When you ask Min Liao about her work, she doesn’t start with accolades or fancy ingredients. Instead, she responds with the kind of humility that comes from years of listening. “I really do like to take my ego out of it,” she says. “It’s not necessarily about me. It’s about the environment. It’s about what’s available.”
That instinct—to pay attention—is what defines Liao’s approach as a culinary consultant and artist. Born in Taiwan and raised in the Bay Area, Liao’s path into the culinary world has been anything but linear. She cooked her way through adolescence, drawn to restaurants simply because they offered a paycheck. That paycheck eventually turned into a passion, one that followed her from the chaos of New York kitchens to the newsroom of Seattle’s The Stranger, a vibrant alternative weekly. But no matter how far she roamed, the kitchen always called her back.
“I found myself really missing working with my hands,” she says of her years in journalism. That draw led her back to New York, this time to NYU’s pioneering Food Studies program—the only one of its kind at the time. From there, her work in public health and community nutrition brought her into classrooms and community centers, hosting cooking and nutrition workshops for everyone from city agency staff to families living in NYCHA housing. By night, she returned to restaurants. Eventually, when the 2008 financial crash disrupted funding across the nonprofit sector, she pivoted again—into the polished aisles of corporate grocery at Whole Foods, and finally, into entrepreneurship.
Now celebrating ten years as a full-time entrepreneur, Liao’s work spans private households, brand activations, and bespoke culinary experiences. While the venues may change, the essence of her work remains the same: it’s grounded, responsive, and deeply human. “I don’t need the best carrot,” she says. “I just need a carrot.” Her upcoming residency at PMRCAA in Sisters, Oregon, reflects that ethos. Liao joins a residency focused on the 2025 theme of Care and Stewardship, which she explores through the physical, often invisible labor of food and hospitality. But for Liao, those aren’t abstract concepts—they’re lived, tactile practices rooted in food and labor. “Care and stewardship may seem so obvious when you’re talking to someone who’s in food service and hospitality,” she says. “The less obvious and more compelling part of that is what care might look like from a labor perspective—for the person providing that care. That’s what I hope to explore more: to dismantle the engine of that care with a focus on human labor.”
“Certainly any chef is a fan of being as close to the ingredients as possible,” she says. “The more you learn about what it means to be a chef, the more you realize that it’s just about being a farmer. And then the more you learn about being a farmer, the more you realize it’s really just about tending soil—you’re a soil farmer.”
During her residency, she plans to create meals for those who keep the residency running—artists, staff, and local workers—shifting the spotlight from audience to caretakers. “Are there opportunities for those caregivers to come together and feel like they are the intentional recipients of care and art and beauty?”
Min Liao will be part of the Open Studio event, alongside Camila de Andrade Bianchi and Sean Whalen on July 2, 4-6 p.m., a chance for the public to meet artists in residence, engage with their work, and participate in community-driven dialogue.
📷Photo credit Caleb Adams
