PiDGiN sous chef Kym Nguyen makes their mark on the culinary scene as Top Chef Canada's first non-binary competitor
The Vancouver creative, who chose cooking over a career in architecture, hopes to inspire others to be confident about their identity
PiDGiN sous chef Kym Nguyen says it felt daunting at first to be a queer activist of sorts. Photo via PiDGiN/Facebook
KYM NGUYEN MAY not have emerged with the title of Top Chef Canada on the show’s just-wrapped ninth season, but they came extremely close. In the process, they achieved what is perhaps an even more important distinction: the sous chef of PiDGiN was the series’ first non-binary competitor.
In an interview with Stir, Nguyen, who came out as non-binary and queer at a young age. says that the significance of their role began to sink in prior to filming. And they admit that initially, it felt overwhelming.
“When I was first accepted to be on the show, I started to panic,” Nguyen says. “My boss [Brandon Grossutti] had a talk with me and said ‘You know it’s not just people who watch the show who are going to be following you but the whole queer community; you’re an activist in a way, a voice for a lot of people.’ It was freaking me out, because I was thinking, ‘I don’t know if I’m the person for all that.’ All I know is my experience and my story; I can’t speak for everyone else.
“I wanted people to see who I was and how I came about being non-binary,” they add. “It was definitely nerve-wracking, but I feel like it’s a good thing for my community. I have new followers; one reached out and thanked me. I was shocked. It feels really good if I can make someone feel confident in themselves and make them think they can be as open as I am.”
Nguyen, who was born in England, studied architecture and graphic design only to discover they hated it. Having grown up in a family that loved food, they ended up learning to cook on the job, initially at a London gastropub. “I like that you can be as creative as you want,” Nguyen says. “There aren’t really any rules. I don’t like following rules; I like doing things people don’t expect—mixing different flavours and having a balance of tart and acidity and sweetness and savoury and having all of that in one dish.
“With a lot of my plating I still go back to architecture,” they say. “I look at things really visually. That’s how I create dishes; I think of how I want my plate to look then start bringing elements into my dishes that way. A lot of my plating is like artwork.”
Chicken breast, carrot puree, daikon, and pho jus. Photo by Kym Nguyen.
Nguyen came to Vancouver via Victoria and Toronto; locally, they worked at Wildebeest and Burdock and Co., among other places, before joining PiDGiN nearly two years ago. At the highly respected Gastown fusion restaurant, they’ve been free to explore their Chinese-Vietnamese heritage, British upbringing, and French culinary traditions. “I love the team and the family we have,” says Nguyen, who often works closely with A Better Life Foundation in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside and supports Fresh Roots Farms’ long-table fundraiser dinners.
Through the course of filming Top Chef Canada (the title going to Toronto’s Erica Karbelnik), Nguyen formed a new family. They now call fellow finalist Andrea Aldridge, chef de cuisine at Cin Cin Ristorante + Bar, a bestie.
For all the opportunities that the restaurant industry has provided them, Nguyen says there are other directions they hope to go within the culinary arts.
“I want to be a private chef,” they say. “I’d love to cook for someone in their home. I don’t want to work in the restaurant industry forever. I’ve done it for a long time. I want to see my partner, who works 9 to 5. It’s nice to have dinner together.”
Kym Nguyen. Photo via PiDGiN/Facebook.
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