EMERALD EATS: Theary’s Kitchen | South Seattle Emerald

Emerald eats is a bi-monthly documentary series starring chefs, farmers and entrepreneurs building a more diverse, meaningful food culture in South Seattle and South King Counties. This series focuses on local businesses and their role in the fight for more sustainable and equitable food systems in our communities. We bring you behind the scenes – and into life – of the people who change our food through community, culture, tradition and innovation.

by Dylan Cate

Can cooking reconnect us with loved ones we lost? Can changing our relationship with food also change our relationship with our parents and our past?

Theary Ngeth’s relationship with food has always been complicated. When she was a young child in Cambodia, her family escaped the Khmer Rouge and brought only what they could carry. They only ate what they could find on their long journey to a refugee camp in Thailand. When her family finally settled in the United States, Theary’s mother was a productive and accomplished cook – but the food was always meant for someone else. As the wife of a Buddhist priest, she fed the community at weddings, social gatherings, and a community center for Cambodian elders. As a teenager, Theary refused to cook and did everything possible to avoid the kitchen when her mother was preparing large meals. For Theary, these meals were the reason her parents devoted a lot of time and attention to feeding the community, but never enough time with her.

However, everything changed for Theary when her mother died. With her own Cambodian food kiosk in South Seattle, Theary is not just trying to reconnect with her community. She builds a new relationship with her mother’s memory and takes on her mother’s legacy. Check out their story here on Emerald Eats.

S.Pizza bridge is home to the Food Innovation Network’s Food Business Incubator program, which helps South King County’s women of color and immigrants start and grow thriving businesses. Spice Bridge provides the space and support to help these entrepreneurs start and expand successful local businesses while providing a community center and space for people to meet to learn about and enjoy the community’s rich food traditions celebrate.

Dylan Cate (@dylan_eats_everything) is an avid eater and filmmaker dedicated to sharing the stories of the people who drive Seattle’s food scene. He has worked in the labor movement and progressive politics for 10 years and lives at the White Center with his wife Maddie and the big-boned cat Frank.

📸 Featured Image: Still from Emerald Eats Episode 1.

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