Businesswoman brings purple Bauhinia flowers to traditional cakes celebrating Dien Bien Phu Victory

Memories of her small but great grandmother and stories from the old battlefields have inspired Hanoi businesswoman Trinh Hong Giang to research meaningful products and gift sets to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu Victory; to welcome the National Tourism Year and the 2024 Ban Flower Festival.

Ms. Trinh Hong Giang, CEO of Gia Trinh Bakery chain, is the third generation to inherit and develop traditional cakes in Hanoi and some culinary specialties in Vietnam. She shares about the journey of researching and bringing traditional cakes made from Bauhinia flowers to conquer consumers.

Ms. Trinh Hong Giang, Executive Director of Gia Trinh Bakery chain

- What inspired you to launch the Purple Bauhinia product line?

Since I was a child, I have always heard stories about my grandmother. She sacrificed and worked hard to raise her children. She did all kinds of jobs, from teaching to baking, but she still immersed herself in the flow of the nation, producing, working and enthusiastically supporting the front lines.

The Dien Bien Phu campaign broke out when my father was 4 years old and my sister was 7 years old. My grandmother (Mrs. Vinh, the founder of Gia Trinh Bakery - at that time, teacher Vinh) left her children with her father to go to the battlefield. She used a bicycle to carry more than 1.4 tons of medicine to Dien Bien to "pay the debt to the country, avenge her family". Together with more than 200,000 laborers and youth volunteers at that time, she overcame the rain of bombs and bullets, contributing a small part to the historic Dien Bien Phu victory "famous in five continents, shaking the world".

Grandma told this story as if sharing a small funny story for herself and her grandchildren to hear with happiness and pride in her eyes. In 2004, when she visited Dien Bien - the old battlefield, she also took a photo next to the iconic bicycle that she and many other youth volunteers and militiamen used to transport food, medicine, etc.

In 2009, when the family built a farm to grow many precious ingredients and medicinal herbs for baking, my father respectfully planted 2 purple Bauhinia trees. The flowers bloomed brightly almost all year round to remember my grandmother and this memorable time.

On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu Victory, welcoming the National Tourism Year and the 2024 Ban Flower Festival, since the end of February, Gia Trinh Bakery's staff and I have had plans to research and launch meaningful products and gift sets to both commemorate the small but great grandmother and join the proud atmosphere of the whole nation towards beloved Dien Bien.

Desserts and cakes in the collection "Purple Bauhinia"

- Conveying many touching stories, so what is unique about the collection?

Initially, the "Purple color of Ban flowers" collection was only inspired by the special warm purple color of Ban flowers - the flower associated with the Dien Bien Phu victory, combined with typical products and ingredients of the Northwest region such as sticky rice, Shan Tuyet Tua Chua tea, purple sweet potatoes on the background of fried cakes, Gia Trinh ethnic cakes that have long been loved.

After about 2 weeks of implementation, through studying many Oriental medicine documents and Northwest culinary practices, my father suggested trying using Hoa Ban in production. In Oriental medicine, Hoa Ban is recorded to be able to cure coughs, sore throats or digestive diseases such as dysentery, bloating, diarrhea...

I tried applying it to baking and the result was beyond my expectations. The dried flowers, ground into purple powder, have a very slightly astringent and bitter taste, with a faint scent of the mountains and forests, and are extremely compatible with the ingredients of rice, coconut milk that Gia Trinh is used to using in cakes, water... creating special flavors. Once again, the brand's products maintain the value of "medicine, kindness" that 3 generations have cherished and developed.

- You decided to put Bauhinia flowers into your cuisine, was that a risk?

Due to the tight time frame, when coming up with the idea, the production team had to concentrate on research. When receiving information about the new product, I was very happy because the workers started working very enthusiastically because this is a product line with great significance not only for Gia Trinh but also contributing to Dien Bien cuisine, the Northwest and Vietnamese cuisine in general.

The most exciting part is the harvesting, drying and making powder from the Bauhinia flowers. All worries and stress are relieved when the finished product is available. Everyone, including myself and all the brothers and sisters who participated in the research and production of the product, were overwhelmed with emotion because the shape of the cake and tea was perfect from the first time, with just a few adjustments needed to make the product almost as desired.

Products convey love and national pride

Through the collection, my family and all the brothers and sisters who make the products send a little bit of their hearts towards Dien Bien and express their love and pride for the Vietnamese people. We also hope that when young people eat and enjoy the products in this collection, because they like it, because they find it delicious, they will also learn more about the Dien Bien Phu victory and the cuisine of the Northwest.

- How has the product been received?

Luckily, the products have received a lot of positive support from customers and young people. There are also customers who come because of the word "Hoa Ban". They want to experience what it is like to eat Hoa Ban? Is there anything special? There are also customers who are curious but there are also customers who are really interested in the national festival.

Products are introduced to consumers in the capital.

At first, we were not confident in using Hoa Ban in our products and the word Hoa Ban was basically the inspiration to develop many products with this characteristic purple color. But one early morning, when an elderly customer learned about the product line "Purple color of Hoa Ban", he came to eat "Hoa Ban" just once and regretted not being able to buy it when he learned that the new product was being tested. It was this picky but dedicated and Hoa Ban-loving customer who gave the research team the motivation to find a product made from Hoa Ban, so that not only the purple color of Hoa Ban but also the ingredients from Hoa Ban: Delicious and meaningful!

Thanks for sharing!

Source