Today we’d like to introduce you to Ly Nguyen.
Hi Ly, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
By day, I’m a full-time Creative Director working in advertising. I’m a remote employee, but my office is in Salt Lake City so I travel to Utah fairly often.
I started my cooking blog to pass down to my daughter, Amelia because I always wished I had a resource like this to better understand and preserve our family legacy. As a second-generation Vietnamese American and child of war refugees, it’s important for my daughter to learn to appreciate her culture, especially through cuisine, because I’m aside from being an avid home cook I believe food is a universal love language.
I often try to replicate tastes from my childhood so Amelia can experience her history. It’s also a place for me to explore dishes from my Korean husband’s childhood and put my own spin on them. I lost my mother in 2020, the same year I started documenting recipes, so this is a space of remembrance too.
As a working mom, I’m all about simplified recipes and ease of navigation. I believe cooking should be creative, simple, and flexible. My hope is that my recipes make everyone feel like traditional Asian meals at home are attainable, and a little investment to nourish the body and soul can be healing.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
When I was younger, I used to want to be a chef but It wasn’t a route my parents had envisioned for me, so it became a hobby. I remember cooking as early as 8 years old. I’ve always enjoyed hosting dinners and preparing meals for friends and family.
As an inherent creative, I eventually went on to have a successful career in advertising but my obsession for food and cooking never went away. There has always been a yearning to do something more meaningful with culinary arts. It wasn’t until the pandemic hit that I took the leap of putting myself out there not only as a home cook but as individual processing how to document and heal complex intergenerational trauma.
Food in Asian culture has always been at the heart of how elders show many forms of emotion. Tying this upbringing together with my joy for experimenting with food and my skills in marketing came naturally, but the process and revelations were extremely personal.
Being vulnerable hasn’t been easy, but it’s another example of how I want to set an example for my daughter through my actions.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a digitally-focused Creative Director with versatile experience spanning the last 15 years in digital media, content creation, design, CRM, social, print, packaging, branding, and experiential.
I’ve been fortunate enough to win some awards along the way, and my experience ranges in the automotive, technology, sports, fashion, and food industries. Notable clients include American Express, Cisco, Disney, Google, LA Chargers, Lexus, Mattel, and Toyota.
I consider mentoring and giving back to be the most rewarding aspect of my career because I know what it feels like to be the only woman and the only minority, so representation and respect are what I build my leadership style on. My entrepreneurial thinking to be what sets my skillsets apart.
I’m constantly looking for new ways to capitalize on opportunities while being highly analytical, resourceful, and business-minded in nature.
What were you like growing up?
As a child, I was inventive and curious. When we played, I was the teacher and my cousins were the students. I was MacGyver and my cousins were my assistants (I’m sure they hated me!).
I was always making things up and leading those around me to join me in my mischievous ways. And as you can guess, I was very strong-willed and decisive. Long story short, I was kind of a handful.
Contact Info:
- Email: hicookingoffthecuff@gmail.com
- Website: cookingoffthecuff.com
- Instagram: @cookingoffthecuff
Image Credits
Josh Wood, Johnny Lee, and @joytheoryco
