Hello, I’m Jessy
Born in Taiwan and raised in a family where meals were language, ritual, and love, food has always been my compass—my comfort, my heritage, and the way I make sense of the world.
Now far from the familiar, I share my home—and most of my snacks—with a small, chaotic crew: me, Mr. J (my well-meaning partner who “helps,” but mostly just taste-tests), and Stevie, our fur-coated tyrant, he’s a professional napper with a surprisingly discerning palate.
My world is built on three pillars: food, animals, and travel. The way spices shift across cultures, how animals remind us to slow down, and how a single bite can transport you across time and space—that’s the kind of magic I chase. When I’m not wandering new streets or befriending dogs I probably shouldn’t pet, I’m in my kitchen. It’s my sanctuary, where memory and mess coexist, and creativity has space to breathe.
My Old Sebastian’s Table was born from that space, in memory of a dearly missed old dog. This is a home for burnt edges and imperfect attempts, where laughter is stirred in alongside longing. It’s more than a food blog—it’s a journal of flavor and feeling, interrupted often by sarcasm, paw prints, and the occasional existential crisis over why the sauce broke again.
I didn’t start in the kitchen. For years, I worked in healthcare—helping others, losing parts of myself, and wondering if there was more room for creativity in my life. In 2024, I took a leap into tech. The timing, naturally, was terrible. Layoffs swept the industry, AI took the spotlight, and I was starting over—midlife, mid-chaos. But as the old Chinese saying goes: Doctor, Lawyer, or Failure. I’m not the first two—and I refuse to be the last.
I always think life is like a box of chocolates—not the tidy kind, but the weirdly filled kind. Some are sweet, some bitter, some confusing… but one of them might just surprise you. That’s how I cook. That’s how I live. Messy, imperfect, and deeply human. I tell people I cook like an old lady. I have hard time following recipes and I cook with where my imagination takes me. A handful of this, A pinch of that, and oh… let’s clean out this leftover in the fridge. But I love getting people together around food. We share our stories, we laugh, and we are just together.
What You’ll Find Here
- Heritage Comforts → Taiwanese dishes and nostalgic flavors from my family’s table
- Weeknight Rituals → Quick, soulful recipes for busy nights
- Paw Pantry → simple, wholesome homemade treats for every four-legged friend who’s ever kept us company in the kitchen
- Kitchen Stories → Essays, musings, and the occasional kitchen mishap
No, I’m not a chef. I’m just your friendly kitchen oddball—whipping up comfort food with stories on the side. I hope you find something here that makes you feel a little more at home.
Thanks for stopping by. Let’s cook, laugh, and maybe set off the smoke alarm together.
