In the kitchen of a fusion-style Vietnamese restaurant on Xuan Dieu Street in Hanoi, the chef was seen recently concentrating on his diced Wagyu beef dish with a sticky rice wine sauce, and patiently guiding his staff.

The beef sizzled on the hot pan, with its aroma blending with the unexpected ingredient - black glutinous rice wine.

“I love creating new recipes where Vietnamese ingredients shine with unique flavors, surprising yet satisfying guests,” said Nam, 37.

Nam is the executive head chef overseeing multiple restaurants for a large corporation and owns a restaurant on Xuan Dieu Street. Few know he was once a street vendor and shoeshine boy, bullied and mocked for his cleft lip and speech impediment.

Street vendor

Born in 1988 into a poor family with a cleft lip, he was always self-conscious about his appearance, ashamed of the curious stares from adults and peers. He was often called “stutterer” or “cleft-lip.”

Because of his family’s poor conditions, he joined a family that took children to sell goods on the streets, promising VND300,000 a month.

The scrawny, sun-darkened boy began a journey selling toothpicks and chopsticks from Da Nang to Nha Trang, Da Lat and HCMC over three months. Each day, he carried 10-12kg of goods, walking tens of kilometers under scorching heat. 

“At night, the boss collected all the day’s earnings. They gave me VND2,000 for food. I also asked for instant noodles and cold rice wherever I went, whatever available to eat," Nam said,” Nam recalled.

After three months, he earned VND750,000, which he gave to his mother to support the family.

In the following summers, he went to Hanoi to shine shoes. At night, he and his group rented a room for VND1,500 a night and ate at roadside stalls along the To Lich River.

“The handshake I’ll never forget”

In the summer of 2002, while shining shoes near Vietnam Television, Nam met a Western tourist who offered him his business card.

The man asked “Do you like soccer?” Nam nodded eagerly. The man handed him a business card with the name Michael Brosowski and an address for a soccer club in Long Bien.

“If you want to play, come find me this weekend,” the man said.

Nam thought he was a soccer coach. A soccer enthusiast, he saw this as a life-changing opportunity to become a player. Michael’s handshake was one he would never forget.

“I gathered all my courage and spent VND20,000, nearly a day’s earnings, to take a taxi to find Michael. There, I got to play soccer and was taught communication skills and joined an English club.

“I learned that Michael founded Blue Dragon, a club, later an organization, that supports disadvantaged kids. For the first time, I felt joy, playing and learning like my peers, without anyone looking down on me,” Nam recalled.

Michael connected Nam with a charity for free cleft lip surgery.

“His warmth lit a spark of belief in me. I started to trust that there are people in this world who value and care for me, despite my poverty and street life,” Nam said.

From errand boy to head chef

In 2004, after his parents’ divorce and dire circumstances, Nam dropped out of school and moved to Hanoi to work and support his siblings. Michael advised him to quit shining shoes and the risky street life.

Nam and seven friends were referred by Michael to work at a high-end restaurant serving wine and European cuisine in Tay Ho (Hanoi). Nam started as an errand boy, doing everything from dishwashing to cleaning and picking vegetables.

“Seeing my diligence and interest in cooking, the chefs taught me to make sandwiches, bread, fries, and salads. After over two years, I moved from errand boy to assistant chef,” Nam said.

In 2012, Nam, together with a coworker, now his wife, and head chef Nguyen Van Tu attended the reality shows Iron Chef Vietnam and Iron Chef Thailand. The awards from the competitions gave them confidence and career opportunities.

During this time, he worked afternoons and evenings at an European restaurant and woke at 4.30 am to work at an Asian restaurant. He wanted to gain experience and extra income.

Since 2014, he has been working as a head chef at a new restaurant in a high-end urban area outside Hanoi. 

Linh Trang