Chatting with Ms. Thao Na - head chef of Maison des Rêves Saigon at the end of the year, Travellive reporters had the opportunity to listen to her tell about her journey of more than ten long years in a foreign land to study, train and work in a stressful F&B environment. When talking about France, in addition to the beautiful city of Paris, in addition to glasses of wine, there is also the story of how unique and interesting the cuisine of this country is.
Chef Thao Na's journey to pursue French cuisine was very natural and spontaneous. Thao Na went to Lyon, France to study restaurant management, and after a while, she became a chef in the kitchen of the Park Hyatt Paris hotel. Thao Na is friendly, enthusiastic and gently tells stories about French cuisine that are dreamy, soaring but full of harshness and challenges. For Thao Na, France is the place that sowed the seeds for a professional culinary career and at the same time firmly consolidated the culinary foundation for the enthusiastic female chef.
What brought you to the culinary profession when you were studying restaurant management in Lyon?
Simply because I loved cooking since I was little. From the fish, meat, tofu, and vegetables in the small kitchen when I was still in my hometown of Da Nang, I got used to knives and cutting boards a long time ago. When I grew up, I studied at a culinary school, and accidentally participated in an international culinary competition, I suddenly realized that I loved cooking European dishes. From then on, I was determined to pack my bags and go to France to study cooking. However, the tuition for cooking in France is very expensive.
Ms. Thao Na - Head Chef of Maison des Rêves Saigon
I chose to study restaurant management, and took advantage of the few cooking classes in the course to supplement my knowledge. I both studied at the places where I applied for part-time jobs and did internships. And the biggest turning point for me was probably the time I stayed in France to work and become a chef at the Park Hyatt Vendome hotel in Paris.
What did you find most difficult while working at Park Hyatt Vendome?
People often think that working in a hotel is nothing special, but it's actually harder than you think - she shared emotionally.
I was assigned to work in the banquet kitchen, and in big hotels there are always parties and conferences coming in and out. The workload is high, combined with the hustle and bustle, sometimes I forget the time when I work from 8am but leave at 10pm and continuously like that for many days. It is so stressful, but I learned a lot about time management, how to arrange a huge amount of work with limited time, how to control ingredients... There are many problems and challenges when you choose the path of professional cooking in a country... a leader in cuisine.
People often think that working in a hotel is nothing special, but it's actually harder than you think - she shared emotionally.
How can you survive in the harsh F&B environment in France?
Thanks to that diligence (she laughs). I often arrive a few hours early for work, beg the security guard to let me in, and practice the knowledge I have learned from books and seniors.
Indeed, in addition to her natural talent, Thao Na also needed diligence and high concentration to conquer French cuisine, which is considered difficult even for Westerners. The small, enthusiastic and eager-to-learn Asian girl has moved forward step by step very slowly, without haste, carefully and patiently, and after many years, she has brought the quintessence she learned back to Vietnam, creating unique and interesting dishes, containing many personal identities.
Chef Thao Na's journey to pursue French cuisine is very natural and spontaneous.
What is interesting about French cuisine that you want to share with readers?
French cuisine is really delicious. I have been in France for more than ten years and have eaten at many restaurants. I have found that the cuisine here is a synthesis of many different regions. French cuisine varies depending on the region. Depending on which country the regions of France border, the cuisines of the two countries will influence each other.
French cuisine is a synthesis of many different regions.
For example, in the North of France, close to Germany, they eat a lot of cheese, cream, butter, sausages… to keep warm and it also suits their taste. But in the South, bordering Italy, people here like to eat seafood, duck fat, olive oil, cold soups… with a Mediterranean flavor.
At her own restaurant, Maison des Rêves Saigon, Thao Na is often praised by diners and comes to enjoy delicious dishes. Many diners ask: "What do you put in the dish to make it so delicious?". Thao Na just smiles and says that she puts a lot of love into the dish every time she cooks. Perhaps, Thao Na's half-joking, half-serious words are the recipe that helps her succeed on her culinary journey.
How do you feel when customers come back to you often?
I feel happy, joyful and lucky to have customers who have followed me for ten years, some of them have become my friends, wherever I work they will come to eat. There are customers who come to eat, I do not know who they are, but when I change my workplace, they always try to find me to continue to support me. This is probably also the thing that I always cherish and keep in my heart.
Travellive would like to thank chef Thao Na for this interesting conversation!
Thao Na is a talented chef and has many famous dishes. Her beef tartare helped a customer who could not eat raw food to enjoy her beef salad; her chicken rolls with parika chili oil have made many customers crazy for many years; her La Vong fish cake with fresh cream sauce was inspired by traditional Vietnamese dishes now innovated with modern cooking and presentation techniques. Thao Na has so much dedication, hard work and creativity in her exciting journey in the kitchen.
