Garden gathering with colorful lanterns at a Love You Long Time event

A 501(c)(3) NONPROFIT  ·  SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS

Elevating Culture
Through Experience.

Building a legacy institution that develops cultural leaders across hospitality, storytelling, education, and design — creating transformation that will continue for generations.

LEARN OUR STORYOUR PROGRAMS

OUR MISSION

Cultivating Cultural Leaders Through Experience.

Dedicated to elevating culture through hospitality, art, deep learning, and transformative experience — we cultivate leaders who connect communities, champion whole foods, tell authentic stories, and create lasting beauty and meaning in everything they touch.

The Ciao & Zen Collective is the nonprofit arm of the Ciao & Zen family — the same family behind Sichuan House, Love You Long Time, and Secret Little Garden. Our work spans hospitality, storytelling, education, and design — because culture is not one thing. It is everything.

A portion of every event at Secret Little Garden directly funds our programming. When you celebrate with us, you invest in the next generation of cultural leaders.

CULTURE IN ACTION

Chef Kristina Zhao with guests at a Dashi celebration
Lion dance celebration at a cultural dinner event
Chef Kristina plating a dish in the kitchen
James Beard Taste America event at Dashi
Chef Teddy plating a beautiful dish
Guests gathered around the dinner table
Beautiful Sichuan cuisine dish
Martial arts performance at a cultural dinner
1

Cultural Reverence

We approach every culture with deep respect and genuine curiosity, seeking to learn rather than appropriate, to honor rather than exploit. Every tradition we touch is treated as a gift to be preserved, not a trend to be consumed.

2

Whole Food, Whole Health

We champion whole, unprocessed ingredients and work to make them accessible and desirable — rejecting the false choice between convenience and health. Food is culture, medicine, and connection.

3

Legacy Thinking

We make decisions with future generations in mind, building institutions and systems that will outlive us and continue creating positive impact. We are not building a moment. We are building what lasts.

KEY INITIATIVES

Our Programming

Our programming unites hospitality, storytelling, education, and design to cultivate leaders, strengthen communities, and foster equity. With your support, these initiatives lay the foundation for a legacy that endures for generations.

Global Table Dinner Series
QUARTERLY

Global Table Dinner Series

Intimate dinners at Secret Little Garden that blend culinary excellence with storytelling, design, and education. Each dinner immerses guests in a different cultural tradition — not as spectators, but as participants. No keynote. No PowerPoint. Just a beautiful meal, honest conversation, and cultural learning that changes how you see the world.

12–16 guestsQuarterlyCultural immersion
The Shadow
ONGOING

The Shadow

A 3-month hands-on mentorship where aspiring cultural leaders work alongside the Love You Long Time team during real events. Learn hospitality by doing it — reading a room, anticipating needs, creating beauty under pressure. Grow by watching. Become part of the family.

3-month program2–4 at a timeApplication-based
Community Impact
MONTHLY

Community Impact

Global Flavors Program

Our Global Flavors Program engages underserved communities through cultural education and improved access to healthy food, fostering equity. Through strategic partnerships, we deliver culturally diverse whole-food experiences and provide educational programming for schools, seniors, and families across San Antonio.

20–40 participantsMonthlyCommunity partners
ON THE HORIZON

Rising Star Fellowship

A transformative 12-month program that nurtures developing cultural leaders across seven interconnected disciplines — including global immersion, elite mentorship, and community impact. This is our North Star. We are building toward it.

Chef Teddy plating a dish with precision and artistry
Garden ceremony at Secret Little Garden

THE STORY BEHIND THE COLLECTIVE

Kristina Zhao at the James Beard Foundation, founder of the Ciao & Zen Collective

Kristina Zhao grew up watching her father turn angry customers into friends behind the counter of a small market.

That lesson — that hospitality is not a transaction, it is a transformation — became the foundation of everything she has built: Sichuan House, Love You Long Time, and Secret Little Garden. Three businesses rooted in the same belief: that food, culture, and genuine care have the power to change lives.

The Collective exists because Kristina believes the skills that built her businesses can build anyone's. The people who cook, create, serve, tell stories, and make strangers feel like family — they are not just workers. They are cultural leaders in the making. They just need someone to invest in them the way her father invested in every customer who walked through the door.

"

Culture is not something you consume. It is something you cultivate. And the people who cultivate it deserve to lead.

THE PEOPLE

Kristina with Guy Fieri and her father at Sichuan House
Chef CZ signing a jersey at a community event
Kitchen crew smiling together after service
Chef Teddy plating a dish with precision and artistry
Lion dance team with colorful lion heads
Chef commanding the wok with flames in the kitchen
Serving authentic Sichuan cuisine
Beautifully plated dish with sake

JOIN THE MOVEMENT

How to Get Involved

Whether you are a mid-career professional seeking transformation, a cultural enthusiast wanting deeper engagement, or a supporter of our mission — there is a place for you in the Ciao & Zen Collective.

Join a Global Table Dinner

Anyone curious about the Collective

Attend a quarterly dinner — intimate, cultural, transformative

Become a Shadow

Aspiring hospitality & cultural leaders

Apply for a 3-month hands-on mentorship with the LYLT team

Partner with Global Flavors

Community organizations & schools

Host a monthly food experience at your school, center, or neighborhood

Support Our Mission

Businesses and individuals

Fund programming that cultivates cultural leaders and strengthens communities

Make a Difference

Your gift helps cultivate cultural leaders, expand equity, and strengthen communities. Together, we can elevate culture and create lasting impact.

SUPPORT THE COLLECTIVE

FOUNDING COMMUNITY PARTNERS

The Collective is sustained by the family of businesses and partners who share our commitment to elevating culture in San Antonio.