Chef Anita Lo of Anissa - Biography

As part of her French studies at Columbia University, Chef Anita Lo went to Paris, and it was there that her segue into the culinary world began. After graduating from Columbia, she worked at Bouley restaurant. She still longed to return to France, though, and would go on to attend culinary school in Paris' Ritz-Escoffier. This earned her an internship at the renowned Paris restaurant Guy Savoy.

Eventually she returned to the States to a position at Chanterelle. With a solid foundation in French cuisine, she began experimenting with French-Vietnamese at Can restaurant. Later Lo cheffed at the stateside French iconic restaurant Maxim's, and Asian-influenced Mirezi restaurant. At the latter the reviews started to flow in, including a rave from The New York Times. But a serious case of wanderlust had her leaving that position to travel throughout Southeast Asia and the Mediterranean. The culmination of all of this traveling and dining was Annisa, a restaurant where Lo practices her own specific brand of modern American cuisine. Lo has appeared numerous times on NBC, Top Chef Masters, and the national Got Milk ad campaign. She also consulted on the wildly popular Rickshaw Dumpling Bar