About Me

Hello! My name is Samantha Tan and I am an actress by day, home chef 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 task 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 Los Angeles where I continue feeding independent filmmakers on low-budget film shoots, Malaysians craving the real deal, food lovers of all sorts at events and of course my ever-hungry husband Ari (who helped me build this site. Thanks hun, you get a cookie). 

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

Love,

Sam