Don Nguyen

Chef & Co-owner, Khói (Houston, TX)

Born in Vietnam, Don Nguyen immigrated to Texas when he was five years old. He grew up in Houston. He and his brother, Theodore, opened a Viet-Tex barbecue concept, Khói, in 2017 to preserve their mom's Vietnamese food recipes and honor their Texas roots. They pair wood-fired Central Texas barbecue techniques with traditional Vietnamese dishes. (Instagram: @donnguyyen, @khoibarbecue)