Thai & Lao cooking · Orange County

Rooted in flavor, made with love.

Southeast Asian cooking and culinary wellness by Nataya, for private tables, home kitchens, and weekly bowls across Orange County.

Book with Nataya DM to order on Instagram

01Private dinners
02Cooking classes
03Weekly bowls
04Cookbook club

Nataya smiling in her Umami Roots apron, arms crossed, in front of autumn leaves — Nataya Sittidang

The story

Food that tastes like home, and feels like care.

Nataya Sittidang is the chef and owner of Umami Roots, a Southeast Asian culinary and wellness brand rooted in Thai and Lao cooking.

She designs health-forward menus for private dinners, in-home and virtual cooking classes, weekly meal-prep bowls, and cookbook club gatherings — food that honors culture and connection in every bite.

She holds a degree in health sciences and works as a wellness coach. The cooking is meant to nourish: ginger, lemongrass, Thai basil, coconut, and the kinds of ingredients she teaches with because they are flavorful and kind to the body.

Menus can be calorie-, carb-, or sodium-conscious when you need them to be, with all the depth that makes a meal feel special. She cooks for one, or for a table, and asks about allergies before anything is locked in.

Honoring health, culture, and connection in every bite.

Offerings

Four ways to cook with Nataya.

Every booking starts with a conversation. Menus are shaped around your table, your kitchen, or your week — inquire for pricing.

Sliced steak over arugula with a bright herb sauce and tomato, plated by Nataya

01At her home or yours

Private dinners

An intimate meal designed around you. A dinner she is proud of: charred citrus aguachile, reverse-seared ribeye with charred potatoes and broccolini, and charred pineapple for dessert.

Plan a private dinner

Nataya in a blue apron tossing a grapefruit salad in a wooden bowl

02In-home or on Zoom

Cooking classes

In-home Thai classes around Costa Mesa and Orange County, plus virtual Zoom classes of about an hour to an hour and a half, with a shopping list sent ahead. Past classes have included homemade wontons, and panang curry nachos with a passion fruit spritzer.

Book a class

Overhead of one of Nataya’s weekly bowls: herbed rice, tomatoes, olives, cucumber, seasoned ground meat, yogurt sauce, and an orange wedge

03Rotating weekly menus

Meal prep

Easy, health-minded bowls for the week, across many cuisines. Rotating menus have included Vietnamese chicken roti with lemongrass rice, chicken adobo, a Greek turkey bowl, a chipotle power bowl, tofu stir-fry, and chia puddings in pandan, ube, horchata, and matcha strawberry.

Order weekly bowls

Nataya smiling beside the food table at a gathering, with a dessert spread and printed menu

04Cookbook club & trays

Events & pop-ups

Cookbook club dinners built around one book, shared dishes, and conversation. Occasional fusion pasta trays — panang curry pasta, pad kra pao spaghetti — and festival sweets such as pandan rice crispy bars and kanom krok whoopie pies.

Plan a gathering

A dinner she is proud of

Charred citrus aguachile

Shrimp or white fish with lime, cucumber, chili, and herbs. Bright, clean, and one of her signature starters.

From her own kitchen

Reverse-seared ribeye

Served with charred potatoes and broccolini, then charred pineapple for dessert. A complete private-dinner arc.

Dinner series

Rice paper tostada

Chipotle-sesame mayo, shrimp, serrano, cilantro, and lime — from her Awakening dinner series.

Classes & trays

Panang, basil, and coconut

The flavors behind her panang curry nachos, panang pasta trays, and pad kra pao spaghetti.

Weekly bowls

Lemongrass rice & market bowls

Vietnamese chicken roti or chicken adobo over lemongrass rice, plus Greek, chipotle, and tofu bowls when the week calls for them.

Also on the table

Sweets & small joys

Charred pineapple with coconut yogurt
Coconut panna cotta, passion fruit coulis, toasted sesame, mint, and chili salt
Pandan, ube, horchata, and matcha strawberry chia puddings
Pandan rice crispy bars and kanom krok whoopie pies
Homemade wontons — wrap, fold, heal

The table

Set for dinner.

A table she set

From the counter

What’s cooking this week lives on @umamiroots.

Orders, dates, and the week’s menu are shared on Instagram. Send a DM to order or to hold a date.

DM to order

Roasted chicken thighs with sticky rice, a dipping sauce, and green beans, plated by Nataya — Roasted chicken and sticky rice

An open tortilla with chicken, rice, pickled onion, cilantro, and a green sauce, plated by Nataya — Chicken, rice, and herbs on a tortilla

Rice noodles with sliced chicken, green onion, and basil, served with a bowl of broth, plated by Nataya — Chicken noodles and broth

Grapefruit salad with cilantro in a wooden bowl in Nataya’s kitchen — Grapefruit salad

A pan of garlic asparagus on the stovetop — Garlic asparagus

Nataya’s citrus aguachile: shrimp with cucumber, sliced jalapeño, red onion, cilantro, and mint in a bright citrus broth — Citrus aguachile

How it works

Simple on purpose.

01
Send a note

Write through the form below or DM @umamiroots. Share a date, how many people, where you’d like to gather, and any allergies.
02
She shapes the menu

Nataya designs around your table — private dinner, class, bowls, or an event — and confirms the details with you before anything is locked in.
03
Come hungry

She cooks, teaches, or packs the week’s bowls. You show up, taste something that feels like care, and leave the rest to her.

Start with a note

Inquire

Book a private dinner, a class, or a week of bowls.

Share a few details and your email app opens with a note to Nataya, ready for you to review and send. Prefer Instagram? Message her there instead.

Emailnataya@umamiroots.com
Instagram@umamiroots
ServingOrange County, including Costa Mesa and nearby Southern California