As the son of a chef, CJ Houck grew up surrounded by food. Spring rolls, crab and asparagus soup, noodle dishes — there was nothing his mom Maria Houck couldn’t cook.

“I’m not saying that ‘cause she’s my mom,” CJ insists. “She can cook. She’s my master when it comes to cooking.”

Maria operated several restaurants in Vietnam and then worked for about 20 years as Boeing’s head cook, serving the royalty and big wigs who landed at Boeing Field.

Maria’s mastery helped prepare CJ for his own cooking career. The 42-year-old Auburn resident has been cooking professionally for more than 20 years. He is now chef de cuisine at Papaya, a Vietnamese cafe scheduled to open this week at The Landing.

“I will be running this whole thing front and back,” CJ said on a recent day at the colorful Papaya. The north Renton restaurant is splashed with bright green and cartoon characters that pay tribute to relatives of the restaurant’s owners.

CJ will have his mom’s help running Papaya. Maria will work alongside her son three days a week as a supervisor or consultant, making sure “everything’s up to par,” CJ says.

Some of Papaya’s specials originated in Maria’s kitchen.

The menu has the same base as the menus at the two other Papaya restaurants in Bellevue and Redmond, but with CJ’s special touch.

He calls it “Vietnamese cuisine with a twist.”

Papaya has two main owners: Jacqueline Nguyen and Gene Sens, president of M & P Restaurant Group and owner of Red House Beer, Wine & Tapas Bar and Blossom Asian Bistro in Renton, and Yama at the Galleria in Bellevue. Nguyen owns the Bellevue and Redmond Papayas.

“I’m excited about everything on this menu,” CJ says.

The menu has more than 39 dishes to be excited about, including rolls, baguettes, pho and other Vietnamese noodle soups, noodles and rice dishes, salads, kids’ food and desserts.

CJ is especially excited about a couple of the desserts, like his version of the cream puff — a glazed maple-bacon fritter with cream – and his chocolate ravioli with mango and pomegranate sauce. CJ also expects compliments about his coconut tofu inspired by coconut prawns.

CJ was nervous about Papaya’s scheduled opening this week, but he knew that meant he was ready.

“I’m very excited,” he said. “I’m nervous, I’m fired up. I can’t wait for my crew to perform. It’s like a Broadway show.”

Food is like music to CJ. It creates experiences. That’s what he loves about cooking.

“It’s like watching the smiles on people’s faces, watching their expressions,” he says. “… I love to give people experiences, whether it’s just a little taste testing or a whole dish.”

Those experiences aren’t restricted to eating. CJ is giving work experiences to the three teens he’s hiring from YouthSource, a work-training program for at-risk youth. The Renton-based program is part of the King County Department of Community and Human Services.

“When I got hired here I said I would like to involve the community, whether that’s kids or adults,” he says. “… I just want to give back what I’ve learned and inspire people.”

CJ has learned a lot about food since making fried rice as a young child. And not all his knowledge has come from his mom.

He realized his passion for cooking during his eight years as a chef in the U.S. Navy. That passion increased in the Renton Technical College’s culinary program.

Since then CJ’s worked in taste-testing development, started a floating restaurant in Alaska, cooked at various restaurants, including Cafe Siena Espresso & Eatery in Kent, and ran a private personal chef service.

Cooking at Papaya is a return to CJ’s Vietnamese roots. He lived in Vietnam until moving to SeaTac at age 9.

“I was raised eating this kind of food,” he says. “It was also a great opportunity to come back to Renton where I started my education.”

It will also be great working side-by-side with his master, his mom.

“I’ve always wanted my mom to work with me,” CJ says. “She was my inspiration to become a chef.”