About Me

Photo by Jake Ahles

Hello! My name is Samantha Tan and I'm the "Sam" in Sam Tan's Kitchen :) I am an actress by day, home chef-entrepreneur by night.

Born and raised in Petaling Jaya (where my culinary skills were limited to instant noodles and perhaps frying an egg), I started teaching myself to cook when I moved to England as a teenager and wanted authentic Malaysian food on a budget.

Sam Tan's Kitchen was born in 2009 as a simple food blog, just so I could share successful recipe experiments from my East London flat with friends and family. Word of mouth eventually got me baking custom birthday cakes on request, then catering an intimate dinner party or two, and before I knew it I had moved to New York City for drama school and was whipping up hors d'oeuvres for 100 guests in between acting classes. No small feat in a 5th floor walk-up apartment with no elevator, I can tell you that!

After three years in the Big Apple, I am now based in Koreatown Los Angeles, where I continue making high quality food from scratch for production catering, Malaysians craving the real deal, clients with special dietary needs, food lovers of all sorts at events and of course my ever-hungry husband Ari (who helped me build this site. Thanks hon, you get a cookie). 

All enquiries are welcome, just drop me a line at sam@samtanskitchen.com. I answer all emails personally as quickly as I can, and I take pride in going the extra mile to meet your needs.

Thank you for visiting my new online store, and I hope to feed you soon too! :)

Jom Makan / Bon Appétit / Happy Eating! :)