If you type the phrase " culinary artist Ánh Tuyết" into Google, you'll get 2.7 million results in 0.3 seconds. That speaks volumes about her brand.
Culinary artist Anh Tuyet - Photo: PXD
I started learning to cook at the age of 8.
Knowing how busy she was, we had to make an appointment in advance. Only after the artisan agreed did we manage to meet her a day before the Lunar New Year. She was an elderly woman, but still elegant, refined, and somewhat aristocratic.
Sitting in her restaurant in Hanoi's Old Quarter, while brewing tea for guests, she recounted: "My father was a village chief in the old days, meaning the family traditions and customs were very strict, so I learned domestic skills from a very young age. At the age of eight, whenever I had free time, I would go into the kitchen to learn how to pick vegetables, wash rice, peel fruit... By the age of nine, I had learned how to season, cook a few dishes, and arrange a feast. Being trained early, combined with talent, observation, and a willingness to learn, I progressed quickly and achieved the career I have today. But to succeed, everything was not simple."
Growing up, she studied food industry, and after graduating, she worked in the catering service industry but hadn't yet achieved fame because she hadn't had the opportunity to showcase her talent. In 1990, the first food fair was held at the Horizon Hotel (Hanoi), with many chefs, including head chefs from high-end hotels, participating. She was also a contestant and won first prize with her honey-glazed grilled chicken, surpassing many masters of Hanoi's culinary arts. And that was the turning point in her life...
After chatting for a while, she said to us, "Now you can stroll around the old town. Come back later, I'll personally cook dinner for you tonight." We were so surprised that we could only thank her.
That day, the three of us enjoyed a rare family-style meal, not a celebratory feast. The food included braised pork, boiled chicken with salt dip, sour soup... and for dessert, sweet rice pudding with areca flower. While eating with the guests, my grandmother occasionally explained a few things about the cooking. We all ate with great relish; everyone was amazed, even my two friends, journalist Minh Tu from Hue and architect Cao Viet Dung from Hanoi, both from famous places known for their delicious food, couldn't help but praise it.
I was once tasked with preparing a meal for the US President.
That afternoon, artisan Ánh Tuyết openly shared many interesting stories about culinary art with us, some of which we were hearing for the first time. In a lighthearted manner, she recounted: “In 2016, the then-US President Barack Obama visited Vietnam. One day, a central government official came to work with me and asked me to cook a Vietnamese meal to entertain the US President. They also instructed me to keep this a secret.”
I had been thinking and planning the menu for a special guest. However, as the day of the dinner approached, the officials returned and said they had changed the plan. They explained that the Old Quarter was quite narrow, making it inconvenient for guests to move around, and they had to change the location for security reasons. We nodded in agreement. What followed was the story of the US President eating Hanoi-style bun cha at Huong Lien restaurant on Le Van Huu Street.
In 2017, artisan Anh Tuyet had the honor of directing the cooking for 21 heads of state at the APEC event in Da Nang. She eliminated the luxurious dishes and selected a menu of 12 dishes that she considered suitable for the guests' tastes, including Vietnamese dishes such as crab spring rolls, freshwater shrimp spring rolls, banana blossom salad, steamed sea bass with spices, crispy-skinned roast duck, and purple sweet potato dessert. The dishes she directed pleased the 21 heads of state from 21 different culinary cultures.
With such outstanding achievements, she was awarded the title of "Outstanding Artisan" by the State and is also the only culinary artist to receive the title of "Folk Artisan," and one of the 10 people awarded the title of "Outstanding Citizen of Hanoi" in 2018.
Passion, talent, and ambition have helped artisan Ánh Tuyết achieve success and make significant contributions to her family and society. It's true that "Mastering a craft brings honor and prosperity."
Pham Xuan Dung
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