From picking vegetables to earn 500 dong each, he became the chef who built the recipe of a large chain of Vietnamese restaurants
The first 500 dong bills in the kitchen career
As one of the famous chefs in Hanoi, chef Nguyen Danh Hinh has been in love with the profession since he was very young. Through many difficulties, so far he has been awarded many awards such as: Chef of the Year 2018 by the Vietnam Tourism Association; Certificate of Folk Artisan; Golden hand in 2021…
Talking about the chance to come to the profession, chef Nguyen Danh Hinh said that since he was a child, he has had the pleasure of helping his parents cook. And then, that love kept growing over the years, he decided to ask his parents for an apprenticeship.
“In 1994, I started studying at a tourism school, the school was right next to the Buoi market. At that time, my family was very difficult, so I also had to work different jobs to make ends meet, such as picking vegetables and cooking. It may be hard to believe for everyone, especially young people, but at that time my compensation was just a meal, or 500 VND. This denomination note is now very rare, but it brought me a lot of money. great value, supported me when I was young, I am also more fortunate than others to meet a good boss, they are the great teachers in my life and create the first bricks so that when I graduate from school I continue with the profession of cooking”, Chef Hinh shared.
Becoming a chef is not easy, even a fierce struggle. Usually, if the odds are between 100 people, only 5 or 2 people can meet all the standards.
“To become a good chef, we must first adhere to the principle. That principle is professional conscience, is the willingness to sacrifice oneself for the common work, is the constant effort, passionate about learning both professions and soft skills. Especially, always respect and treat diners like your own family. Only then can you cook deliciously. And thanks to these principles, To this day, I am satisfied that I have trained more than 300 students, leaving behind certain achievements for the cuisine of the North in particular and of Vietnam in general. Chef Hinh said.
Not only is the head chef of the restaurant chain with the brand name Nguyen Danh Hinh, he is also the one who built the recipes for the big restaurant chains in Vietnam such as: Ashima mushroom hotpot restaurant chain; restaurant chain Kichi Kichi; SuMo restaurant chain; seafood restaurant chain Pho; Cheering Beer restaurant chain; restaurant chain Quan An Ngon; Green City restaurant chain…With more than 300 dishes related to Vietnamese and international seafood; more than 200 street foods; hundreds of regional dishes…
Chef Nguyen Danh Hinh and his students
“It is very difficult to create recipes and food standards for some famous restaurants in Vietnam. It requires perseverance, as well as your own efforts. To create delicious dishes , in accordance with the taste of customers, I have to go and learn a lot of countries around the world”, Mr. Hinh confided.
The hidden corners of the culinary profession
Contrary to the beautiful, elaborate image on TV, the chefs in real life are extremely busy, their bodies smell of food and have to face many unknown corners.
As a service industry, the first pressure to mention is customer satisfaction. Each person has a different personality and taste, so sometimes the chef will have to “stand at the head” of the wrath of the diners if they are not satisfied.
If the ancients used to have a saying, “Rich in the warehouse, full of the kitchen”, it is almost impossible for the chefs to eat well and eat well. Because they have to work non-stop and “watch” customers fully enjoy the food they make. If the plate of food is “emptied”, then you can breathe a sigh of relief.
“The kitchen work creates a lot of time pressure, especially during the ‘peak’ meal times, all employees have to work at full capacity. When everyone has gone to sleep, we still work, come to bed. By the time we get home to rest, everyone is probably about to wake up.Sometimes at 2-3am, we still have to meet our customers’ orders.At this point, the body is tired, the smell of the food is enough, so the food is full. There is almost no real good food. So if young people want to follow this career, determine that they will have less time for family, less time for fun or meeting friends. “, chef Nguyen Danh Hinh said.
Chefs have to face many occupational accidents
Chefs are in danger like soldiers on the battlefield. Those who have never experienced it will not be able to feel the fiery heat from the stove, oven, oil tank or continuously boiling water. The scars on the fingers while cutting quickly to the burns caused by touching the grill, … are all “specialties” of the kitchen profession.
“The chef is not as rosy as you think. Maybe, we have achieved a lot of success, achieved a higher salary than the common ground, but we have to make a lot of trade-offs.” Mr. Hinh shared.
The Giver of Fire and Dreams bring Vietnamese cuisine to the world
Every year, chef Nguyen Danh Hinh cooperates between schools and businesses to organize cooking experience sharing sessions for students. Here, he captures the thoughts and aspirations of young people and connects businesses, creating job opportunities for new graduates.
In particular, thanks to the opportunity to interact with young people in the highlands who are still in difficulty, chef Nguyen Danh Hinh has directly trained and inspired the young generation to continue the dream of developing Vietnamese cuisine. .
In the past 5 years, Chef Hinh has been building Vietnamese-branded restaurants in a number of countries around the world such as the US, Japan, Australia…
“Over 20 years in the profession, I always hope that my friends in Chau will know more about the dishes of my country. Although, the foundations I am building have not really made a breakthrough, but have been well received from Hopefully, in the near future, I and the young people will be able to register more Vietnamese dishes on the world culinary map.” Chef Hinh expressed.
at Blogtuan.info – Source: Kenh14.Vn – Read the original article here
