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ABOUT THUY

Thuy Hoang was born in Saigon (now called Ho Chi Minh City) in Vietnam. She came to the United Kingdom at the age of nine as a refugee with her family. Across her life, and aside from work as a professional musician (pianist), Thuy has pursued a huge passion for baking and cooking with a particular focus on the vibrant food culture of Vietnam. In 2023, she was a Quarter Finalist on BBC1's MasterChef in the UK.

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Thuy is part of the judging panels for prestigious national food industry awards: the UK Quality Food Awards, the Great Taste Awards (Guild of Fine Food) and the Great British Food Awards

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In 2024, Thuy published an article with recipe (two-page spread) called "Fire up flavour" and been a contributing author to "Judge-approved Christmas classics" both in Great British Food magazine (for the Summer and Winter issues respectively, both print and digital). She also published a review of London Vietnamese restaurants in Time Well Spent. This year, she has already published a recipe in Essex Life magazine (February 2025 issue, print and digital), is currently preparing a recipe feature for a leading food magazine, and is writing a restaurant review for a well-known entertainment, food, drink and lifestyle publication. 

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Thuy has a YouTube channel through which she shares films of her Vietnamese dishes. She is also a regular chef-presenter on the food festival scene having given on-stage cooking demonstrations at major events in the UK and Ireland. Her work has taken her e.g., to festivals: in Kilkenny, Ireland; at Knebworth House and Ashridge House, Hertfordshire; at Lydiard Park, Wiltshire; at Dinton Pastures, Berkshire; at Hampton Court Palace, Kent; at the BBC Good Food Show, National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham; at The Hurlingham Club, Fulham, London; and at House and Garden magazine's Spirit of Christmas, Olympia London.

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Thuy teaches cooking classes at Jeremy Pang's award-winning School of Wok in Covent Garden, London, with the first class in 2025 already selling out. She has also been chef for various supper clubs, including for central London businesses. Thuy collaborated with Chariya Khattiyot in 2024, the 2023 MasterChef winner on a Thai and Vietnamese chef’s table, which also sold out.

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Thuy is a keen supporter of excellent and award-winning food and wine producers by utilizing their products in her dishes and promoting them through her social media channels. She has supported e.g., Angelucci coffee, BoTree peppercorns, Droitwich salt, Marasby wine, and the Great Taste 2024 Golden Fork winner Louisa’s Honey, among many other artisan producers. She is a headline chef for Tims Dairy.

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When not "on the move", Thuy enjoys food writing and developing Asian-inspired recipes in her kitchen at home.

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Listen to Thuy interviewed about her life and love of Vietnamese food by journalist and Channel News Asia (CNA) Editor, Amanda Oon on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.   

Comments from BBC1's MasterChef on Thuy’s dish, bún thịt nÆ°á»›ng chà giò:

“Thuy, your dish is absolutely delightful. Getting that leaf and being able to put herbs in it with some perfectly cooked, soft noodles, and then that lovely salty, almost sticky pork plunged into a dip that is citrusy and sweet I am loving. Your spring rolls are also packed full of vegetables with a crunch. Just really, really enjoying your food.”

(Gregg Wallace, Judge, BBC1's MasterChef)

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“I really love this pork. It’s got the taste that it’s been cooked over charcoal, and I really love that. The pork is lovely and tender.  What you’ve made I think is wonderful. It’s great. It’s fresh.”

(John Torode, Judge, BBC1's MasterChef)

Thuy remarks:

“I cook many styles of food but have a particular focus on Vietnamese cuisine with a modern twist. The ingredients of Southeast Asia never cease to inspire me from the very wide variety of fresh herbs to tangy nuoc mam (fish sauce), to fiery chillies. I also get inspired by the dishes, techniques and high skillsets of professional chefs and bakers like Raymond Blanc, Marcus Wareing, Cédric Grolet and Richard Bertinet.”

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“Cooking and cuisine are massively important to Vietnamese families. Even as a small child, I would have watched my grandmother, mother and aunts prepare dishes like pho (Vietnamese noodle soup) in their kitchens. I come from a huge family so there are a lot of dishes to learn about. It is important to start early!"
 

"When we came to the UK as refugees in the 1980s, we did not have much money. So, the ingenuity of the women in my family to create superb dishes for a large family, but on a very small budget, was inspirational. It was also a way to keep our heritage alive. I am very appreciative to have been surrounded by such a clever and vibrant food culture in my upbringing.”

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"I am very passionate about my cultural heritage and its strong connection with food. Vietnamese food is so varied and not like any other cuisine worldwide. I want to be an ambassador for it, bringing it greater prominence in the UK and beyond.”

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Comments in the press and reviews:

 

​Eastern Daily Press, 30 April 2024

 

​Norwich Evening News, 30 April 2024

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Tripadvisor review, Thuy's School of Wok class, 27 September 2024

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Calum Banister, "Simon Rogan gold and silver at Great British Food Awards" (incl. Thuy's review), The Mail, 30 October 2024

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