“My goal is beyond being a good cook who has the ability and the drive to produce delicious food. My goal is also beyond being a good culinary teacher. My goal is to be good in inspiring others to create in them the desire to prepare dishes they can call their own.” This work ethic is quite obvious in the way our new Chef Instructor handles her class. Ta Ngoc Tuyet Minh or fondly, Minh, strikes a compelling aura of sweet persuasion to her students of Introductory Vietnamese Cooking. Minh stresses to her students the need to achieve a certain balance in preparing the dishes. “I encourage my friends, guests and now, my students, to strive to be healthy and conscious about what they eat.” Vietnamese cuisine, considered one of the healthiest cuisines worldwide, makes use of a lot of fresh herbs and vegetables, minimal use of dairy and oil, and a balance of ingredients.

When Minh moved to Manila, she and her husband set up Banh Mi Manila and initially sold her products online. The demand for her savory traditional Vietnamese sandwich grew. Minh now supplies several restaurants in Metro Manila. Setting up Banh Mi Manila was her way of sharing Vietnamese cuisine and cooking techniques with Filipinos. Minh learned how to cook at a young age, and took formal training at the Australia-Vietnamese Vocational College under the tutelage of the award-winning Chef Long Phan. Minh tells her students to excel in the things they love to do. “But not too well, because you might end up cooking for so many people,” she joked.