Chef XINH DWELLEY ANNOUNCES SECOND COOKBOOK

For two and half decades Xinh Dwelley tirelessly opened the doors on Xinh’s Clam & Oyster House in Shelton, showing herlove for her customers by creating fusions of Northwest andAsian flavors with an amazing intuition for her ingredients.

Xinh’s life has not been easy. Raised on a rice farm near Saigon she was resourceful. From a young age she understood that she had a magical way with food. At 14, she quickly transitioned from laundry help to cooking for officers at an American military base. By her 15th birthday she was famous for her fried chicken. Xinh married a US soldier. She immigrated to Olympia with her infant child.

Speaking little English, having a young child, and not knowing anyone was overwhelming. When Vietnam fell in 1975 she lost all contact with her family. Many would have crumbled. Instead she worked harder. She took classes to learn English in the evening and was the quickest blueberry and mushroom harvester during the day. On the night tides she dug more clams than anyone else. Weekends she sold egg rolls at the farmers market. Her determination paid off. Within a short time Xinh had earned a name for hereslf as a master oyster shucker for Taylor Shellfish, winning multiple firsts at Oysterfest's shucking championships. Taylor quickly discovered her magic with food as well and helped her start Xinh’s Clam and Oyster House in Shelton.

It wasn’t just local families that flocked to her restaurant to bask in her personality. Over the decades her fame grew beyond the town and even the state. Her restaurant became plastered with ribbons and plaques of the many honors her dishes earned as well as images of her with famous people including Anthony Bourdain, Andrew Zimmern, Julia Child, and even Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs. Her experiences are remarkable. Encounters with famous chefs and private cooking engagements with rock stars tumble out like unimaginable dreams. All told with Xinh’s candid disbelief that these famous people took her seriously.

By 2017 continual battles with cancer made it difficult for Xinh to keep up with the daily rigors. The restaurant was closed but Xinh did not slow down. She went to work on yet another project — recording her beloved recipes. Xinh’s Pacific Coastal Flavors (2019) in time for an OysterFest debut despite her chemotheraphy schedule throughout the book's production. After her recovery she was able to use those funds generated by cookbook sales to help the many groups she supports locally and in her home village in Vietnam.

Xinh is a courageous fighter. Once again is in the fight for her life against cancer. Over the next few months volunteers will be working with Chef Xinh to host dinners throughout Mason County and Olympia to raise money for cancer research and share delicious menus and content for her new cookbook, Flavors with Friends. The books will be ready in time for the holidays and a portion of all sales goes to support cancer research. Reserve at cookwithxinh.com.

Over the next few months Xinh is scheduling events at locations around the Fjord. There is limited space so be sure to sign up online to get a heads-up when the events occur. The first scheduled event is dinner at Bluegrass From the Forest, September 10. Tickets are $40 including admission to the bluegrass evening concert. On September 24th, Xinh will be at Hama Hama Oyster Farm for a chef take-over!

For details visit www.cookwithxinh.com.