Chef Yee is an honorary Kappa Delta - greeting each girl with a smile and a joke. She is known for getting each girl’s taste palette down to a science (and even Paige Tustanowsky’s “correct amount of chicken”), Yee puts in the extra work to make sure each girl has some variation of the meal being served that she will enjoy, often creating special dishes for those who have dietary restrictions or are picky eaters. She will always go out of her way to make foods such as quesadillas, mac n cheese, or other alternatives for individuals when she knows they won’t particularly enjoy the main course. There are also a wide array of girls who have dietary restrictions such as vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free, all of which she accommodates for sometimes even making two main courses so everyone has food they can enjoy.
In order to fit this into our limited budget, Yee goes to the local grocery store every morning and picks out fresh fruits, vegetables, and other items that are on sale to incorporate into our meals every day. Her doing this allows her to stay within the strict confines of our budget as well as have a wide variety of cuisines and options for the girls. “The fact that Yee goes to the grocery store and buys us our favorite fruits each day really proves to everyone in the house how much she really cares about and loves each and every single one of us. One of my favorite memories of this year is when Yee cut the pineapple slices into butterflies” says Abby Hammerstadt.
Celebrated for her Asian-inspired dishes including pad thai, drunken noodles, spring rolls, and even sushi, Yee is passionate about the girls having the opportunity to try new foods from other cultures. She often jokes that she is serving “chicken feet” instead of the chicken breast that accompanies most meals in order to accommodate those who do not eat red meat. Born and raised in Taiwan, Chef Yee worked in her parents’ restaurant starting from a young age and found herself in the kitchen by the time she turned seven which is where she ultimately found her passion for cooking. Yee came to America looking for work and luckily found herself at Kappa Delta as a sous chef, and now head chef. While moving across the world and having to learn English definitely had its challenges, Yee is currently in the process of getting her US Citizenship! She says she has loved living in America and learning about all of the different cuisines. Yee especially doted on the Food Network and how it has taught her so much about cooking, specifically through Iron Chef, Chopped, and her favorite, Andrew Zimmerman. She loves Andrew Zimmern because he travels around the world and tries foods that are native to that culture or area that tourists would usually avoid (i.e. Hundred Year Eggs in China) and explains their importance. Yee said she thinks it’s important to at least try the food before determining not to like it and respects how he is very respectful of the varying cultures in the sense that he tries the food as objectively as possible. Paige Tustanowsky who once described her food pyramid as “a triangular chicken tender” and has been spotted eating what was depicted as “ketchup in a hot dog bun”, expressed how she has thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to try new foods. Even if she doesn’t particularly enjoy these cultural dishes over others, she is excited to have been able to try them, some of her favorites include chicken enchiladas, pad thai, and gyros.
Yee is super excited about the new house, but especially the new kitchen, understandably. However, you can often find Yee sitting and conversing with the girls during mealtimes in the dining area. A common topic of mealtime discussion is who will have the honor of being the “food model” on Yee’s Instagram (check her out @zo_yee_zo !). Yee has also been featured a multitude of times on popular Instagram account, @campuscooks for her amazing meals and intricate fruit carvings. All in all, Kappa Delta would not be the same without the woman we are proud to call our chef.
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