Chef/Owner of Hao's Grocery & Cafe

Chef Hao Tran is a passionate culinary artist who brings people together through food. She's the heart and soul behind Hao's Grocery & Café, a specialty market and culinary hub in Fort Worth, Texas.

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Born in Vietnam but ingrained Fort Worth community, Chef Tran draws inspiration from her Vietnamese heritage to create authentic, handcrafted dishes that showcase the rich flavors of her culture. Her mission is to foster a welcoming atmosphere where everyone can gather, share stories, and explore the world's culinary treasures.

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Hao's culinary journey began in 2015 with a digital visual food blog called Lost in the Sauce. It was meant to share culturally inspired foods with the community and inspire people to experience it all, whether cooking from home or dining out. 

In 2018, Hao was a farmer’s market manager for West 8th Farmer’s Market in Fort Worth, TX, where she met many local artisan food producers and farms that needed to showcase their products. It was there she met Trent and Dena Shaskan (of Icon Sourdough Bread, Wines from A Broad, & Les Dames member), as well as Dixya Bhatarrai, a registered dietician. 

Together, they created Hao & Dixya, making and selling dumplings on a pop-up platform. By September 2018, they combined forces with Trent and Dena and opened The Table in September 2019. The Table is a collaboration between a local foods market and culinary studio. 

The Table partners parted ways in 2022 for other business ventures while Hao decided to continue with the grocery store and rebranded to Hao’s Grocery & Cafe.

Hao expanded the store to include Asian products and created a separate dining lounge/culinary studio. Its purpose is to still feature the local artisan foods but add an Asian market and a lounge/studio to share culturally inspired foods with the community. This is where community gathers to teach and eat - where communal and social interactions interplay. 

Besides all this, Hao has been an avid supporter for the Fort Worth Food & Wine Festival since 2015, from being an event volunteer, to Chef Committee Chair. She organized the annual Culinary Conference for the advancement of high school culinary students entering the hospitality industry, and also retains and sustains her teaching career.