A feast for the eyes can help you make a feast for your tums!

Being a Thai and Vietnamese foodie, I was eagerly anticipating Friday 16th May. Asia House was hosting a demonstration lunch of Vietnamese food to launch the Vietnamese Market Cook Book for the Asia House Bagri Foundation Literature Festival.

I came  in to find a room full of similar, eager onlookers facing the Vietnamese cooking sensations and market cookbook creators. Around 50 people gathered to watch the two Vietnamese self taught chefs Van Tran and Anh Vu. They are known for restaurant BanhMi11, whose award winning street food can be found at their shops, food stalls and pop-up diners across east and central London.

The demo was simple and easily accessible for any modern kitchen trotter (no pun intended) – interactive, breezy and enticing. Rolls stuffed with fresh vegetables and smoked salmon strategically placed within the thin rice wafer smeared in a fresh sauce was the general jist. I cannot lie: the display was genuinely mouth-watering!

Spectators were asked to get involved in the food extravaganza and were given the simple task of placing the contents into the wafer in an elegant fashion. Let me tell you, it’s way harder than it looks. Although I was already endowed with the knowledge of how to roll Thai duck content into a wafer thin piece of bread (a simple skill for a Thai foodie), the way these women demonstrated how to keep the food compact and in the perfect position to receive the correct order of mouth watering delights and spices was an art form in itself – activating the saliva glands, deepening our appetite for lunch.  Journalists, media professionals and food bloggers got involved in the fun, watering up their wafer before placing the ingredients inside it.

After the demonstration, lunch was served – with generously portioned crab and chicken sandwiches teamed with fresh cress salad and an array of spices which catered to and pleased the palette, washed down with fresh orange juice. However, I cannot pretend I enjoyed the samples of hors d’oeuvres after this. Not only did they come a little late because the taxi carrying the food had got lost, but the Vietnamese mushroom rolls – stuffed with what seemed like spaghetti and squid, even though it  was evident both ingredients were nowhere to be seen – forged into a jelly-like, plasticy but plain, viscous texture.

It tasted a lot like what I would imagine feet to taste like. If that seems harsh, perhaps it’s just because I personally enjoy food that leaves behind a texture with a tasty punch. I was strangely disappointed by the sudden drop in standard from the perfection of the previously demonstrated samples.

The chefs were both accommodating and self-effacing. When asked why they decided to pursue a career in Vietnamese food, Van said, “I was born in Vietnam and when I first got to London I missed the food, and I also wanted to meet other Vietnamese in the area, so for the last five years I have been cooking and pursuing this business.”

It was in 2012 that their flourishing restaurant and business was started and it has been successful ever since. Their passion for their culture and food was evident by the elation visible on both of their faces every time someone showed appreciation for the herbs, lemongrass or sweet/sour sauce from their street food.

Van also explained how she was the youngest sibling, which meant she previously never needed to know how to cook. On coming to London she was forced to learn – mirroring Madhur Jaffrey’s experience in the 1950s, which was the basis for her own career in food.

With the scent and spices of their homeland still hanging over these cooks, it wasn’t hard to see where both chefs’ hearts really lie. Their passion is translated into their cooking and shines through in their cookbook.

Van and Anh’s book shows all cooks how to prepare their own brand of traditional cooking with a modern twist. It’s available in all bookstores for £20. I would personally go out of my way to obtain one – not only to impress guests at my next Vietnamese themed dinner party, but also for its sociable tone and enchanting palette for your eyes to feast on.