Lin Lin was born into a food family in Puerto Rico, where her parents immigrated to open Chinese restaurants. While her sister enjoyed helping the front of the house with taking orders and folding napkins, Lin Lin always stayed inside the busy kitchen.  She proudly helped out with whatever she could with her little hands, which meant that she filled most of her days breaking up cold rice for fried rice, cracking eggs, and refilling condiments.

Lin Lin moved to the Bay Area when she was 15 to go to high school and later to college at San Francisco State University. Feeling like something was missing, she went back to her cooking roots and enrolled in the California Culinary Academy. She worked full-time during her CCA education and graduated with honors.

Before coming to Hands on Gourmet, Lin Lin managed the kitchen in a women’s shelter, meditation center, and vegan café. Lin Lin loves to travel and has lived in France, Argentina, and Thailand. She considers herself a citizen of the world.