About Us

---

The Jumping Rice was founded by Anne Buch -- former attorney-turned-mother of two.  Born and raised in Taiwan, Anne grew up with an adventurous palate and an appreciation for flavors from all around the world.  As a child, she spent countless hours in the kitchen, helping her mother - a talented self-taught cook - cut, dice, mince, marinate, stir-fry, you name it.  In law school, Anne found herself watching cooking shows on PBS (Lidia Bastianich was a favorite) and making her own pasta as a way to relax.

Now, as a mother herself, Anne loves spending time in her Los Angeles kitchen with her two children.  She believes the kitchen is a place for discovery, experimentation, mess-making, and confidence-building.  Through food and cooking, kids are given a chance to create something tangible (their culinary creation), but more importantly, something intangible (memories and an appreciation for food).

The name "The Jumping Rice" was in fact coined by her kids, Penny and Brandon during one of their impromptu cooking sessions making their favorite dish - fried rice.  While stir-frying the rice in a hot, oiled pan, they noticed the rice jumping around.  They gleefully exclaimed, "Look!  The rice is jumping!"  Thereafter, they decided that one day, they'd like to open a fried rice restaurant called "The Jumping Rice."  Until then, The Jumping Rice will provide a chance for children to play and cook in Anne's kitchen.