Food is often-times the way we encounter a new culture. There’s nothing more inviting than flavors, scents and new dishes to a new country or region of the world.

With this also comes an opportunity to spread awareness and love, which is the idea behind Chefs Stopping Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) Hate, a charity started by chefs Kevin Tien and Tim Ma three years ago.

The organization focused on helping those affected by AAPI hate, minority communities, and disastrous world events. It started with special takeout events during the pandemic, featuring dishes from various chefs. Over the years, it’s morphed into special pop-up events at different restaurants supporting different causes, most recently being for the families of the World Central Kitchen after the devastating airstrike that killed seven workers.

Tien goes on to say that “for everything to be equitable, everybody has to be supported” and to prevent hate, attacks need to be stopped against all minorities. The chef of Moon Rabbit mentions the saying that “an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us”, pointing out how there should be unity to defeat the systemic issues in our society.

With COVID-19, Asian hate grew to an all-time high, with a yearly increase of 339% in 2022, according to NBC News. 2021 also saw a deadly shooting across three spas in Atlanta, leaving eight dead, six of which were of Asian descent. This led to a lot of fear within Asian communities, including with Tien himself, who shared that he was concerned about his elderly grandmother, who was living on the West Coast.

He said in regards to AAPI attacks that“ [he] didn’t want her to be next on the news” as a victim. In an interview with ABC News, Tien previously mentioned the “keep your head down” mentality prominent in older generations. This type of thinking is slowly changing however and the parents and grandparents of Tien’s communities are also beginning to “finally see that it’s ok to be vocal and put yourself out there”.

Tien recounts a conversation with his mother, who warned that speaking out could lead to being targeted, which he rebutted by saying that the “cycle has to stop somewhere…and there were people in [other communities] that were allies and there to support [them]”.

The restaurant business, and especially this type of large-scale charity is a difficult profession to work in, taking a lot of time and sacrifice in personal life to succeed, says Tien.

Still, Tien expresses that it’s a “big win” when people become inspired by him to do something, speak out, or just have a difficult conversation with their family. Tien also shares a deep relationship with his chefs and is particularly inspired by the team, who are equally as passionate about the industry as he is.

From his humble beginnings of cooking and experimenting with grilled cheese sandwiches and cooking out of necessity for his siblings, Tien has now inspired others to cook for a greater purpose and to support an important cause.

With Moon Rabbit, Tien hopes to be able to improve his food and restaurant, constantly in pursuit of perfection. With Chefs Stopping AAPI Hate, Tien hopes to bring positivity and awareness to his community, and other minority voices who deserve to be heard.