GSBA Awards Two Culinary Students the “Food is Love” Scholarship
On April 26, the Greater Seattle Business Alliance announced the inaugural recipients of the Food is Love Scholarship, a program established in partnership with the Seattle Culinary Academy (SCA) in honor of the late Chef Tamara Murphy.
The scholarship was publicly announced in October 2024 at Seattle Central’s second-ever Community Dinner, where SCA chefs created a tribute menu honoring the dishes and flavors of Murphy’s Capitol Hill restaurant, Terra Plata, which she owned and operated with her life partner, Linda Di Lello Morton. Chef Tamara’s impact on the Seattle culinary community spans far and wide, from her dedication to sustainable farming, mentorship to chefs in their early careers, and support of the Capitol Hill community throughout the pandemic.
With this scholarship, Chef Tamara’s vision of food as a unifying and healing force will carry forth two new voices in the culinary world: Chelsea Holstra and Diana Nguyen.
Q: Tell us about yourself and your relationship to the Seattle Culinary Academy.
Holstra: I'm a fifth quarter Culinary Arts student at Seattle Culinary Academy, a FareStart graduate, and someone who knows food changes lives. In my childhood, a meal was never just food — it was survival. Sometimes there wasn’t enough, and that shaped how I see and how I cook with food now; it’s how I show love, create safety, and offer dignity to the people around me.
SCA has been where I’ve taken my background, my identity, and the experiences I carry — and turned it into a skill that can support a real future. It’s where I’ve been challenged, supported and encouraged, where I’ve had to rise to the moment and do this work with my own hands. This program has pushed me in ways that have shown me what I’m capable of, in ways I didn’t know I was capable of. It’s a program that has revealed my core values because of its immense challenging nature. The SCA culinary community and program means a lot to me because it’s not just about cooking — it’s about learning how to feed people with purpose, sustainably, and doing it alongside a community that believes in socially committed work.
Nguyen: I'm going back to school for a second time! I got my bachelor's at the University of Central Florida in 2020 and worked in corporate for five years, really hating it. I got involved in food in any way that I could. I started working at a bakery in the mornings and on weekends on top of my desk job, so that I could be in the kitchen. I was lucky and privileged enough to be offered a role as a private chef for a couple that worked out a flexible schedule with me to go back to school.
SCA means a lot to me because it's where my mentor went to school and also taught! I met my now-mentor Becky Selengut at a book signing last year. She gave me confidence in going back to school because she also attended culinary school here when she was 27 (I'm 28 now). My family is Vietnamese and back in the day, Becky used to teach a lot of Vietnamese immigrants in her classes. She learned a lot from them, and it’s helped build our connection with each other. I'm excited to learn and get involved with SCA.
Receiving this scholarship is huge for me. As someone who left college the first time with a ton of debt, this is a burden that has been lifted.
Q: What does receiving this scholarship mean to you and how can it help reach your future goals?
Holstra: Receiving this scholarship feels like being handed a piece of Chef Tamara Murphy’s legacy. It’s more than financial support — it feels like a responsibility, a calling to continue the kind of bold, community-rooted work she was known for. Chef Tamara didn’t just cook — she showed up for people, for causes, for what mattered.
To receive a scholarship tied to her spirit means I’m being trusted to carry a part of that forward. This support allows me to continue into the Pastry, Specialty Desserts and Breads program, something I deeply want but wouldn’t be able to afford without this immense help. This scholarship makes it possible to keep learning, growing, and contributing to the Seattle Culinary community. Pastry is a new challenge for me, and it’s a way for me to deepen my skills — to serve with more creativity, more precision, and more care. I don’t take this gift lightly. I plan to earn it every day, remembering the people I serve deserve to be seen and nourished in every plate I put out.
Nguyen: Receiving this scholarship is huge for me. As someone who left college the first time with a ton of debt, this is a burden that has been lifted. I worked three jobs in college the first time, I paid for everything myself and was really burnt out. The fear of being in debt again has kept me away from going back to school for a long time. With this scholarship, I'm able to focus on learning, exploring internships, volunteering, and joining every club and activity I can get my hands on. I’ve had the time and means to volunteer after class once already and have two more events coming up as well. This scholarship also means I get to put some time and resources towards my project “Queer Table,” where I provide meals for low income queer and Asian/other BIPOC folks in the greater Seattle area.
But love isn’t always loud — sometimes it’s a warm plate put on the table and the quiet message that someone noticed you, that someone sees you. That’s the kind of love I want to give if I can: food that makes people feel seen.
Q: What does the mantra “Food is Love” mean to you personally?
Holstra: To me, “Food is Love” is literal. I’ve gone hungry. I’ve stretched meals when there just wasn’t enough—but I’ve also been held up by the care and generosity of others. Part of why I started working in kitchens was because I didn’t want to be hungry anymore, and because I wanted the skills to give back to others wherever I went. Cooking is that skill. Yet, coming into this with my experiences taught me to recognize the same yearning in others: people who come to this work seeking food, love, and connection.
I use food to care for people. When I feed someone, I’m saying, “I see you, you’re safe with me. I’ve got you.” For me, “Food is Love” lives in the effort I make. It’s in showing up for my community and being there to cheer on others. But love isn’t always loud — sometimes it’s a warm plate put on the table and the quiet message that someone noticed you, that someone sees you. That’s the kind of love I want to give if I can: food that makes people feel seen.
Nguyen: The Food is Love mantra hits home for me two-fold. The first way is in how food is my love language. If I love you and care for you, I’ll cook for you. It’s the one thing I feel really excited and confident about that I can pour my creativity into and physically give to someone. I use food as a way to support my friends and community. I'll drop off soup if a pal is sick, or bring a sweet treat to someone who was broken up with.
When I was younger, I loved volunteering in soup kitchens. The second way Food is Love hits home for me is in the way it carries the love of generations before me. Food is ancient, food is culturally vibrant, food brings generations together. Food reminds me that I'm connected to so much community and that fills my heart with a lot of joy.