Whiskey, booch and me.

My whiskey-induced,mildly tart story of being a fashion designer turned Upstater, kombucha maker, and master fermenter.

Why Whiskey and Booch?

Well, here’s the short version of the story: I’m an ex-fashion designer exploring my Vietnamese culinary heritage.  Growing up with parents who immigrated here as political refugees during the Vietnam War and always loved to cook authentic Vietnamese cuisines, a deep passion for food was always a core part of my life. For most of my childhood and teenage life, I was raised eating home-cooked Vietnamese meals.  

Fast forward 30-odd years—not a single family recipe had been written down, and now here I find myself on this amazing food journey, with the goal of preserving all my childhood favorites. A strong sense of nostalgia and sensory experiences that bring back comfortable and familiar childhood memories  have been awakened as I remake these family recipes.  

For 12 years of my adult life I have been a vegetarian, and it was difficult making or finding many of my favorite Vietnamese dishes while adhering to a mostly plant-based diet.  My goal is to remake all of these foods in as true and authentic a fashion as I can and to later convert these recipes to be vegetarian/pescatarian or vegan-friendly so that more people can experience what I grew up loving!

-Philippe