Francis Lam

Lam was born to Chinese immigrant parents living in New Jersey and working in Manhattan's Chinatown, where they operated a small garment factory.

[1][3] After graduating from Michigan, Lam moved back to New York and worked as a grant writer for non-profit organizations before attending CIA.

[1] He has written for Food & Wine, Salon[4] and Bon Appétit and wrote a regular column, Eat,[5] about immigrant cooking for New York Times Magazine.

[1][11] He also acquired Tacos: Recipes and Provocations by Alex Stupak and Jordana Rothman, Food of Northern Thailand by Austin Bush, The Jemima Code by Toni Tipton-Martin, Night + Market by Kris Yenbamroong, Chrissy Teigen's Cravings,[8] Eat a Little Better by Sam Kass,[1] and Ryan Jacobs' Truffle Underground.

[15] Lam met his wife, Christine Gaspar,[16] in Biloxi, Mississippi, while they were both working for organizations helping rebuild after Hurricane Katrina.