This is not a sponsored post.
The best things that we can do in life is to pursue our dreams and create a lane of happiness that fulfills a purpose. A good friend, Leslie Chan truly defines that meaning. Chan graduated with her Master’s in Human Genetics and Genomic Data Analytics. However, Chan did not want to stop there because she wanted to strive in the world of business too. She always had a love for Asian Cuisine dishes because it was an expression of love toward her family and friends. It was the missing puzzle piece she needed to give her complete fulfillment. She incorporated her love of data science into creating her own Asian cuisine and kitchen cookware business. Chan’s story is remarkable because she was intimidated at first but she always repeated to herself, “it’s now or never.” Chan’s story was inspiring because it shows that hard work always pays off and sometimes it’s always worth it to take the leap of faith to be successful. Her business is called HonuSquare. I highly recommend the BanChan dish lunch special that is homemade perfection. I was also able to learn how to cook Takoyaki which are ball-shaped Japanese snacks that were crisp, soft, creamy and were the most delicious appetizer. If you are interested in buying a Takoyaki grill or would like to learn to make some of these delicious recipes please visit the Instagram page and Facebook @HonuSquare. The website is also https://www.honusquare.com/
In addition, here’s my heart warming and uplifting interview with Leslie Chan:
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How would you describe your company HonuSquare?
“Okay, so my company’s name is HonuSquare and we’re a go to Asian kitchen cookware at home. We offer home cooks the tools to make really great delicious Asian recipes by making things easier. You can cook up recipes in Asian restaurants or cook Asian foods without much fuss. So with that said, we offer certain cookers like hot pots, rice cookers or table top barbeque grills to make a wide variety of Asian dishes. You could have a Korean barbecue experience inside your own home. So essentially, we’re here to make really good food.
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What are the biggest challenges? And what are the steps your company’s taking to overcome it?
“Yeah, so that’s kind of the reason why I decided to open this company. In a lot of kitchens, I felt there wasn’t really a focus or proper representation of Asian culture. The cookware companies I walked into didn’t have rice cookers in the front and it was actually in the very back of the store. It just seemed kind of deserted and it was a little bit sad to see. I felt that a rice cooker was one of the most important homeware and cookware essentials. In a lot of Asian families, you make a lot of dishes out of just that one cooker. For me, I just felt that I’d rather have a cookware company that really understands Asian culture and loves Asian food. Food has been the center of my life and it’s kind of the way that as a culture we say I love you to each other. My parents don’t say I love you to me explicitly. However, they come in to make me meals and give me food. It’s a way for them to express their appreciation and love for me. So likewise, I wanted to create a company with a more Hawaiian theme because it’s about family and love. It’s about coming together, eating together and appreciating the food rehab. So going back to your question, one of the key challenges I have is just the fact that we just didn’t have a lot of representation. I wanted to create a company that represents Asian culture.”
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What are your company’s biggest achievements? What do you love about it the most?
“So I would say the biggest achievement would be from my whole family and the happiness it has given me. My mom has actually started cooking a lot more in the kitchen and we weren’t able to do that before. However, with this company we were able to focus on going back to our roots and determine how being brought together makes us happy. It showed us that we love each other and it was just through food. We just started cooking together. So I would say it gave my mom a lot of liberty and the media was able to showcase some of her cooking as well as take pictures. We’re trying to collaborate with other recipe curators and it’s exciting to partner with other Asian recipe curators to highlight their work because they share the same passion about Asian food. I’m making food and telling you the history behind it. It’s poetic and beautiful. There’s so many ways to demonstrate how much you love food. So I guess one of the biggest accomplishments was being able to work with my mom and come up with a couple recipes. Also another one would be sharing a love for food and creating a huge community through collaborations.”
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What’s your biggest goal for 2021?
“I would say my biggest goal is to just get a lot of people excited about cooking and eating food. One of my user’s goals right now is to partner with several different companies like Soto Asian cooking and a couple of local recipe supporters here as well. We want to highlight their skills and their work. I think this company is a little bit more than just cookware. It’s about creating a huge community that is passionate about not just food but also supportive of good representation of Asians within the media. Asian women in media is something that I’m deeply passionate about and would love to advocate for. That’s why I’ve been partnering up with a couple of few locals here. One of the recipe curators is Natasha. She is one of the people that we’re intending to collaborate with in order to make it possible to share our love for food, share recipes and make it possible to cook Asian recipes at home.”
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What are your most favorite recipes for your company?
“There are so many that are simple. Most of them are fun ways to get people to do the least amount of effort such as using the indoor Korean barbecue grill and it’s super easy. You can buy meat such as brisket from a local night ranch or market. Then you get some vegetables, wash them up and put it all down onto the table. Everyone gets around the table and you all cook your own meal. So the easiest recipes are actually the ones where everyone starts cooking their own meals.”