Thuy Diem Pham

Thuy Diem Pham is a British-Vietnamese chef, author and owner of The Little Viet Kitchen restaurant in Islington, North London. Born in a small village in the south of Vietnam, Thuy was surrounded by food, growing up amidst livestock and fresh produce, with a wonderful variety of fruits, morning markets with freshly picked vegetables and the smells of traditional street food.

It’s these memories that are the foundation of her food philosophy and culinary creations, and her landmark London restaurant, The Little Viet Kitchen, brings this true taste of Vietnamese cuisine to Islington.

It is here that Thuy, along with her husband Dave, has created a dining experience combining the best of restaurant precision and flair with the comforts of the home kitchen.

Embracing all elements of Vietnamese cuisine, Thuy’s food enhances and showcases the natural textures and flavours of the organic ingredients she uses.

Having moved to the UK aged seven, Thuy has a distinctive approach to Vietnamese cooking in the West, with an authentic core knowledge of Vietnamese culture and a deft understanding of the London restaurant and foodie scene. Her ultimate aim is to turn every kitchen into a Little Viet Kitchen.

Thuy believes that best way to fully understand and appreciate a cuisine is to see it in action, or even better, to roll your sleeves up and get involved.

“To be a chef you must truly understand all of your ingredients and know exactly what each one is bringing to your dish”

This is what she aims to bring to people, every time she performs a demonstration or a cooking class. Thuy is now an established regular at the Aldeburgh Food Festival and has also done demonstrations at several major events around the country, including Carfest and The Country Living Fair. She has run cooking classes at the renowned Divertimenti Cookery School.

Thuy’s debut cookbook, The Little Viet Kitchen, was published in early 2018. It ranked at number 1 in the Amazon chart for Asian cookbooks in the UK, Germany and the US and has outsold all other Vietnamese cookbooks released to date.

The book has now been released in the UK, US, Australia, Canada, Germany and Austria and
Thuy’s publisher, Bloomsbury, are currently in talks with several publishing houses regarding introducing The Little Viet Kitchen to even more markets in 2020.

She recently launched the first sauce from her new brand “The Vietnamese Larder” – Chilli & Lemongrass Sauce. This all-purpose condiment is made using only the finest and freshest ingredients. It is a family recipe tweaked and perfected through the generations and packs the full authentic taste of Vietnam into a jar.

Join Thuy at our  Inspiring Urban Female Food Founders panel and you can discover more of how she has worked to bring her love of Vietnamese hospitality into a delicious reality. Learn more of the story of her restaurant, cook book and how she is launching her sauce into home kitchens throughout the UK. Get your tickets here.