Local cuisine has an advantage that many modern products struggle to replicate: memory, stories, and a deep connection to place. But for those values to move beyond the family table and become a brand with lasting market appeal, F&B entrepreneurs need more than a love for food.
At HORECFEX VIETNAM 2026, MasterChef Tuyet Pham will join a special podcast with Vietnam Hotelier to share her journey of transforming the familiar flavors and cultural values of Quang cuisine into a business story with a distinctive identity.
After becoming Runner-up of MasterChef Vietnam 2015, she chose to return to Da Nang and develop Nu Do from her family’s story of Mi Quang. Rather than distancing herself from tradition in search of novelty, Tuyet Pham chose to work with what was already familiar, then reinterpret it through product development, experience design, and a brand identity suited to today’s market.
The conversation at HORECFEX will therefore go far beyond cooking. It will also explore the realities of F&B entrepreneurship, the process of refining products, the ways a small brand adapts to challenges, and the difficulty of preserving its original spirit as the business continues to grow.
What stands out in Tuyet Pham’s story is her ability to recognize business value in local elements that may initially seem ordinary. A traditional dish can be more than something served on a menu. It can also become a touchpoint through which customers discover more about the culture, people, and story of a destination.
For chefs, restaurants, hotels, and hospitality businesses, the podcast will offer a practical perspective: differentiation does not always have to begin with creating something completely new. Sometimes, it starts by looking again at the values you already have and finding the right language to communicate them to today’s customers.
In an F&B market where new trends are constantly emerging, local identity can remain one of the most sustainable competitive advantages when it is understood deeply, renewed thoughtfully, and expressed through a story that feels genuinely authentic.