The 2025 Louisiana Book Festival will be held on Saturday, November 1.
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Nini Nguyen

Home Featured Authors & Panelists Featured Participant Lineup Nini Nguyen

New Orleans-based Nini Nguyen is a chef, instructor, and recipe developer. She has worked in top kitchens like Eleven Madison Park and gained fame on Top Chef Season 16 and Top Chef: All-Stars Los Angeles. Her cookbook, Đặc Biệt, merges Vietnamese and Louisiana flavors. Nguyen made her Food Network debut with Tournament of Champions Season 5. She contributes to Food & Wine, Food52, and Serious Eats, and shares tips on Instagram and TikTok.

 

Schedule

1:00 pm to 1:45 pm

Cooking Demo Tent

Đặc Biệt: An Extra-Special Vietnamese Cookbook

with Nini Nguyen and moderator Joshua Hebert

 

2:00 pm to 2:45 pm

Cavalier House Books Tent

Book Signing

Đặc Biệt: An Extra-Special Vietnamese Cookbook

A collection of contemporary, extra-special Vietnamese recipes, from beloved classics like Hanoi-Style Vermicelli with Grilled Pork and three variations of phở, to dishes with a New Orleans twist, like Southeast Asian Jambalaya and Sticky Fried Shrimp Bánh Mì — from Top Chef contestant and acclaimed chef Nini Nguyen

In Vietnamese culture, to be dac biet is to be special and luxurious, or, as chef and cooking instructor Nini Nguyen puts it, it means adding something a little extra, like salty caviar on top of squid-stuffed pork, a surprise note of ginger and lime in a dipping sauce, or sautéing shaking beef in farm-fresh butter for a creamy, delectable experience. Born and raised in New Orleans by Vietnamese immigrants, here Nini gives us recipes that fuse the best of Vietnamese and New Orleans cooking and clear directions on how to prepare and arrange them, making for a flavorful, unforgettable experience that proves that being a little extra is easy and just right.