A graduate of the California Culinary Academy (CCA) in San Francisco, Tina got started in the kitchen at an early age -- recollecting making pâte à choux with her mom when she was 6 years old. Tina worked off and on in the food service industry throughout high school and college to "pay the bills." After graduating from the University of California at Santa Cruz with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, she decided to pursue a career in the culinary arts. She moved to San Francisco and landed at Bradley Ogden's One Market Restaurant as a line cook. Soon after, she enrolled into the AOS program (Associates of Occupational Studies) at CCA. She then went on to open Hawthorne Lane (San Francisco) and Jeremiah Towers' Stars (Palo Alto) as pastry assistant under Pastry Chef Donna Meadows. From there, she moved on to the intense kitchen of Aqua (San Francisco) where she fine-tuned her culinary skills under Chef Michael Mina.

In 1996, Tina was given the opportunity to travel to Asia to work with the 3-month-old restaurant Stars Singapore. She spent two years in Singapore as Pastry Chef overseeing menus for both Stars Restaurant and Stars Café, as well as supplying baked goods to eight Spinelli Coffee Company retail outlets. During this time she traveled to destinations such as Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam exploring culture and cuisine. In addition, she has traveled extensively through Paris, Lyon, Madrid, Barcelona, London, Ireland, Scotland, and the Pays Basque of France and Spain. When Stars decided to open their doors in Seattle, Washington she returned to the United States. She spent two years as Pastry Chef and Sous Chef of Stars Bar & Dining: Seattle, Washington where she and a highly skilled team of chefs produced their acclaimed Puget Sound cuisine.

From Seattle, Tina returned to California as the Executive Pastry Chef of the Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa, a four-star, four-diamond destination resort in the picturesque wine country of Northern California. There, she and her staff supplied the hotel and its four venues plus banquet facilities with pastries and desserts morning, noon, and night.

Tina has consulted as Pastry Chef for Alan Wong's Restaurant on King Street in Honolulu, Hawaii; lectured on the Fundamentals of Baking and Pastry for the Culinary Institute of the Pacific -- a program of the University of Hawaii; and contributed as writer and photographer for Gusto Magazine, a culinary lifestyle publication promoting eating, drinking, and living in Hawaii.

In January 2003, she was asked by Hospitality News to share one of her favorite chocolate dessert recipes. In November 2005, she provided a recipe to Ranch & Coast for candied yam croissant bread pudding with ginger crème anglaise (Not My Dad's Thanksgiving Dinner). She has also shared her expertise with Organic Authority (Flavor Focus - Vanilla).

Tina Luu has returned to her hometown of San Diego, California and is currently lecturing for The Art Institute of California, San Diego in their culinary arts program. She also consults with culinary venues nationwide in the area of Pastry Arts. In her spare time, Tina can be found attempting a headstand at the beach.