Biggest accomplishment in kitchen: Won the Feast Magazine’s competition for the best chocolate recipe. My Triple Chocolate Pomegranate Tart was featured on October issue in 2012. For a self-taught baker who only started to bake in her late 20s, it was a big milestone. I came up with the recipe of a chocolate tart with a hidden layer of pomegranate jelly and chocolate ganache infused pomegranate molasses because I love dark chocolate and pomegranate is my daughter's favourite. The tart is dedicated to our love for good food.

Current fave cookbook: Organum by Peter Gilmore. It is more than a cookbook. It is a work of art. I love to read about the growers, producers, harvesters in his book, and specially his food philosophy – the four elements of nature, texture, intensity, purity. Passion is evident.

Current fav cookbook: Too many to name. But I am really loving At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen by Amy Chaplin. She makes wholefood accessible and beautiful, inspiring me to make more Asian inspired wholefood meals at home.

Where to eat in Melbourne for lunch? Shandong Mama has the best boiled fish dumplings. My hubby and I regularly have our lunch date there!

Past time: reading cookbooks of all kinds. I am obsessed!

Last night dinner: Tapilia in tomato sauce with dill. It’s a Northern Vietnam dish, very easy to cook and going well with any steamed veggie to make a light and healthy dinner.

Favourite cuisines: Vietnamese (because I’m Vietnamese), Japanese (for its delicacy), Italian (for its generosity)

Pastime: reading books (no crime or biography), wandering around Victoria and taking photo, organising big parties for my friends.

Biggest accomplishment in kitchen: hosting the Christmas in July 2016 party for 21 adults and 12 kids with 2 appertizers, 2 mains, 3 desserts and no burned dish.

Favourite cuisine: To be honest, I do not have a specific one, but to say it out loud, it could be Japanese. It is not always about the food, it is also about the culture, the passion, and the way people showing their respect to the food. For all of that matter, it makes me so curious and keeps wondering all the time.

Big accomplishment to now: I have finally figured out what I could do to make my future way easier and better. It took me awhile to realise and to determine that career path. It is not very easy at first, but since I have been through a hard time in the past 5 years, I know that I cannot waste my precious time any longer. It is the right time for me to go, experience and pursuit my passion for the food and the diversity of different cuisines around the world.

Favourite cuisine: I have a certain fondness for South-East Asian foods, especially Vietnamese and Thai cuisine. I am constantly amazed with how the dishes could taste so good with very much ordinary ingredients, the techniques that go into those recipes are often family’s secrets.

Pastime: My wife and I enjoy exploring different things together – new local café, restaurants, or watch old and new movies together. Also, playing sports and staying fit is my stress reliever.