Jillian is a self-taught cook and baker. Inspired by her love of food, she has spent many years developing and refining her skills. She has a natural talent for pairing different flavors to create masterpieces in the kitchen. Jillian has an appreciation for the modern flairs in the cake decorating, pastry and culinary arts. She, however, desires to employ and exhibit the classical and traditional methods. Her works are magnificent displays and equaled by sensational flavors to delight a variety of palettes.

A Little History…

Jillian emigrated from Vietnam to Austria with 13 other members of her family. While in a refugee camp in Austria, Talheim, her mother worked in a kitchen job peeling potatoes. Jillian tagged along and hence started her time in the kitchen at the age of five. Over time, with the need to help her mother after her brother’s birth and just a natural gravitation to the kitchen, she has developed a raw talent in working with food. Every time the family traveled to visit relatives instead of spending a lot of time playing with the other kids, she would rather hang out with her grandmother or the woman who was making food at the time and offered to help.

In 1987, Jillian, her parents, and 2 siblings came to Virginia and have resided here since. A few years later, at the age of 13, Jillian and her sister discovered a cookbook, Betty Crocker’s, in a pile of books one of their neighbors was discarding. Instead of choosing the romance novels, Jillian picked up only this cookbook. Although she knew how to cook regular food, she fell for baking. She taught herself how to read recipes and figured out what all the ingredients were. Through a lot of practice and persistence, she taught herself and her sister to bake and together they started a neighborhood cookie business. They sold mini blueberry muffins by the dozen, as well as sugar cookies decorated with frosting and gingerbread cookies. They advertised by putting out flyers near the community mailboxes. The business did not have a name, but went on for several months with regular patrons. Then schoolwork and activities had to take priority and the business had to stop.

Coming Full Circle…

Today, utilizing her degree, extensive experience and skills in business, she is the proud owner of A Thyme To Taste. Jillian strives to bring happiness to people through her work.

She has worked as an assistant to several chefs at L’Academie de Cuisine. She received her certification as a cake decorator through Fairfax County. She is also ServSafe certified.