Chef Helen Nguyen is a first-generation Vietnamese American raised in Seattle with roots in California and Vietnam. She learned to cook in her mother's kitchen, where the soulful flavors of Central Vietnam became the foundation of everything she'd later create.

Her path to professional cooking wasn't linear. After years in Seattle real estate, Helen

made a bold leap to New York City to chase her calling. She landed at Restaurant Daniel, where she spent three years training under Daniel Boulud before graduating from the Institute of Culinary Education in 2017.

In March 2020, Helen opened Saigon Social on the Lower East Side — two days before the city shut down. Instead of closing, she pivoted: cooking meals for frontline workers, partnering with Heart of Dinner to feed elderly communities, and delivering food by hand to her neighbors. For Helen, food has never been just sustenance. It's care. It's connection. It's memory.

When Saigon Social reopened for full dine-in service in 2022, it earned a two-star New York Times review and Helen was named a James Beard Award Semi-Finalist for Best Chef: New York State — in the same week. She has since appeared as a recurring guest judge on Food Network's Beat Bobby Flay and was featured as a Heritage Hero on Hulu and NBC.

In May 2024, Helen was honored on both coasts — inducted into her Seattle high school's Hall of Fame and recognized by ICE as a Distinguished Alumni during the school's 50th anniversary celebration.

Now, with Cô Lạc, Helen comes full circle. This restaurant is rooted in the recipes from Quy Nhơn, a coastal city in Central Vietnam where her family has been fishing for six generations. It's a menu written for mom. And now, it's a table set for you.