About this Event
The Family Experience
On Sunday, October 25, a backyard in San Diego becomes a lantern-lit table for food, live music, and meaningful conversation. Land & Sea is the first gathering from Roots Below, Community Above, a growing community initiative dedicated to connecting healthier food systems with healthier communities.
Hosted by Hoa Nguyen with his father, Master Chef Linh Nguyen, this evening grew from a simple belief: sometimes a dream is about being resourceful and using what you have. A backyard, family recipes, and knowledge shared between generations. We cook together, and we create family meals to share.
Three Chefs. Two Worlds. One Shared Table.
Chef J.C. · The Sea
Tuna Belly Tasting Spoon · Land & Sea Roll · Poke Taco · Grilled Tuna Adobada Skewer
Chef Mark Enciso · The Land
Mexican- and Filipino-inspired grilled chicken: Peri-Peri Chicken Skewers · Pineapple Adobo Chicken Skewers
Master Chef Linh Nguyen · Vietnamese Traditions
Fresh Chicken Stock Porridge (Cháo Gà) · Vietnamese Tuna Soup (Canh Cá Thu) with cabbage, mint and vermicelli
Live Jazz
Sounds by Free Flow Sounds all evening.
Guest Speakers
Abner Nevarez, a San Diego farmer and educator, on regenerative agriculture and healthy soil.
Adria, founder of C4GS (Communities for Global Sustainability), on green energy and climate-resilient communities.
Beverages by HYDOUT ST.
Beer, wine, sake, refreshments, and our signature Happy Tea with red oolong and lion’s mane mushroom. Beverages are sold separately. 21+ with valid ID for alcohol.
Dress Warm
This is an outdoor backyard gathering, and San Diego evenings can get cold. We recommend pants and a jacket or warm layers.
Come for the food. Stay for the music. Connect through conversation. Help grow what comes next.
Feed the People. Heal the Earth. Teach the Children.
Người Thương, Đất Lành: Caring People, Good Earth
Menu subject to change.
Agenda
- 4:00 PM: Doors open, welcome and live jazz
- 5:30 PM: First tastings
- Evening: Guest speakers and family-table conversations
- 9:00 PM: Closing
Agenda
🕑: 04:00 PM - 05:30 PM
The CHEFS : Break Down
Host: Chef Mark
Info: Friends Who Became Family
Land & Sea is more than three chefs sharing a menu. It’s friends who have become family, bringing their cultures together at one table.
Chef J.C. brings the sea, with tuna prepared through Asian and Mexican influences. Chef Mark Enciso brings the land, with grilled chicken inspired by the Mexican and Filipino flavors he grew up around and the techniques he learned cooking in Italy, Amsterdam and San Diego. Master Chef Linh Nguyen brings the Vietnamese recipes he has cooked for his family for years, carried from one generation to the next.
Each of them comes from a different kitchen and a different story. What they share is a belief that food is how we take care of each other. Planning this evening, they traded ideas, tasted each other’s dishes, and shaped a menu where every station speaks to the others: tuna adobada beside Vietnamese tuna soup, pineapple adobo beside a poke taco, and a simple porridge that tastes like home.
That’s what a family meal is.
🕑: 05:00 PM - 09:00 PM
Sounds and Performance by: Free Flow Sounds
Host: Free Flow Sounds
Info: FREEFLOW SOUNDS
Where Music Meets Community.
Born from the monthly Freeflow gatherings, Freeflow Sounds grew from familiar faces into a collective connected through friendship, rhythm, and shared experiences.
Their music reflects the relationships they’ve built, creating an energy that goes beyond the stage and into the audience.
Freeflow brings people together. Freeflow Sounds brings the vibe.
Join us for an intimate evening of live music, meaningful conversations, and community at Land & Sea — October 25.
🕑: 06:45 PM - 07:00 PM
Guest Speaker: AB
Host: AB
Info: I’m a lover of Mother Nature and the art she shares with us. Earth art has always been a passion of mine, right alongside gardening, and I grow many of the plants and natural materials I use in my creations.
As a farmer, educator, and consultant based in San Diego, I bring more than 40 years of experience in gardening, urban regeneration, and cultivating relationships through nature, art, music, and education. Whether I’m weaving handcrafted brooms, creating botanical art, or teaching workshops, my greatest joy is connecting people to the power and beauty of the natural world.
I aspire toward a future where people from all walks of life can come together to co-create, build community, and propel environmental health and wellness—all while having as much fun as possible.
🕑: 07:30 PM - 07:45 PM
Guest Speaker: Adria
Host: Adria
Info: Green Solutions • Climate Resilience • Community Development
Founder of C4GS — Communities for Global Sustainability
Adria is dedicated to creating stronger, more resilient communities through sustainable infrastructure, cooperative solutions, and community-led development.
Her work brings people, resources, and innovative ideas together to turn sustainability into meaningful action.
From green infrastructure to long-term community resilience, Adria believes lasting change begins when communities have the tools to build their own future.
Building a better tomorrow, together.
🕑: 04:00 PM - 09:00 PM
Host : Hoa Nguyen (Master Chef Linh's Nguyen Son)
Host: Hoa Nguyen
🕑: 04:00 PM - 09:00 PM
Community Conversation Creator
Info: Host | Community Builder | Culinary Entrepreneur | Mushroom Researcher & Advocate
Hoa Nguyen is a community organizer, culinary entrepreneur, and co-operator of the historic Golden Dragon / The Asian Bistro in San Diego’s Hillcrest neighborhood.
With years of experience bringing people together through food, hospitality, and community initiatives, Hoa believes that some of life’s most meaningful connections begin with a simple conversation.
As a mushroom researcher and advocate for regenerative food systems, his work explores the relationship between healthy soil, sustainable food practices, and stronger communities.
Through Roots Under, Community Above (RUCA), Hoa is working to make education and environmental solutions more accessible by creating experiences that bring people together to learn, share, and take action.
At Land & Sea, Hoa will serve as the evening’s host, guiding meaningful conversations between guests, chefs, musicians, and sustainability advocates.
Event venue & nearby stays
6501 Acorn St, 6501 Acorn Street, San Diego, United States
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.