If you type the phrase: culinary artist Anh Tuyet on Google, in 0.3 seconds there will be 2.7 million results for the searcher. That partly speaks to her brand.
Culinary artist Anh Tuyet - Photo: PXD
Learned to cook at the age of 8
Knowing that she was very busy, we had to make an appointment in advance, and with the artist's consent, we were able to meet her on the day before Tet. She was an elderly woman but still elegant, polite and somewhat regal.
Sitting in her restaurant in Hanoi's Old Quarter, making tea for guests, she told a story: "My father used to be a village chief, which means the family tradition and discipline were strict, so I learned home economics very early. When I was 8 years old, in my free time, I went into the kitchen to learn how to pick vegetables, wash rice, peel fruit... When I was 9 years old, I learned how to season, cook a few dishes and arrange the feast. Being trained early and having talent, being observant and learning, I progressed quickly and had the career I have today. But to be successful, everything is not simple."
Growing up, she studied the food industry. After graduating, she worked in food service but was not successful because she had not had the opportunity to show her talent. In 1990, a culinary fair was first held at the Horizon Hotel (Hanoi) with many chefs who were head chefs of high-class hotels participating. She was also a contestant and won first prize with her honey-grilled chicken dish, surpassing many culinary experts in the capital. And the turning point in her life began to unfold...
After chatting for a while, she said to us: “You guys can take a walk around the old town now. Come back later, I will cook dinner for you guys today”. We were so surprised that we could only say thank you.
That day, the three of us had a rare meal in our lives, family style, not a party. The food included braised pork, boiled chicken with salt, sour soup... with areca flower sweet soup for dessert. While eating with the guests, she occasionally explained a few things about the cooking. We ate very deliciously, everyone was amazed, including my two friends, journalist Minh Tu from Hue and architect Cao Viet Dung from Hanoi, both of whom lived at famous places with delicious food, and had to exclaim.
Was assigned to prepare a meal to entertain the US President
That afternoon, artist Anh Tuyet opened up to the guests about many interesting stories surrounding culinary arts, some of which we heard for the first time. She happily said: “In 2016, the then US President Barack Obama visited Vietnam. One day, a Central official came to work and asked me to cook a Vietnamese meal to entertain the US President. They also told me to keep this a secret.
I thought and prepared a menu to welcome a special guest. When the day of the dinner was near, the officers came back and said that they had changed the plan to invite the guests. The reason was that the old town was quite narrow and it was not convenient for guests to travel, so the address had to be changed for security reasons. We also nodded and said yes. Later, everyone knew that the US President ate Hanoi bun cha at Huong Lien restaurant on Le Van Huu street.
Then in 2017, artist Anh Tuyet was honored to be assigned to direct the cooking to entertain 21 heads of state at the APEC event in Da Nang. She eliminated the luxurious dishes to choose a menu of 12 dishes that she thought were suitable for the guests' taste, including Vietnamese dishes such as: crab spring rolls, spring rolls with worm, banana flower salad, steamed sea bass with spices, crispy roasted duck and purple sweet potato dessert. The dishes she directed satisfied 21 heads of state from 21 different culinary cultures.
With such outstanding achievements, she was awarded the title of "Meritorious Artisan" by the State and is also the only culinary artist to receive the title of "Folk Artisan", one of 10 people awarded the title of "Meritorious Citizen of the Capital" in 2018.
Passion, talent, and aspiration have helped artisan Anh Tuyet achieve success and make important contributions to her family and society. It is true that “One skill is mastered, one life is honored”.
Pham Xuan Dung
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