Chef Thảo Na brings together French culinary discipline and Vietnamese heritage through a deeply personal vision of hospitality. Shaped by Saigon, Paris and family memory, her work at Maison Des Rêves transforms fine dining into a soulful expression of craft, warmth, mentorship and cultural harmony around the table today beautifully.
Chef Thảo Na’s culinary story begins with home. Long before she entered professional kitchens in Saigon and Paris, her first understanding of food came from her mother’s table, where homegrown ingredients were prepared with instinct, care and quiet generosity. Those meals were not only nourishment. They were lessons in flavour, memory and love, shaping a lifelong devotion to cooking.
That early influence remains at the heart of her work today. For Chef Thảo Na, cuisine is never simply technical. It is emotional, intimate and deeply human. Every dish carries the possibility of telling a story, whether through a familiar Vietnamese ingredient, a refined French technique, or a flavour that recalls the warmth of family gatherings.
Her professional journey began in Saigon from 2001 to 2003, when she worked as a pastry chef at Metro Cash & Carry. This first chapter gave her the precision of baking and confectionery, an early discipline that would later support her broader culinary language. Determined to pursue her dream further, she moved to Paris at the age of 21, entering a city where cuisine is both craft and culture.
In Paris, she studied French Culinary Arts at École de Maxim’s from 2006 to 2009, while also earning a degree in Vietnamese Cuisine from Saigontourist Hospitality College. This dual foundation became essential to her identity: French structure on one side, Vietnamese heritage on the other. Rather than choosing between them, Chef Thảo Na learned to let both traditions speak through her cooking.
Her Parisian years brought her into prestigious kitchens, from Public’s Drugstore and Hyatt Regency Madeleine to Restaurant Fujiwara and the Palace Park Hyatt Vendôme. At the Michelin-starred Pur’ Restaurant, under the guidance of respected chef Jean-François Rouquette, she refined the discipline, precision and artistry of haute cuisine. She rose from Première Chef de Partie to Junior Sous Chef, taking part in menu creation, banquets, tastings, cost control and the training of younger chefs.
Those 15 years in France shaped not only her technique, but also her leadership. She returned to Vietnam with a sharpened sense of craft and a deeper understanding of how fine dining could carry emotion without losing elegance. At Atelier Des Rêves and later Lavelle Library, she continued to develop a modern French-inspired culinary voice for local audiences.
In 2023, she founded Maison Des Rêves, her most personal project. Meaning “House of Dreams,” the restaurant is more than a dining destination. It is a family story brought to life, a place where siblings work together and where passion, craft and memory converge.
At Maison Des Rêves, Chef Thảo Na weaves French finesse with Vietnamese warmth. Her philosophy rests on creativity with heart, leadership with purpose and heritage with vision. Each dish honours the natural character of exceptional ingredients while revealing new layers of flavour.
Through her cooking, Chef Thảo Na offers a refined yet soulful expression of contemporary Vietnamese fine dining. It is cuisine shaped by Paris, rooted in Vietnam and guided always by the simple, enduring joy of cooking for those we love.