The Team.
A culinary team that designs from scratch. A service team that reads the room. One company built on craft, culture, and genuine care.
From First Call to Last Dance.
The Conversation
You tell us about your event — the vibe, the guest count, the dietary needs, the things that matter to you. No forms. No packages. A real conversation.
Choose Your Chef
Based on your vision, we recommend a chef whose cuisine and style align with your event. You choose. They're yours for the night.
The Collaboration
Your chef sits down with your Event Captain. Together — with your input — they design a menu that's yours. Not a package. Not a preset. Yours.
The Full Picture
Our Beverage Director builds a bar program to complement the menu. Your Event Captain maps the service flow. Every detail, choreographed.
The People Behind the Feeling.
Kristina Zhao
Founder & Creative Director · James Beard WEL Fellow · Les Dames d'Escoffier
Kristina came back to San Antonio for a few days in 2015 to help her father open a restaurant. She is still here.
What followed — Sichuan House, a James Beard Fellowship, a Les Dames d'Escoffier induction, Food Network, the Texas Top 50, a UNESCO stage in Chengdu, Secret Little Garden, and now Love You Long Time — was never a plan. It was a calling that didn't ask permission.
She is not the chef. She is the one who builds the world the chefs get to cook in. The one who designs the atmosphere, writes the story, sets the table, and makes sure every guest leaves feeling like family. She learned that from Papa Zhao, who spent thirty years feeding a community that needed him. She is still learning it.
Additional team profiles are being prepared. Each person deserves a proper introduction — and we're taking the time to give them one.
Building From Within.
Many of our team members came up through the Ciao & Zen Collective — our in-house mentorship program for culinary and hospitality talent. We don't just hire people. We invest in them. We train them. We build careers, not just shifts.
If you're a culinary or hospitality professional interested in joining the collective, reach out. We're always looking for the right people.