Please join us in welcoming one of Vancouver’s most recognizable and respected food and lifestyle influencers in Deanna Woo as the third in our series showcasing restaurateurs, chefs, business owners, organizations and entrepreneurs in the Asian community.

A healthcare employee by day and influencer by night, Deanna enjoys finding and featuring the newest and trendiest food crazes in Vancouver and spotlighting its local small independent and family run businesses. A big supporter of the annual Chinese Restaurant Awards, she has been promoting their initiatives and showcasing various Chinese-owned restaurants and chefs for the past year.

Some of Deanna’s favourite Asian-owned businesses in the Greater Vancouver area include:

@sundaysoyco

@elephantgardencreamery

@hkbbqmaster

@fryingpan604

Ryan’s Chinese Restaurant (Burnaby)

We’ll be making a $250 donation on Deanna’s behalf to the Yarrow Intergenerational Society for Justice (@yarrowsociety), which supports youth and low-income immigrant seniors in Vancouver’s Chinatown and the Downtown Eastside.

Stand tall. Stay strong. Show love. Support local.

Highlighting a heartfelt, beautiful recent post from @jackiekaiellis:

“This is Lucas and Stella Kai. Many of you know them as my mom jam and dad jam. I love them so.

They came to Canada as Chinese immigrants in the 1970’s: poor, young and in love, working hard to find their way in life, like most youth in any century, from any culture. They worked as janitors, waitresses, farm hands; at hot dog stands, on construction sites; working multiple jobs and going to school while caring for my sister and I, as well as their parents, two cousins, two uncles and an aunt.

Then they both went out on a limb to start their own businesses, not only because they are very smart, capable and brave…but because they had to. The chance of thriving was much better with their own businesses than surviving in a world where even being a “model minority” might not have been enough to make ends meet.

They are model citizens. They both owned successful businesses, and I learned entrepreneurship at our dinner table. They care(d) for their aging parents, sacrificing much to see them comfortable and loved until their last days. They worked many extra hours so that we could have “Canadian” childhood experiences.

With everything going on — racism and hate crimes especially — hitting home, I can’t help but think, what if it had been my mom or dad jam? ... All I know is this: I don’t want to be afraid for my parents, and I don’t want you to fear for yours either.”

Stand tall. Stay strong. Show love. Support local.

Please give a warm welcome to the incomparable Jackie Kai Ellis, as the second in our weeklong series showcasing restaurateurs, chefs, business owners, organizations and entrepreneurs in the Asian community.

Jackie is a true multi-hyphenate creative tour-de-force who is an entrepreneur, pastry chef, author, lifestyle writer, advice columnist and co-chair of @yesvancouver. She is perhaps best known as the founder of @beaucoupbakery and for her bestselling memoir ‘The Measure of My Powers’.

Some of Jackie’s favourite Asian-owned businesses in the Greater Vancouver area include:

@laglaceicecream

@cultivatetea

@walrushome

@shopcadine

@newfishport

We’ll be making a $250 donation on Jackie’s behalf to the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Chinese Gardens (@vancouverchinesegarden), a registered museum, one of Vancouver’s top tourist attractions and a unique venue for cultural programming, events and educational programs.

Stand tall. Stay strong. Show love. Support local.