Staff Writer
By recording videos of herself preparing Vietnamese food throughout the pandemic, Tue Nguyen rose to fame on TikTok.
After lockdowns were lifted, the young chef opened her first restaurant close to Los Angeles, making the transition from the virtual to the real world.
“I think that’s always kind of been like a dream,” Nguyen, 25, said to AFP recently at her restaurant, Di Di, in the thriving West Hollywood district.
But… I truly didn’t see it coming this quickly.
Nguyen attended culinary school to acquire the fundamentals of the trade, but claims that when she connected into her roots, she truly mastered gastronomy.
I really didn’t start learning to cook until… I took a close look at my upbringing. And that’s how I like my food Mom’s making dinner.
Nguyen, who came to the United States as a child from Vietnam with her family, attributes her primary culinary influences to her mother and stepfather.
Every time I’m in the kitchen, they remind me to cook, to make good cuisine, and to trust my taste, Nguyen said.
“Discover my culinary preferences”
Nguyen, also known online as @TwayDaBae, originally began sharing mukbangs, or videos in which someone broadcast themselves eating.
On apps like TikTok, she became genuinely well-known thanks to her cooking videos.
Nguyen started making posts on social media for fun, but she soon realized that people were interested in both eating and learning how to make the food themselves.
Then I understood, “Okay, I’m going to use this opportunity as a way for me to not only learn, but also develop, like my style of cooking… and find my taste in the kitchen.”
Nguyen tried the opposite strategy from other chefs who gain restaurant recognition before they gain media fame and started bringing her internet recipes to the real world at pop-up restaurant locations.
She opened Di Di in the same place where she made her debut.
With millions of views on her videos and hundreds of thousands of followers across TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram, Nguyen doesn’t believe that sharing her recipes with the public will harm the success of her restaurant.
The majority of my web recipes are really simple to follow, according to Nguyen.
Nguyen observed that Di Di was more refined “here.”
With “My story, my heart,”
Di Di, which means “Let’s go” in Vietnamese, opened its doors on Thursday. It was furnished with enormous sofas, golden lighting, and tropical plants.
Nguyen, who oversees every aspect of Di Di, characterizes her cooking approach as a fusion of the methods she picked up in culinary school and the flavors of many cultures.
she was raised on the cooking of her mother.
Nguyen aspires to be successful in the cutthroat Los Angeles culinary market with the aid of her personal brand.
“I have a narrative. I am heartfelt. She claims that is really what distinguishes this location.
In this restaurant, I’m just honoring my upbringing and a look I’m incredibly proud of.
