512 - Why Are Overseas Vietnamese Chefs Suddenly Moving Back To Saigon?- Helen Nha Van

512 - Why Are Overseas Vietnamese Chefs Suddenly Moving Back To Saigon?- Helen Nha Van

From The Vietnamese with Kenneth Nguyen by thevietnamesepodcast

July 13, 2026 · 48 min

About this episode

The episode explores the return of overseas Vietnamese chefs to Saigon and the cultural implications of their culinary choices.

In this episode, Ken sits down with Helen Nha Van, a brilliant PhD researcher examining the political economy, class dynamics, and cultural friction underlying Vietnam's explosive modern fine-dining scene. Nhã pulls back the curtain on the quiet post-1986 Đổi Mới return migration waves, tracking how second-generation Việt Kiều (diaspora) chefs from the West are choosing to return to Vietnam to pioneer high-end cuisine. In a candid conversation about food and ethnic insecurity, Nhã breaks down the psychological borders that prevent overseas creators from attempting traditional street dishes, the invisible weight of French cultural hegemony over our global palates, and the hopeful integration of food traditions belonging to Vietnam's 53 ethnic minority groups into urban culinary spaces. Inside this deep dive into cultural architecture, class status, and taste borders: The Insecurity of the Copy: Why diasporic chefs often frame their menus as "modern" or "fusion" out of a profound feeling of not being "Vietnamese enough" to replicate traditional baselines. French Cultural Hegemony: A critical structural look at why global collective consciousness automatically places Western…

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