Today we’d like to introduce you to Ka Yan Tam
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Hello, my name is Kai. I’m currently a senior year student at the University of Southern California and my journey with food illustration started in my junior year of high school in Hong Kong. My journey on social media started since then, but I’d say it really went into motion during my second year of college. As a new transfer student at USC and also moving to Los Angeles alone for the first time, there was a ‘lostness’ that I felt. Even though I knew that my primary focus was to study, I was still navigating to find my sense of belonging here.
I started my ‘everyday toast project’ on a random Wednesday in October 2022 after one of my professors at USC (madison moore) encouraged us to find something to do everyday for at least 30 days. I decided to just explore the realm of ‘toasts’ for 30 days: everyday after coming home from work/school, I would open Pinterest and find a new idea for a toast. I did this for 30 days, and eventually extended it to 100, then 200, and then made it my own personal goal to reach 365 (which I reached recently in 2024). During this moment of growth, I expanded my research into exploring LA’s local food spots that have toasts on their menus and took the time to develop my own toasts in my apartment. Afterwards, this personal project followed me everywhere I travelled to for the past two years – from Hong Kong, Seoul (South Korea), Tokyo (Japan), and more.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I think that a lot of creatives struggle with finding their ‘niche’ or purpose in what they do. Although at times I felt that I was not immediately contributing to society because art isn’t a “survival need” (subjective!), I started to recognize what it can do for the community and to people. Through my two years of working on this project alone, I feel that I was able to bring recognition to restaurants and cafes and appreciation to the people that make magic happen at these places. To me, there is a sense of cross-inspiration that always is in the cycle of art-making and being able to bring their dishes into a different form is very fulfilling to me.
And of course, finding a way to make what I do a living at times has been difficult because it really depends on how people see your work and if they find value in what you do. Being patient and having friends and family that really support my vision helped me continue to work even harder and keep pushing myself.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m an East-Asian creative that makes art, food illustrations/graphics and short video content on social media. I dance, I model, I style clothes, I take pictures – I do everything that I’m interested in. I specialize in promoting F&B (food and beverage) by transforming food into colorful illustrations and graphics onto digital screens. My art is informed by the experiences that I’ve had thus far living in international cities like Hong Kong, Tokyo, New York and now Los Angeles. I’m known for my on-going toast series on Instagram that started back in October 2022.
I believe that I have the ability to make food look very appetizing in my drawings – and a part of it also comes from experiencing the ambience and place that it is served at. I think what sets me apart from others is my desire to help and support those that I love and is a fan of, and see myself building long-term relationships with. In general, I’m a creative that is also an ambitious workaholic.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
Communication is very important; if you are working with someone, overcommunicating is always the way to go at times especially if communication is done digitally. It’s also important to know that no one really ever has ‘bad intentions’ towards others, but instead, it’s just a difference in priorities. Always be kind.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://nomkakaii.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nomkakaii/
Image Credits
neversaynever (NSN)
