Thuy Pham

The Path

Vietnamese cuisine, and Vietnamese-inspired vegan dishes, sit at the centre of Thuy Pham’s work at Mama Dút in Portland, Oregon, where fire is treated as a working tool rather than a flourish. The food reads as direct and disciplined: memory carried through technique, with heat used to sharpen flavour and give the kitchen its own register. Pham’s stated aim is plain enough: “On a mission to raise the standing of Vietnamese cuisine in the West and, one by one, turn every kitchen, into a little Viet kitchen.” Early posts at The Little Viet Kitchen in Islington, where Thuy Pham was owner and chef, helped establish the base of that approach. The next step, as head chef at soon to be vegan Vietnamese-inspired restaurant, kept the same tension in play: tradition held against reinvention, with comfort and precision working side by side. At the same time, she was also working as a hair stylist, a parallel trade that points to the same discipline of line, finish, and control. Those roles together shaped a kitchen perspective that values presentation as much as flavour, and familiarity without flattening the source. Commercial and judging work has widened the frame without moving her away from the stove. Thuy Pham is brand ambassador of Rangemaster, brand ambassador of Gozney, and brand ambassador of Kamado Joe, positions that keep her tied to the practical realities of cooking with heat and equipment. She is also judge of Guild of Food Writers Awards and judge of The Golden Chopsticks, where the brief is less about image than about reading the field with a trained palate.

The Work Today

Mama Dút is built around Vietnamese cuisine and the force of fire, with Thuy Pham as chef-owner directing both. The cooking is grounded, but not static: smoke and char are used to add depth, not to overpower, and the result is a menu that stays legible while still carrying the lift and pressure of flame. Vietnamese-inspired vegan dishes run alongside that core, extending the kitchen’s vocabulary without breaking from it. Recognition often lands on the person, but the work stays in the food. “Everyone keeps telling me they love my story,” Thuy Pham says, and the line points back to the way the kitchen is being received as much as to how it is being built. At Mama Dút, that recognition is translated into serviceable intent: food shaped by persistence, movement, and the decision to keep Vietnamese flavours present in a contemporary Western setting.

Signature

The signature dishes map the range of Thuy Pham’s kitchen without overexplaining it. Braised Pork, Quail's Eggs and Bamboo Shoots sits in a richer register, built on contrast and texture. Chicken Glass Noodle Soup leans lighter and more restorative. Lemongrass and Coconut Chicken Curry brings fragrance and warmth. Prawn and Chive Diamond Dumplings show attention to form and finish. Honey Glazed Belly Pork ‘Bún Thịt Nướng’ carries the sweet-savory balance that gives a dish staying power. Read together, they show a kitchen working from Vietnamese foundations while staying alert to balance, structure, and the possibilities of fire. The menu does not present itself as a single statement; it functions more like a working vocabulary, with each dish adding another way of speaking about Vietnamese cuisine and Vietnamese-inspired vegan dishes in a Western context.

In Their Words “Everyone keeps telling me they love my story.”