Before earning degrees from Harvard and Cornell, Phuong Lien (Lyn) Nguyen helped wait tables at her mother’s storied Vietnamese restaurant in Miami, Hy Vong, one of the most lauded eateries in the country. She is the CEO and co-founder of Liquid Analytics, an artificial intelligence innovation firm, and most recently co-authored Mango and Peppercorns: A Memoir of Food, an Unlikely Family, and the American Dream (Chronicle Books) – a powerful memoir of resilience, friendship, family, and food – with restaurant principals Tung Nguyen and Katherine Manning. Lidia Bastianich, celebrity chef and public television host, called the book “a touching and inspirational culinary journey into a fascinating culture and a cuisine that I adore. This incredible story about the dream of a refugee that fled Communist rule in Vietnam hit home for me. Her passion for food made her American dream come true.”
