Growing up in New York City’s Chinatown as the daughter of Chinese immigrants who opened up their own restaurant, I was surrounded by fresh, authentic, and healthy Chinese food, and most importantly the belief that the food we eat can heal our bodies. In my family’s Chinese restaurant where I worked, customers would come in and ask if they could buy our sauces in bulk. This became such a common request that one day I told my parents, “I think we need to sell our sauce in stores!” However, with the craze of owning a restaurant, the idea was never pursued.
Fast forward 20 years as a career mom of four beautiful children, I wanted to prepare tasty and nutritious meals for my family but had very limited time. So, I drew from my family roots and recipes from my parents’ restaurant and started making healthy herb and plant based sauces. I found my zen in knowing that when I came home from a busy day at the office, I had an easy and yummy sauce I could throw on any meal for a kick of bold and zesty flavor. Everything came full circle for me one night at the dinner table when my daughter said, “Mom, I think you need to quit your job and sell sauce!”
Thanks to the encouragement from my daughter, in 2016 I decided to pursue this lifelong dream. FreshZen Foods was born, and so was the option for quick, healthy, tasty, and zen meals.
With love,
Ruby Chan
