Louis Lin

Louis Lin, like Jolyn, is a child of Taiwanese immigrants and was born and raised in a small suburb just outside of LA. Unlike Jolyn though, he always knew where his path would take him; after getting his degree in Business Economics and Accounting at UC Santa Barbara, he enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone. From there, his career in kitchens began; Louis spent his externship working behind Nancy Silverton at her fine dining Osteria Mozza. Upon graduating from culinary school, at the behest of his best friend, Louis moved to Washington, DC to work for James Beard winner Aaron Silverman at his first restaurant, Rose’s Luxury. Rose’s would go on to receive numerous accolades- Bon Appetit’s best new restaurant in 2014 and a Michelin Star, amongst others. When Silverman opened his second venture, Pineapple and Pearls, Louis would follow him as an opening line cook and help the tasting-menu restaurant earn 2 Michelin Stars in its inaugural year.

In 2017, Louis moved back to Los Angeles and began working at Evan Funke’s Felix Trattoria. It was there that he found his footing; working his way up from line cook to Chef de Cuisine, running day to day operations and overseeing the restaurant that has become the standard bearer for handmade pasta in the country. The pandemic signaled another change for Louis, and at the end of 2020, he and Jolyn left LA for Portland, where they eventually worked together to open their first restaurant, Xiao Ye in the Hollywood District.