Artisan Ánh Tuyết reveals the tense atmosphere in the kitchen where the national bird's nest soup is prepared.

Chefs who prepare state banquets for heads of state are under strict supervision from security personnel; no one is allowed to enter or leave.

Artisan Pham Thi Anh Tuyet conceived the menu and oversaw almost the entire process of preparing the state banquet for the 21 leaders of the APEC 2017 (Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperation) summit held in Da Nang. Six years later, she says she still hasn't forgotten the tense atmosphere in the kitchen on November 11, 2017.

"No one gets in or out," Ms. Tuyet emphasized this phrase to describe the absolute security in the kitchen at that time. Because the leaders were enjoying a state banquet for lunch, the entire cooking team had to be present in the kitchen from 5:00 AM on November 11th until the leaders left.

"I can't remember exactly how many security personnel there were; some looked Asian. However, I'm certain two of them were White House security personnel because they were wearing badges and had the word 'America' on their backpacks," she said.

APEC 2017 was attended by 21 leaders of the world's leading economies , including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Russian President Vladimir Putin, South Korean President Moon Jae-in, and US President Donald Trump.

The 70-year-old Hanoi chef, famous for his honey-roasted chicken, recounted that upon entering the kitchen, the entire team was briefed on the rules once again, divided into separate groups, and everyone had to stay where they were assigned to their tasks. For example, the vegetable pickers could only stand where they were picking vegetables. That day, no one went to the restroom during the several-hour cooking period because they were all likely stressed and highly focused.

"Every time I looked up, I saw these two people staring at me. They were positioned about 5-6 meters away from me," she recounted about the two White House staffers, adding that they were always carrying backpacks of which she didn't know what they contained at the time.

Chef Ánh Tuyết is pictured cooking at the APEC Conference in 2017. Photo: Provided by the interviewee.

Anticipating the tension in the kitchen during the main event, Ms. Tuyet and her team conducted numerous rehearsals to ensure everything ran smoothly. She also mentally prepared everyone beforehand, instructing them not to pay attention to security personnel or anyone else around them. Everyone should focus solely on their assigned task.

According to her, even a small oversight can have major consequences. The process of preparing the state banquet must be seamless, precise in timing, and meet the set quality standards. Making the leaders of other economies wait for too long is "unacceptable."

Despite her years of experience in the kitchen, Ms. Tuyet still felt the pressure weighing heavily on her shoulders. According to her, harmonizing flavors to suit 21 leaders from 21 different cultures was no easy task, because in a family with three generations living together, each person had their own eating habits. "This is the responsibility of a chef representing the entire nation," Ms. Tuyet said.

The chef explained that each person in the kitchen was given a chip, which could be used for location tracking. As the head chef of the hotel where the event took place, she was given two chips. Thanks to this, Ms. Tuyet could move around the kitchen and supervise the work.

She would often stand in the entrance area, where the hotel's waitstaff would carry the finished dishes back to the kitchen to bring out the next course. With each dish that passed through the doorway, she would carefully observe to see if any heads of state had left anything behind. Only when the last dish of the banquet had passed did she breathe a sigh of relief, as almost all the dishes were completely empty.

Ms. Tuyet recounted that the two White House security officers were also impressed with the food that day. Seeing the two of them constantly by her side, Ms. Tuyet asked the staff to prepare extra portions for them. When they got to the roast duck, they exclaimed in delight.

"Those two said that in their country, a duck weighs about 8 kg, has a lot of fat but dry meat. They had never seen such a tiny duck with such delicious meat," she recounted.

Ms. Tuyet and her two daughters pose for a photo with two American security officers. She brought her two daughters along to cook the state banquet because they are among the few who can roll spring rolls correctly. Photo: Provided by the interviewee.

The chef revealed that the recipe for the duck dish on the state banquet menu that day was passed down from her and her mother, who had passed away long ago. The duck was roasted in a special way, with a traditional Vietnamese flavor, completely different from Peking duck. Ms. Tuyet believes that for Westerners accustomed to eating fatty foods, if they praise her "tiny" roasted duck as delicious, that's a success.

Earlier, during the menu review process, a Vietnamese official tried it and also praised its taste. "He said he had just eaten roast duck yesterday, but this one was so different," Ms. Tuyet said.

According to Ms. Tuyet, the state banquet menu at APEC 2017 included chicken soup, crispy-skinned roast duck, steamed sea bass with five spices, mini fried crab spring rolls, and purple taro dessert. The female artisan set the requirements for the ingredients, and the hotel where the event was held was responsible for purchasing them and ensuring the quality of the input.

After the heads of state finished their meal, everyone in the kitchen was still not allowed to leave; they had to wait until all the guests had departed. By this time, the clock had struck 3 PM, and the tension in the kitchen had gradually eased.

Amidst the relieved sighs of the chefs, two White House security officers suddenly opened their backpacks. Ms. Tuyet was surprised to find wine and sweets brought from the United States inside. They laid everything out on the table and thanked the kitchen staff. Afterwards, everyone celebrated, and around 5 PM, she left the hotel, concluding her 12-hour state banquet.

"For a lifetime as a chef, cooking for a head of state is a great honor. I am truly honored to have fulfilled that responsibility," said Ms. Tuyet, who was later selected as one of the three culinary artists to entertain leader Kim Jong-un in 2019.

Tu Nguyen

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