Returning from Hanoi after the honorable ceremony of receiving 1 Michelin star, Mr. Peter Cuong Franklin (owner and head chef of An An restaurant) was still overwhelmed with emotions. He also sat down with his staff to talk and find the factors that helped the restaurant get 1 star.
"But really, until now I still don't know why my restaurant got a Michelin star," the restaurant owner laughed as he began the story.
Mr. Peter Cuong Franklin is a Vietnamese American. His parents are from Quang Ngai, and he was born and raised in Da Lat.
The restaurant has more Vietnamese customers after receiving Michelin star.
Mr. Peter Cuong Franklin is a Vietnamese-American chef born and raised in Da Lat, with parents from Quang Ngai. He studied at Le Cordon Bleu (a school specializing in business and culinary training in France) and trained at world-famous restaurants.
After 6 years of opening An An, he said he felt very honored because the restaurant was once ranked 1st in the 50 best restaurants in Asia and is now the only restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City to receive 1 Michelin star. He believes this is a good opportunity to promote Vietnamese tourism and cuisine to the world.
He believes that it is the young, hard-working staff that is the decisive factor in the restaurant's success.
He was filled with happiness when sitting with his colleagues. Although he could not find the factor that made the restaurant receive this honor, he believed that the young, hard-working, and enthusiastic staff were the decisive factor in helping the restaurant succeed.
"Before receiving 1 Michelin star, most of the customers coming to the restaurant were from Hong Kong and Singapore, but now my restaurant welcomes more local customers, specifically from Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and other provinces and cities," said the restaurant owner.
Mr. Peter Cuong FranklinHaving worked and eaten in many Michelin-starred restaurants, Mr. Peter Cuong realized the common point of the star-winning restaurants. He expressed: "1 Michelin star is already difficult, but we will still try to continue to upgrade the star rating."
Get inspired by street chefs
6 years ago, he returned to Vietnam and opened An An with the aim of creating a new Vietnamese culinary style in the motherland. He chose a small location at the Old Ton That Dam Market - an old market with many stories associated with the people of old Saigon.
With a modest area in the heart of the Old Market with a cozy atmosphere, the location of An An partly reflects the way the restaurant makes its dishes - connecting tradition with contemporary cuisine, the dishes have familiar flavors but are constantly creative.
Dishes at An An use fresh ingredients from local markets.
The Vietnamese-American chef confided that the dishes at the restaurant are inspired by the country's vibrant culinary culture and use fresh ingredients from local markets, combining cooking techniques from his learning and working experience at major restaurants in Hong Kong, Chicago, etc.
He gave an example: "Banh mi and pho in restaurants are already delicious to the extreme, but I still decided to create culinary creations based on those traditional dishes, developing them into another version. For example, duck, which Vietnamese people usually boil, we are creating a rare-boiled recipe, so that when customers eat it, they have to exclaim "wow". I have to work continuously with my creative team to be able to do this."
Mr. Peter Cuong said he will never forget the dishes his mother cooked that raised him.
Introducing the name of the restaurant An An, he smiled and said that naming a restaurant is very important and must impress diners. After thinking, he chose to name it based on the basic Vietnamese words "an - dau".
"I have a restaurant called An An that focuses more on food and a drinking place called Nhau Nhau. Here, there is beer and the way the dishes are prepared is suitable for drinking beer, raising the bar for street food to a higher level," he said.
To nurture his passion for food, the Vietnamese-American owner said that as a chef, he never forgets his roots, where he was born and the dishes his mother raised him on.
"Even though I have a Michelin star now, I always remind myself of my roots, what my mother cooked for me. I nurtured my inspiration by regularly talking to street chefs, mostly female chefs. They knew a lot of things and told me, even taught me how to cook, that's how I always learn every day," he shared.
1 Michelin star is difficult, but the owner of An An is still determined to maintain and try to upgrade the star rating.
According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, Michelin Guide's recognition of 1 star for An An and honoring restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City contributes to making Ho Chi Minh City a destination for delicious food. Thereby, contributing to promoting cuisine, creating impressions, and increasing spending of tourists when coming to the city.
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