How did Rice Paper Scissors come to be?
Valerie (pictured left): "We met at the Underground Market, a marketplace for home cooks where we were both selling Vietnamese food as two different vendors. Around Vietnamese New Year last year, we joined forces for an event where we recreated the Vietnamese street-side dining experience complete with little red stools and tables. We've been doing pop ups like that every month since."

What are both of your professional backgrounds?
Valerie: "Prior to Rice Paper Scissors, I was studying journalism and sociology at UC Santa Cruz. I dabbled in event planning and social media for six months after college, but after falling upon the S.F. food scene, I knew the hustle was for me. Katie worked as a biotech consultant for a number of years, but after realizing she had more food magazines on her desk than bio-trade journals, she made the switch from a desk job to food blogger to being a badass cook."

Photographed by Molly DeCoudreaux