“This dish isn’t on the menu! The chef made it specially for you!”
A dollop of that trademark red peppercorn sauce sits atop the dish. Thin strips of cucumber are delicately stacked in one portion of the bowl. Cubes of tofu are buried beneath the pile of what appears to be noodles. Audrey avidly explains this masterpiece in front of me.
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The noodle like morsels are actually strips of gluten that are carefully crafted. She asks me how my spice tolerance is, and I bashfully reply, “not that great.” She laughs and scoops part of the peppercorn onto a nearby saucer…saving my taste buds from a firestorm. Taking the chopsticks, Audrey deftly mixes the ingredients together and I discover that a secret sauce was waiting patiently at the bottom of the bowl. When she is done, a completely new dish sits before me.
This dish is bold and flavorful, like Audrey. One can sense her vivacity upon the initial meeting.
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She is poised and polite, but rather reserved.
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Like the cucumbers and tofu, Audrey is neat compartmentalized…manager, mother, baker.
However, as you get to know her, as you build that bond, Audrey blossoms into something new and inspiring.
She would never paint herself in a light of such praise as her humble spirit yearns only to uplift and serve others, but once you begin to mix and uncover the crux of her being, the passions that drive her, wonderful, complex flavors burst forth.
The colors of her journey bleed together and the threads of passion, love and selflessness bind her story together.
Audrey Lo is building a legacy…and the truly remarkable thing is, she doesn’t even know it.
Courtesy of Unsplash