Forty Under 40: Noy Phoumivong, 35

Noy Phoumivong wears many hats besides her traditional chef’s toque.
She’s also an entrepreneur, volunteer, new mom — and roller derby queen.

Besides cooking up new products for Simmons Foods, Phoumivong is the consulting chef at Meiji, the Fayetteville restaurant she opened in June 2010.

The Springdale native earned her culinary degree from Johnson & Wales University in 1996, and added a food science degree from the University of Arkansas in 2005.
Phoumivong started at Simmons in 2006, and about two years ago was promoted from project leader to corporate chef.

Her job utilizes both of her degrees, she said, drawing on her creativity and her administrative acumen.

“This position requires not just the inception of an idea but the ability to see it all the way through to fulfillment, meeting the standards of our organization,” Phoumivong said.
Phoumivong volunteers at the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks and raises money for the Peace at Home shelter.

She works off stress as a member of the Northwest Arkansas Roller Derby, which also contributes to charity.

“I have many interests, and I want to be able to experience all that I can while I’m here,” she said.

“I constantly challenge myself because I don’t ever want to be bored, and if I am bored, I think that it’s my own fault.”