Cultural connection, family ties forge strong bonds for local chefs

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When siblings Vincent and Amelie Nguyen set out to create their restaurant Anh and Chi, they did so knowing that it would be built upon a family food legacy that dated back generations.

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In the Nguyen household in East Vancouver, preparing and enjoying an evening meal was as much about exploring heritage as it was about cooking food.

“Our parents would tell us their memory of the dish, because food was a vehicle to take us back to those memories, for them, and for us now,” Amelie says. “We could be eating caramelized ginger chicken — our sister Angela would get the white meat, Vincent preferred the dark meat, and I was happy with whatever that was left — and they would tell us, when they first came to Canada, they could not afford chicken meat. So instead, they bought chicken bones to prepare it in the same manner, and how the spine was so delicious when coated in the gingery sauce.”

Refugees from Vietnam, their parents worked to “remember and honour” their home country while establishing a new life in Canada.

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“Some say the Vietnamese diaspora communities hang onto our heritage even more,” Amelie says. “At Tết, or Lunar New Years, Mom would prepare simple but traditional Vietnamese dishes and ask that we pair them with customary áo dài dresses.”

That emphasis on understanding and appreciating the culture is something that resonated with the Nguyen siblings growing up — and continues to do so today.

“Our siblings value knowing and celebrating where we have come from and having those consistent and special moments together, that we can look back and recall, year after year — whether or not they are still around,” Amelie explains, noting that their father passed away in 2010. “And to create those same traditions with our little ones. I have two daughters who already own, and strut, several traditional áo dàis over the holidays.”

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At the centre of their food and family education was their mother, Chef Ly Nguyen, who ran Pho Hoang, a popular Vietnamese restaurant in Vancouver for 33 years. Listed as the executive chef of Anh and Chi, she plays an integral role in the Nguyen’s restaurant.

“Mom is the one that double checks our cooking, marinades and seasoning in every dish,” Vincent says. “More importantly, she has the understanding that as seasons change, ingredients change, to compliment the fresh vegetables and proteins that we can luckily source in B.C. And she makes real-time adjustments to our seasonal menu.

“Lastly, she reminds us what hard work is. And the weight of our duty to continue our family legacy — depends on sharing the best food possible.”

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Food is a valuable entry point into a person’s personal and cultural history. It can bring to life flavours and traditions in a way that printed or spoken words cannot. It also connects people together — and opens up a conversation. 

“Food, to me, is similar to language, in that it can describe a population and evolves with time, migration and even popular culture,” Amelie says. “A dish, whether it is served hot or cold, spicy or sweet, with meat or vegan, will tell you which region of the world it came from, and explain why the dish is the way it is …

“Food is not only a necessity, it is also the thread that holds together all of humanity. A conversation can spark over a simple but common ingredient, and can expand to the rich histories that we all come with, lived experiences that matter, that we can all learn from, to grow our minds and hearts.”

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Exploring the power of food

For entrepreneur Mona Stilwell, her path into motherhood proved to further connect her heritage and food.

“As I started researching the tradition of postpartum care from China called Zuò Yuè Zi, the story started to emerge of an over 2,000-year practice of caring for birthing and women’s bodies under the umbrella of Traditional Chinese Medicine,” Stilwell, the founder of Feeding Mama, says. “A practice that valued women’s bodies to such an extent that an entire catalogue of care exists for their emotional, physical and nutritional healing.”

Stilwell says that, in comparison to the North American medical approach, she found Zuò Yuè Zi to be focused on the wellness of the woman by utilizing high-value ingredients and Chinese food traditions to heal the body.

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Stilwell put these practices of nutrition to work with her company Feeding Mama, a Vancouver-based meal prep and delivery service that focuses on “new moms in the early postpartum weeks,” according to the company website.

“To follow the tradition, we only offer cooked foods to save the body from having to break down raw foods, we focus on iron-rich foods to support rejuvenation of the blood, and offer lots of ginger as a natural anti-inflammatory and antioxidant source,” Stilwell says. “And we focus on vegetables recommended by TCM practice to support the postnatal phase.”

The principles build upon those that Stilwell encountered in her own family home as she looked back on the broths and soups that her parents prepared for her as a child.

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“I’ve now come to appreciate that my mom would give an explanation — that I would promptly forget — of the physical benefits of soups and bone broths,” Stilwell says.

Using the knowledge and understanding of food gleaned from her family, and from her extended exploration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Stilwell says she’s working to help her own children better understand the impact that individual foods have on their body rather than simply taking a “good-versus-bad” approach.

“My belief is that when I’m being honest with my kiddos about the whys, then at least they understand my reasoning and can file that away when they are faced with making their own decisions,” she says. 

Baking with heart

Growing up in a family life filled with food — her dad is a baker and her family owns a restaurant-bakery in Saskatoon — Melissa Tolentino has always been surrounded by food that celebrates her Filipino roots.

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“My parents opened our bakery when I was only 11 years old, and I would help after school and on the weekends,” she recalls. “I didn’t get to actually bake then but it was fun to watch my dad practice different techniques and make a variety of products. Tasting was always the best part.”

When Tolentino packed up and moved to Vancouver more than a decade ago, she brought her father’s passion for baking with her.

Now, the founder of Flourishette Baking has forged her own flavour in the field, incorporating Filipino inspiration in everything she creates.

“It’s what I love to do,” Tolentino says. “Mixing Filipino flavours into classic French and western recipes means incorporating ube, cassava, mango, coconut, calamansi, and sweet rice.

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“Filipino cuisine is delicious, and it’s time for people to know!”

In addition to introducing the cuisine to more people — “Food can be a universal language of love, and it brings people together,” Tolentino says — her baking helps her to feel more connected to the family she left behind in Saskatchewan.

“Living away from my family and not having any relatives in Vancouver, I can bring a sense of home here by including Filipino flavours and techniques that I learned growing up into my baking,” she says.

An unbreakable bond

A undeniably valuable contact point, food forms an unbreakable bond for many families. In the case of the Nguyens, this rings especially true.

“We started Anh and Chi with a vision to retire mom,” Amelie recalls. “The kitchen has been so close, consistent and strong — from Pho Hoang to Anh and Chi days — because of her exceptional palate and leadership.”

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But, after five years, she says, they realize they still need her.

“I don’t think Mom will ever retire,” Vincent says of the Nguyen family matriarch. “She’s the type of person that always needs to be moving and something to do that she loves.”

And, she seems happy to keep a close eye on things too.

“Mom is there for culture-control,” Amelie adds. “Any time we want to twist a traditional recipe a bit too much, she’ll remind us the proper way to prepare it, making sure that while we evolve and adapt to the western world in the guests experience, interior design, and beverage program, we keep one thing true at Anh and Chi — traditional and authentic Vietnamese flavours.”

Aharris@postmedia.com