welcome to your hungry bff 🤤

hi, i’m hungryhelen 👋
your hungry bff.

i’ve always been obsessed with why we spiral, what we crave, and how we rise again.

i lived that spiral when i moved to san francisco in late 2019—
six months pre-pandemic, early 30s, starting over in a new country with no map and no safety net. over time, i rebuilt: i got my h1-b, fell in love, and began merging two versions of myself—the one who built back in southeast asia, and the one learning how to begin again in the U.S.

but starting over wasn’t new to me.

at 21, i launched my first startup in southeast asia. it grew fast—millions in revenue, real traction, and more lessons than i saw coming. like most first-time founders, i moved fast, made bold bets, and learned the hard way that not everyone you work with is rooting for your rise.

so i made it my mission to help others avoid that spiral.
for the next 15+ years, i worked across industries, scaled brands, and helped thousands of startups grow with clarity and confidence.

my superpower? reading nuance—knowing when to push, when to pivot, and how to make things work when others hesitate.

but all that adaptability came with a cost. i got really good at fitting into rooms that weren’t built for me. and somewhere in that shape-shifting, i realized the stories i cared about most weren’t being told in boardrooms or pitch decks.

they were unfolding in kitchens—quietly, powerfully, and often unseen.

so in early 2025, my husband and i moved to new york—driven by clarity, momentum, and the belief that this vision belongs on the biggest stage.

why this space exists

i’ve always loved food—but it wasn’t until people around me said you light up when you talk about it that i realized this wasn’t just passion. it was purpose.

so i left fintech to build your hungry bff—a food media brand rethinking how stories, capital, and cultural power flow through the food world.

we spotlight chefs, comeback stories, and spiral-shaped careers.
we connect overlooked talent to brand partners, investors, and audiences who care about more than what’s trending.
we build emotional infrastructure for the industry’s most overlooked voices—
and create original media formats that give them the stage, the story, and the momentum they deserve.

what to expect here

whether you're in the industry or just love a good comeback, this space is for you.

each week, you’ll get:
🍜 stories of reinvention from chefs and creatives who’ve lived through the spiral
🎙 sneak peeks from the Snacks & Spirals podcast (coming soon)
🥟 food that fuels identity, memory, and resilience
🍽 honest recs from our evolving private dining guide
💌 early access to intimate dinners, industry salons, and more
🧠 frameworks for navigating your own career pivots, both messy and meaningful

i’m not a chef. i’m not a critic.
i’m a foodie who believes food holds the power to rebuild what the world forgot.

want to collaborate?

if you’ve ever been cracked open by a meal—
or want to help someone else rise—you’re in the right place.

subscribe. share it with a friend.
and if you know:

✅ chefs or restaurateurs with powerful stories—and no PR machine
✅ brands and agencies ready to partner on something deeper than impressions
✅ investors who see food as identity, comeback, and cultural power
✅ creators, producers, & operators who want to help build a new kind of media engine

👋 reach out and let’s eat, build, and feed together.

stay hungry,
🖤 hungryhelen
@yourhungrybff