was visiting Vancouver for the first time, what food experience would you insist they try?
Fresh local seafood, no question. Vancouver is spoiled when it comes to incredible catches, from halibut and Dungeness crab to oysters, mussels, geoduck, and more. If you are visiting for the first time, I would say skip the obvious and go straight to the seafood. It is one of the best and most distinctly Vancouver food experiences you can have.
What restaurants, cafés, or hidden gems in Vancouver do you personally love to eat at when you’re off-duty?
Honestly, on my days off, I usually head to Richmond with my mom. You really cannot go wrong there. Richmond has such an incredible range of Chinese food, and the level of quality and authenticity is amazing. My mom always says she does not miss food in Asia because you can find just about every kind of authentic Chinese cuisine in Richmond, and I think that says a lot.
For me, it is less about one specific spot and more about the experience of eating there as a whole. Richmond is one of those places where you can keep exploring and always find something great, whether you are after dumplings, noodles, barbecue, seafood, or late-night comfort food. It is one of my favourite places to eat when I am off-duty.
How do you think the dining scene in Vancouver is different from other Canadian cities?
Vancouver’s dining scene feels more ingredient-driven than a lot of other Canadian cities. There is a real focus on local produce, fresh seafood, quality meats, and seasonality, but also an incredible level of cultural diversity. That mix makes the city’s food scene feel both fresh and deeply authentic.
Where do you like to shop for ingredients locally — farmers’ markets, specialty shops, or a particular supplier?
I bounce around a bit depending on what I am cooking. For Asian groceries, I am usually at T&T or Sungiven. For fresh produce, I also love the vegetable stand in Parker Place and GJ Farm at Steveston Highway and No. 4 Road. Those are the kinds of places that keep me inspired because you can find great ingredients and cook more seasonally.
Beyond food, what makes Vancouver special to you as a place to live and work?
Beyond food, Vancouver gives you the best of both worlds. The city is convenient, but you are also surrounded by ocean, lakes, and mountains. Summer and fall here are hard to beat. It is one of the few places where you can work hard and still feel like nature is right outside your door.
What’s next for you and your business here?
I have big hopes for what comes next. In a dream world, I would love to have my own TV show. More than anything, I want to keep sharing my knowledge and helping people feel more confident in the kitchen, especially when it comes to cooking with what they already have and wasting less.
No-waste cooking is a big part of how I think, and I want to keep making that approach feel practical, approachable, and fun. I also want to help bridge cultural and language gaps through food, because food has such a powerful way of bringing people together and helping them understand one another.
I would love to keep working with and representing small businesses too, helping share their stories, why they are here, and what they are building. At the end of the day, I want to feed people good food, make them laugh, and remind them that life does not have to be serious all the time.
