From designing experiences on screen to creating them around the table.

I'm Chef EJ. Before Bistro Neko, I spent nearly 20 years as a UX designer and artist in the video game industry, thinking about how moments connect, how details matter, and how an experience ultimately makes you feel.

Food has been part of that story the entire time.

I’m half Black and half Thai, and growing up in Florida shaped my palate around my Southern and Thai roots, alongside the Cuban and Latin flavors that surrounded me. Moving to California added Mexican influences, incredible seasonal ingredients, and an even broader world of food to explore.

That curiosity eventually led me to formal training in Japanese cuisine and sushi, deepening my appreciation for precision, seasonality, restraint, and progression.

I've been exploring food for as long as I can remember, always eating, learning, cooking, and experimenting. Combined with my background as an artist and designer, those experiences have given me a very specific lens on food.

I don't cook within one cuisine. My cooking draws from my heritage, the places I've lived, the techniques I've studied, and the food I love. The result is something familiar, but different, with each experience designed intentionally from beginning to end.