A mother in her 50s carries a backpack to school, dreams of starting a vegetarian kitchen business

(NLDO) - Every day going to school, Ms. Nguyen Thi Mong Hang (49 years old) buys a round-trip bus ticket from Dong Nai to Ho Chi Minh City.

Sharing with reporters on November 5, Ms. Nguyen Thi Mong Hang said that she "feels younger" because she has been able to go to school. She loves school more and more, and wants to take a chef training course to develop further.

U50 go to school to start a business

Ms. Hang said that she used to work as a manager in the fashion industry. The COVID-19 pandemic and the online sales "fever" have made her job increasingly difficult.

After completing a short-term vegetarian cooking training course, Ms. Hang plans to take an additional chef course to improve her skills.

Returning to her home coffee business, she now has more time to take care of her two children and pay more attention to her health and nutrition.

"In my free time, I often cook for charity at the temple. In addition, more and more people are focusing on a green lifestyle, eating green food and vegan food to improve their health. Those are the reasons why I cherish the dream of having a small vegetarian kitchen," Ms. Hang shared.

Although she had a lot of cooking experience, she still wanted to learn and receive formal training. In mid-2025, the mother of two children decided to enroll in a vegetarian cooking course at the age of 49. Ba smiled and said that her husband was the strong supporter behind her going back to school.

On school days, she takes a bus from Dong Nai to Viet Giao Secondary School in Ho Chi Minh City around noon. After a short rest, she starts class at around 1:30 pm. After school, she takes a bus back to Dong Nai.

The round trip fare is about 220,000 VND. For 3 months, she was always a diligent student and arrived at class early.

A mother of two children cherishes the dream of having a vegetarian kitchen at home, spreading a green lifestyle and scientific nutrition.

"At first, I was a bit "tired" when I went to school, but the more I studied, the more I loved it and felt more motivated. The teachers were very enthusiastic, so I didn't feel the age gap," Ms. Hang said with a smile.

Similarly, Mr. Minh Hung (in Lam Dong) said that he had just completed a short-term baking course in Ho Chi Minh City. Mr. Hung is a single father, his biggest dream is to have a small bakery, taking his children to school and running his business at home.

"I think it's never too late if you have the will to improve. Starting a business is good, but without proper education, it's hard to succeed. After the bakery is stable, I will register to study more about business and social media applications," said Mr. Hung.

Short-term training courses on cooking and culinary techniques attract many men.

At Viet Giao Secondary School, on average 70-80% of the time is spent practicing directly in a hotel-restaurant kitchen, and about 20-30% is theory.

Men are the majority of culinary students.

Master Tran Phuong, Principal of Viet Giao Secondary School, said that in recent years, the culinary profession is no longer a "manual profession" as many people once thought, but has become a creative profession with high artistic and economic value.

The development of the tourism and service industry and the culinary trend on social networks (TikTok, YouTube, Facebook...) have made many young people and adults seek short-term cooking courses. The purpose is to improve skills, start a business or learn to gain more culinary knowledge to live a healthier life.

The number of men choosing to study culinary arts is the majority.

At Viet Giao Secondary School, the number of students registering to study culinary arts every year has increased steadily, of which over 50% are people who want to work abroad or open a small restaurant at home.

In particular, the vegetarian kitchen is an area that the school has invested heavily in over the past two years to meet the needs of healthy and charitable eating and to suit the trend of spiritual tourism and resorts.

"I see this as a golden opportunity for small and medium-sized start-up models, from affordable vegetarian restaurants, family kitchens, healthy take-away meals to organic processed products. However, to be successful, people working in this field need to combine cooking skills - nutritional knowledge - business thinking. A delicious vegetarian dish must know how to balance flavor, aesthetics and nutritional value" - Master Tran Phuong emphasized.

Tuition waiver

Not only are junior high school students exempted from 100% of tuition fees, but high school students and working people studying culinary arts (cooking) are also supported by intermediate schools and colleges with 70% of tuition fees. This industry is in the list of arduous, toxic, and dangerous occupations (Regulations in Article 16 of Decree 238/2025/ND-CP).

This helps learners significantly reduce costs, almost learn a trade for free while still being granted a regular secondary school diploma and being able to transfer to college or university.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/ba-me-u50-mo-uoc-khoi-nghiep-voi-bep-chay-196251105141329588.htm