It’s quite the impressive life story. Thi Ba Nguyen fled Vietnam in 1981and came to Austria before teaming up with her son in 2015 to open the Vietnamese restaurant VINA in Graz. Now, scarcely ten years later, the 83-year-old has been awarded a toque by Gault&Millau for 2025.
The recently honoured star chef has been in the kitchen for more than seven decades. As the eldest of ten siblings, she was already cooking for the whole family as a young girl, and her job in a school canteen in Austria has also helped her get to know the country a little better and overcome the language barrier.
Thi Ba Nguyen is still cooking with passion even now, and she sets great store by regional and organic ingredients that are authentically prepared by hand. Her son is responsible for innovation and new creations, and she loves to advise him on these.
She is of course delighted with the toque, and for her it is a great mark of recognition for the achievements of the entire team – although the greatest mark of respect is when her patrons are full and happy.
