Pasadena Weekly: Chef Tiana Gee hosting her first pop-up brunch

For $120 per person, guests can enjoy Not Granny’s Shrimp and Grits (sawsawan glazed prawns, summer succotash, creamy corn grips and okra chips), banana pudding French toast (coconut pudding-stuffed brioche bites, Nilla Wafers, banana caramel, whipped cream and bananas), chicken and waffles (buttermilk fried chicken, spicy maple gastrique, ube waffle and peaches), and adobo short rib hash (adobo marinated Westholme Wagyu short ribs, roasted summer vegetables and farm fresh egg). 

“My pop-up is my outlet to speak about what my food means to me and showcase that,” said Gee, whose mother is Filipino and father is Black.

“My friends always said, ‘You’re so much more Filipino or so much more Black,’ when, in fact, I’m both of those things. This is my way of showcasing who I am in the form of food.” A Glendale native, Gee began her journey as a chef at the age of 17 but has been cooking “my whole existence pretty much.”

“To be honest, I feel like it was just natural for me,” she said. “I would tell my mom at 5 that I was going to be a chef. I spent a lot of time with both grandmothers cooking and being in the kitchen, exploring my own love for food. It’s my first language.”

Known as “Tee,” she has worked in the LA food scene and then took her skills to New York to be the sous chef at her mentor Marcus Samuelson’s Harlem eatery, Red Rooster. “I’ve learned pretty much from all of my mentors,” she said. “I’ve taken all the techniques and fundamentals of being a chef and learning how to learn and respect food. I represent everything I’ve learned in my pop-up.” 

She’s the star of the YouTube channel “Cookin’ with Tee,” where she shares recipes and techniques for home cooks, and was featured on “Chopped Next Gen” and “It’s CompliPlated.” The Redbird event is her first brunch, but she has hosted dinners in New York, LA and Virginia. “I love cooking,” she said. “I don’t know what I would be doing if this wasn’t a thing.”