The Real One: MENU In Conversation with Chef Tuệ Nguyễn (aka Twaydabae)
Chef TuệNguyễn, better known to her millions of followers as TwayDaBae, is as real as they come—authentic, generous, and unapologetically herself. Spend just a few minutes talking to her, and it’s obvious that these qualities, combined with undeniable talent, have propelled her to remarkable success as a content creator.
Now also a successful restaurateur and bestselling cookbook author, Tuệ has built a multi-faceted career driven by grit, authenticity, and an unwavering passion for Vietnamese cuisine. She’s not here to reinvent tradition but to share it—inviting the world to experience the depth, vibrancy and soul of the dishes she grew up with. From her viral recipes to the meticulously crafted menu at ĐiĐi, her West Hollywood restaurant, Tuệ brings Vietnamese food to life in a way that’s approachable, dynamic, and unmistakably her own.
This April, Tuệ brings her talent and infectious energy to Toronto as RC Show 2025’s Culinary Keynote speaker. She’ll team up with fellow chef and content creator Wallace Wong for an electrifying live cooking demo on the Culinary Stage, and then join Trevor Lui for a fireside chat on the Speaker Stage to talk about her meteoric rise as a content creator and the ins and outs of restaurant operations.
We spoke with Tuệ the day after the devastating L.A. fires began in January. Despite the chaos, her generosity, passion, and drive to connect through food shone through, leaving us more inspired than ever.
MM: What motivated you to put yourself out there as a content creator, and what were your initial goals?
Chef Tuệ Nguyễn: I think my confidence in being in front of the camera really came from my childhood. My mom was always taking pictures and videos of me, so I grew up feeling comfortable in front of a camera. She also has this vibrant personality, and I think I inherited that from her. It’s always felt natural to me—there’s never been a time when I didn’t want to be on camera.
When I started creating content, it was more about figuring out what I wanted to do with my life. In high school, I was on the path to becoming a nurse. I was volunteering at hospitals and doing everything to prepare for nursing school. But at the same time, I was watching a lot of YouTube—everything from fashion to makeup to comedy. I thought it was really cool, but I didn’t think it could be a career until I heard creators talking about making a full-time living from it.
So, I started dabbling. I made some fashion and makeup content because those were things I was interested in, but I didn’t really know my niche. By my senior year, when it came time to apply to nursing school, I realized I didn’t want to do it. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted, but I knew I was curious about other options. That’s when culinary school came up. It was something I was genuinely interested in and wanted to explore.
When I went to culinary school, I discovered this deep love for food and cooking. That’s when I started taking content creation more seriously. I realized I had something unique to offer in the culinary space. Growing up as an immigrant in Oxnard, L.A., eating my mom’s Vietnamese food, I noticed there wasn’t much representation of that experience.
When I focused on food, I saw a real purpose in my content—whether it was showing people how to enjoy Vietnamese dishes or showcasing the diversity of Vietnamese cuisine beyond pho and bánh mì. That’s when I knew food was my niche and what I wanted to dedicate my content to.
MM: We read somewhere that you were inspired by Anthony Bourdain.
TN: Yes, definitely. I came to America in third grade, around eight years old. At the time, I didn’t speak any English, so making friends was really tough. I ended up watching a lot of TV, and one day I came across Anthony Bourdain’s show and the episode where he was in Vietnam really stood out to me. He was eating Vietnamese food and talking about the culture in a way I had never seen in American media. It sparked something in me. I remember thinking, “That’s so cool—he’s in Vietnam, eating food I know, in places I recognize.” It made me feel incredibly proud to see my culture represented like that. I’ve been a fan ever since.
MM: You mentioned that Vietnamese cuisine is more than just pho and bánh mì. From your perspective, if you had to pick one or two dishes that represent the essence of Vietnamese cuisine, what would they be?
TN: Oh, that’s such a great question. I think braised dishes like cá kho tộ (braised catfish) or thịt kho tàu (braised pork belly) really embody the essence of Vietnamese cuisine. They’re such classic, family-style dishes. They’re not difficult to make, but when you have them with rice and a whole meal, they transport you. For me, they remind me of spending time with my family and take me back to Vietnam. Those dishes hold so much nostalgia and connection to home.
The culinary space is so male-dominated, and I feel that as soon as I walk into a room full of male chefs. I can sense the judgment—like, “Who’s this girl with a full face of makeup and Jordans in the kitchen?” But this is who I am, and I think it’s important to break that mold.
MM: You talked earlier about finding your niche, and I think what’s so interesting about your content is the way you bring your passions and personality into your projects in a way that’s so seamless. How do you balance that, especially while running a restaurant and juggling everything else?
TN: Oh man, thank you for saying that—it really means a lot. When I went to culinary school, they instilled this very traditional mindset about how chefs should present themselves in the kitchen: no makeup, no nail polish, proper shoes, and all that. And while I still follow the rules—I keep my nails short and neat, for instance—I also express myself. I wear makeup in the kitchen, and my nails might have a subtle French gel manicure.
As someone who loves fashion and beauty, I feel that being in the kitchen shouldn’t mean giving up those forms of self-expression. Just because I’m a chef doesn’t mean I need to strip away the parts of myself that I love.
The culinary space is so male-dominated, and I feel that as soon as I walk into a room full of male chefs. I can sense the judgment—like, “Who’s this girl with a full face of makeup and Jordans in the kitchen?” But this is who I am, and I think it’s important to break that mold.
If I can show other women—especially younger women—that it’s okay to be yourself and express who you are while pursuing a career in this industry, then I’m doing something meaningful. We don’t need to fit into a box or conform to outdated standards.
MM: What’s unique about your content is that it’s successful not just from a growth and management perspective but because it really resonates with people. I imagine your audience is incredibly diverse—some might initially come for the food, but they stay because of the other parts of yourself that you share. Food content can feel like a monolith sometimes, but I think people connect with your authenticity and root for your success beyond just a recipe.
TN: I agree with that.
MM: Of all the dishes you’ve profiled on your channels, which one surprised you the most in terms of audience response?
TN: Oh wow… the one recipe that always comes to mind is the first one I ever shared: the easiest fried rice in the world. It completely blew up and really changed the direction of my career and my social media presence. That’s when I realized I didn’t need elaborate recipes or polished “chef-y” tips. People just want recipes they can recreate easily with ingredients they have on hand.
That video did so well because there was no overthinking involved. It was during the pandemic, and for the first time in a long time, my whole family was home. I was in such a great mood, and I decided to make fried rice for everyone. I just recorded it on a whim, and it translated so naturally to the audience. That’s when I realized I didn’t need a high-production setup to create impactful recipe videos.
MM: That’s amazing. Was that literally your first food video?
TN: It was! That was my very first recipe video. Up until then, my food content was more about vlogging. I’d take people around Vietnam, show them where and how to eat different dishes, or do eating videos. People saw me as “the foodie girl,” but they didn’t know I cooked.
When I started sharing my cooking content, people were surprised. They’d say, “Oh, you cook?” Then, as I shared more of my journey, they realized I went to culinary school and had a professional background in food. I’d never really talked about it or posted about culinary school because I didn’t think people would watch or care. But once I did, the connection deepened.
For my audience, my main focus is keeping recipes simple and approachable, sharing easy recipes that people can recreate without feeling overwhelmed. I always ask myself, “Can my little sister make this?” That’s my benchmark. I grew up taking care of my sister, and she does not cook at all. In fact, I dedicated an entire cookbook to her! If I know she could follow the recipe, I’m confident anyone else can, too.
MM: Many of your recipes are rooted in traditional Vietnamese cuisine. How do you decide when to innovate to engage your audience versus preserving the integrity of the original recipe?
TN: It’s a very different process for ĐiĐi versus my content. For the restaurant, I have to think about creating dishes that are restaurant-quality while also making them practical—like ensuring the kitchen staff can prepare them efficiently during service.
But for my audience, my main focus is keeping recipes simple and approachable, sharing easy recipes that people can recreate without feeling overwhelmed. I always ask myself, “Can my little sister make this?” That’s my benchmark. I grew up taking care of my sister, and she does not cook at all. In fact, I dedicated an entire cookbook to her! If I know she could follow the recipe, I’m confident anyone else can, too.”
When it comes to keeping tradition alive, it’s tricky because “traditional” means different things to different people. For me, a dish is traditional if it tastes like something I grew up eating or if it reminds me of the food I had in Vietnam. That’s my standard—if the flavours take me back home, then I feel like I’ve done justice to the recipe.
MM: At what point did you decide to take the leap from content creation to running a brick-and-mortar restaurant?
TN: Honestly, there was never a moment where I felt ready—I still don’t feel ready! It all started with a year of doing pop-ups. Straight out of the pandemic, I began hosting pop-ups every month. I just wanted people to try my food and see that I’m more than someone who cooks online. I needed to prove to myself and others that I could do this in real life.
The pop-ups ranged from sit-down dinners to simple sandwich pickups. Even though I didn’t feel fully prepared, the opportunity to partner with H.Wood to open a restaurant came my way. I thought, “Why not?” If the opportunity is there, I might as well take it. There was nothing to lose—just a chance to work hard, run with it, and do the best I could.
MM: How did the reality of opening a restaurant compare to what you initially expected? What was your biggest eye-opener?
TN: I thought the recipes I had in mind from the start would be the ones on the menu. I figured we’d just perfect them and that would be it. But curating a menu for a restaurant is so much more complex than I expected. There are so many technical considerations—what works, what doesn’t, and even the
demographic of the area.
For example, Vietnamese food is very pork-heavy, but we’re in West Hollywood, where not a lot of people eat pork. I had to rethink things. So now, we only have a few pork dishes on the menu. If it were a more traditional menu, it would probably be almost all pork and shrimp.
MM: What was the original inspiration behind your restaurant?
TN: ĐiĐi means “let’s go” in Vietnamese, and honestly, it turned out even better than I expected. Partnering with the H.Wood team was amazing. The design of the space is absolutely gorgeous—it’s colourful, vibrant, and full of texture. I showed them pictures and explained that I didn’t want another beige L.A. restaurant. I wanted it to feel homey and comforting, like being in Vietnam.
They nailed it.
When it came to the food at ĐiĐi, this was my first real experience standing up for myself and saying, “This is what I truly want to serve.” It wasn’t just about the dishes—it was about the intent and what the food represents. For example, we have a whole fried snapper on the menu, complete with the head, tail, eyes and teeth. That’s how it’s traditionally served in Vietnamese culture.
In L.A., though, it’s rare to see whole fish served like that. My partners weren’t sold on it at first, especially because of the bones. But I fought for it—I wanted ĐiĐi to stand out. We eventually compromised by doing a pocket cut. We removed the rib cage and most of
the bones but kept the head and tail intact. It still has that whole-fish presentation, but it’s easier for diners to eat. So, boom—everyone is happy!
MM: Amazing compromise! How’s the restaurant doing now? Has it met or exceeded your expectations so far?
TN: I can’t believe we’ve made it past a year and a half! That’s a huge milestone, especially in L.A. I feel so blessed and thankful that people keep coming back and loving what we’re doing. Right now, we’ve started doing late-night events every Friday at ĐiĐi. We have a DJ, bottle service, and a whole vibe. It’s been incredible to see the space evolve into something even more dynamic.
MM: So you’re expanding the concept into more of an event or club-type space?
TN: Yeah, and it’s so amazing to see people celebrating their birthdays or anniversaries at the restaurant. I’m always in awe. There are so many places they could choose, but they pick ĐiĐi. It makes me so happy and giddy.
MM: In terms of guest feedback, what’s been the most meaningful thing you’ve heard about the restaurant?
TN: I’d say the most meaningful feedback has come from Vietnamese people who travel all the way from Orange County to visit ĐiĐi. It’s incredible when they tell me they want to bring their parents or grandparents here. That makes me so happy because it’s not just a place for friends or date nights—it’s somewhere they feel proud to share with their family.
For me, if I eat at a restaurant and think, “Oh, I need to bring my mom here because she’d love it,” that makes the place special. Hearing people say they want their parents or grandparents to experience an upscale Vietnamese restaurant is so meaningful. It feels like I’m creating something that
honours their culture and family connections in a way they want to share.
MM: You’ve done so much in such a short time—opening the restaurant and now your cookbook, Đi Ăn: The Salty, Sour, Sweet and Spicy Flavors of Vietnamese Cooking with TwayDaBae, which you’ve described as a kind of scrapbook of your journey. How do you balance sharing your personal stories with the recipes to create a narrative? It’s not just a cookbook—it’s so personalized, but it still feels accessible to a broad audience. How did you decide what to include or leave out?
TN: I think the journey of creating and sharing content—and hearing how it resonates with people—shaped my approach to writing Đi Ăn. Even though my story is personal, it’s one that a lot of people can relate to, especially older siblings, immigrants or anyone who’s struggled to find their footing
in life.
Those shared experiences make the stories in the cookbook feel relatable. I think that’s why the book feels so connected to people—it reflects struggles and journeys that many of us go through. It’s not just my story; it’s a story that belongs to so many others as well.
MM: Which of the recipes in the book are you most proud of?
TN: Oh, all of them! But if I had to pick, I’d say my Thịt Kho recipe—braised pork belly with quail eggs. I think it’s the best recipe I’ve ever put out. It’s such a quintessential Vietnamese dish, but I’ve made it so accessible and easy that people feel confident making it as part of their regular dinner rotation. That makes me so happy. It’s also the recipe I’ve seen replicated the most by my audience, which is really special.
My honey-glazed shrimp recipe is another one I’m incredibly proud of. It was the first recipe I ever created—for a final in my Garde Manger class. It was also the first time I watched my colleagues try something I came up with, and they loved it. That experience meant a lot to me. So, those two recipes are probably my best work so far.
MM: How did writing a cookbook compare to opening a restaurant?
TN: Writing the cookbook actually took longer than opening the restaurant! I had no idea how much work goes into writing a cookbook. There are so many rounds of edits and changes—it’s such a detailed process. But it was also my fault because it took me three years to finish. During that time, I was doing so much: hosting pop-ups, opening the restaurant, making my own fish sauce… It felt like the cookbook was always looming in the back of my mind. I’d constantly be thinking, “You need to write the cookbook. You need to work on this for the cookbook. You need to finish the cookbook.” It felt never-ending.
MM: How much of a role has your engagement with your audience on social media played in shaping your culinary philosophy and approach to cooking?
TN: A huge role. When I started culinary school, I had a very traditional mindset. Everything had to be precise, picture-perfect, and meet these high standards. But as I started sharing recipes with my audience, I realized the easier and more accessible a recipe is, the better.
My approach now is always about simplicity. That’s my guiding principle when creating recipes to share with an audience. I never want people to watch my videos and think, “These are pretentious recipes I could never make.”
MM: That connection with your audience—especially the ones who try your recipes and share feedback—must make you uniquely aware of what people actually want.
TN: Absolutely. It’s such a valuable feedback loop. Hearing directly from people who make my recipes gives me insight I wouldn’t get otherwise. It helps me stay grounded in what works and what resonates with my audience, which represents a wide variety of people.
MM: A lot of your work focuses on celebrating and demystifying Vietnamese cuisine. Are there any common misconceptions you really want to address or dispel?
TN: Definitely. I think people are starting to come around to fish sauce, which is great—it’s not as intimidating to them anymore. But I feel like the next step is for people to embrace and appreciate the “stinky” stuff, like shrimp paste and dried shrimp, and start adding those into their cooking.
MM: What do “stinky” ingredients do for a dish?
TN: They add so much depth and complexity—another layer of flavour that many people don’t realize is possible. It’s like unlocking a whole new dimension of taste. But to be fair, it’s something you have to ease into if you didn’t grow up with it. It’s similar to durian, which I never thought of as stinky until I moved to the U.S. In Vietnam, it has this sweet, pleasant smell that you instantly recognize. But here, people describe it as one of the worst things they’ve ever smelled. It’s all about perspective and exposure.
MM: You’ve got so much on your plate—how do you stay motivated and find joy in cooking when it’s constantly coming at you from every direction?
TN: For the longest time, I didn’t even cook at home. I’d only cook if I was filming videos or working at ĐiĐi. I’d always eat out or order in, and I remember asking myself, “Why am I doing this? I have a perfectly good kitchen at home.”
Eventually, I realized I was just burned out. I didn’t want to think about what to eat or cook for myself—it felt like work. But then I remembered when I first moved to L.A., my parents didn’t support my decision to go to culinary school. I was living in my car and struggling to feed myself. When I think back to that time, it puts everything into perspective. I don’t want to take for granted all the opportunities I have now. Yes, it’s a lot, but I remind myself that I’m the first in my family to do this, and I want to make the most of every opportunity that comes my way.
MM: We’re so looking forward to your culinary keynote and demo sessions at RC Show in April. What are you most looking forward to about coming to Toronto?
TN: I’m not sure what to expect, but the one thing I always look forward to in any new city is trying the food. I want to know what you’re known for, what’s the best of the best. That’s always my first priority. I’ll be at RC Show on my birthday, actually, so I’m extra looking forward to it.
About Chef Tuệ Nguyễn
Chef Tuệ Nguyễn, a.k.a. social media icon @TwayDaBae, is an acclaimed Vietnamese chef and one of the fastest rising stars in the culinary space. Since graduating from culinary school and beginning her content creation journey, she has showcased her skills through sold-out pop-ups in Los Angeles and New York City, which led to her partnering with the world-renowned h.wood Group to open the hottest new restaurant in Los Angeles, ĐiĐi. Her debut cookbook Di An was released in September 2024 with Simon & Schuster and named one of the best cookbooks of 2024. She can be seen as the current host of Making it Big on BuzzFeed’s food network Tasty and as the host of People’s digital food show, Celeb Eats.
IG: @twaydabae
Tik Tok: @twaydabae
