Today we’d like to introduce you to Ani Samuelian.
Hi Ani, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve been cooking professionally for over 22 years. I’ve done the grind. I’ve worked in hotels in West Hollywood, restaurants in Beverly Hills and Downtown LA. I’ve put in the hours, the 4 a.m. shifts, the 1 a.m. closings, and the double shifts where you barely sit down. I’ve been a line cook, a caterer, and a private chef for A-list clients. I’ve opened a French restaurant in a small Northern California town, and I built my own business, LittleChef, from the ground up.
My business became the number one boutique catering choice in town. All I had was a Facebook business page, some word of mouth, and a community that believed in me. That support is what pushed me to finally publish my cookbook. People wanted my food, but they also wanted my voice; the way I tell a story, the way I bring humor and honesty into the kitchen.
So I wrote it.
For me, food has always been more than work. It’s how I’ve connected with people and communities everywhere I’ve been. It’s how I’ve expressed myself as both a chef and a writer. And now, after having spent two decades in the hospitality industry, I’m proud to say I’ve carved out my own path—one built on experience, resilience, and a love of feeding people well.
That didn’t stop there. During Covid, with most people in self isolation and events all but canceled, I developed babychef—a line of baby-friendly foods designed to expand a child’s palate during their first year. I wanted to introduce flavors that went beyond the standard purees: carrots with rosemary, strawberries with basil, English peas with tarragon—subtle, layered tastes that a child could grow to appreciate.
It’s the same approach I take in my kitchens. Every ingredient and every combination tells a story.
From the very beginning, I believe flavor can shape how we experience the world—one spice at a time.
Alongside all of that, I’ve raised two boys on my own. They’ve grown up watching me work the long hours, juggle businesses, and still put food on the table at home. It hasn’t always been easy, but it’s shown them what resilience really looks like.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Smooth road? Not even close. But I don’t think chefs ever expect one. The kitchen will humble you fast. I’ve spent years serving elegance while living on endurance. I’ve spent nights cooking twelve-course dinners for people whose wine lists cost more than my car, plating truffles and caviar with a smile, and then gone home to eat a bowl of cereal standing over the sink.
That’s the part people don’t see.
That kind of contrast teaches you humility.
Over the past two decades, after working in some of Los Angeles’s busiest kitchens beside some of LA’s proudest Chefs, I paved my own path towards working in private estates where the menus were handwritten and the ingredients came with pedigrees. I spent years creating experiences for people who have access to everything, which meant the food had to deliver something they couldn’t buy: sincerity, warmth, and a memory worth keeping.
That’s always been my goal—to make food that feels personal, even in the most polished setting.
There were stretches where I was working double shifts, running my business, and raising my boys all at once. The hours were long, the expectations higher. But those years taught me everything: how to hold myself steady under pressure, how to find creativity even when I was running on fumes, how to build something real out of pure work ethic.
It’s never been easy, but the struggle gave the work its weight.
And the weight gave it meaning.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Some people find their calling. I found a knife, a cutting board, and a clock that never seemed to stop. Because kitchens don’t give you permission, they just dare you to keep up—and I did. For more than twenty years, I learned how to move faster, think sharper, and still make something beautiful at the end of a 17-hour day.
I’ve worked the hotels and the restaurants and the private homes of people whose names never need mentioning. I opened a French restaurant in a town that didn’t expect one. I ran a catering company that became the talk of the community without a single ad campaign—all with just the simplicity of food that spoke for itself and genuine neighbors who spread the word.
But the truth is, I’ve always been more than a chef. While my cooking gave me a language, my writing gave me a voice. My cookbook was born from both. It was part recipes, part storytelling, part proof that you don’t have to polish yourself into perfection to matter. The town where I built my business cheered me on, and I wrote the book for them as much as for me.
Cooking is my trade. Writing is my release. Together they’ve let me create a cookbook that is mine; that was both earned, plated, and written one story at a time.
I’m known for balancing refinement with soul. My style blends classic French technique’s with contemporary Mediterranean cuisine—bold, honest, and slightly ambiguous flavors. My cooking drifts along the southern coasts of France, Italy, Greece, and Spain, then makes its way down to every spice that exists from Lebanon to Morocco.
The food I create is old in spirit and rooted in tradition.
It looks beautiful on the plate, too pretty to eat, but it still feels alive, familiar, and meant to be shared.
I take pride in that. I’ve earned every inch of my craft, one service at a time.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that success in this industry isn’t about perfection; it’s about endurance, intention, and heart. You can teach someone to cook, but you can’t teach them to care. Every dish I make carries a little of the people, places, and seasons that have shaped me.
What sets me apart is the path I took to get here. I didn’t come up with investors or branding teams. Rather, I built my name through work, consistency, and community.
Every chapter of my career has shaped how I cook, how I lead, and how I write.
I published a cookbook that reflects that same spirit: straightforward, ballsy, and grounded in real kitchen life.
Food has a way of finding you wherever you are in life. It’s the one language that doesn’t need translation. My hope is that when people sit down to eat something I’ve made, they taste honesty somewhere between the salt and the smoke.
That’s the kind of truth they will always remember.
Pricing:
- Cookbook: Available for purchase on Amazon / https://www.amazon.com/Fuck-Your-Cookbook-Real-Ruthless/dp/B0F1ZVFPFM/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2BIDN5TVP4XG&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.DrfM42v4M8ibCHitH7L3lCbSghlcwLkrblDFt5tryQrMutK0ZCTPpON678T0Qq4D0CcAbxLNh25HMcBqhLPAZ4SpdAr_joKD6wPCkfTDqq5gMbh9wIuVNJwJEREeOa2VqD_pVlrK2Ox94vSmV5rc-irUlc_wMeyCfzfB3UIn3FbgjKOMF5Mu8MkSbY3mY_grbhkzab_1ZJPJHak4SNfg-2i3OhcmOe2pvu5mReaPq-0.FSsanM3pi7LNZAnDu9CpG4JYbJyrQEi1gdfAfjhglXo&dib_tag=se&keywords=fuck+your+cookbook&qid=1760118887&sprefix=fuck+your+cookbook%2Caps%2C127&sr=8-1
- Private dining and event inquiries are available upon request.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/little_literary_chef
- Other: https://amazon.com/Fuck-Your-Cookbook-Real-Ruthless/dp/B0F1ZVFPFM/
Image Credits
The first 4 photos goes credit to Nicole Roberts with Nicole Roberts Photography
The two spice photos with spoons and the two babychef baby food photos – are all done by Nicole Roberts with Nicole Roberts Photography.
