How I Work: Chef Anaïs Ca Dao van Manen Intentionally Wings It on Her First Draft Ideas
Anaïs Ca Dao van Manen is always finding new approaches to cooking and menus. Photo by Sam A. Harris; images courtesy of Anaïs Ca Dao van Manen. Portrait by Sam Harris.
Anaïs Ca Dao van Manen was born in Paris; raised in Vietnam; went to school in Singapore; and worked in London as a chef and consultant before ending up back in Vietnam. It is this confluence of place and culture that influences the way she does her work — breaking down a linear form of culinary storytelling by finding new recipes, styles of cooking, and ways of incorporating social objectives into her restaurants and beyond.
It all started when she worked at Bones in Paris with James Henry, developing her love for making food in the kitchen and experimenting with different dishes. But it was an impulse to think and read about the philosophy and anthropology of food that led her away from restaurants to menu development work in London. There, she worked at Kitchenette Karts, a social enterprise project that mentors formerly incarcerated youth, showing them how to run their own self-sufficient food businesses.
If you want to see her work, you can order a meal at one of her London Taiwanese street food restaurants, including Bao and the newly-opened Yeshi… Or stay tuned for the latest episode in her and her brother’s cooking tutorial series, Ăn Ngon, which showcases the diversity of Vietnamese cuisine and shines a light on lesser-known dishes.
Here, Ca Dao van Manen shares how she works, including why she conducts a “wild card” test when she’s trying out different recipes; her next idea to create a soda drink from Vietnamese spices; and the thing she dislikes most about restaurants that are so hard to book.
What’s your morning routine?
I wake up around 7 a.m. and stay in bed for 10 minutes with my cat. She knows it’s nearly feeding time so she jumps up on my bed and makes herself all very cute and lovey-dovey. Then I get up and drink a full glass of water before making a filter coffee, or if I’m lucky my husband does it for me, then at 8 a.m. I either play badminton or go to the gym. Before I start my work day, I test recipes for my upcoming cookbook or do admin work for my restaurant.
Ca Dao van Manen as a guest chef on a TikTok series.
Vietnamese beef tartarte in Cannolo. Photo by Sam A. Harris.
Describe your work uniform.
It’s pretty eclectic these days, but if anything it would be some black pants and a black shirt with white socks and a pair of black Boston Birkenstocks.
How do you structure your days?
The first few hours of the day are dedicated to me and my health. I only started prioritizing this the last few years, and it has really made a difference. Having this kind of routine really helps me as a freelancer, especially having the morning for myself. I usually then have a big breakfast so that I don’t have to eat lunch. Afterwards, I would work on the book until 3 p.m., and then from 3 till 8 p.m. I work on the restaurant (or sometimes later than that) depending on how things are going.
Your husband is a musician... what do you like to listen to at home?
I am lucky to have a musician as a husband, so when I work at home we have a full hard drive of music to listen to, and it can vary from jazz to disco to techno. In general, I’ve started to pay less attention to what I’m listening to, as there’s always music in the flat and I’m just going with it. But if I want to really focus, I will put on Gigi Masin, an ambient Italian producer. I love his soundscape, it’s a little bit ethereal.
The behind-the-scenes of R&D development.
What are the best cooking utensils?
The basics that I always have to test recipes are a scale, a tape measure, and a timer. For cooking, my favorite tool is my tiny mushroom paring knife from E.Dehillerin, as it’s perfect for peeling shallots and garlic.
Describe your dream studio.
It would be a dream kitchen kind of scenario — an open kitchen with lots of natural light, with a big counter to serve guests. I’ve always dreamed of an R&D kitchen like that, where we can test dishes but also have guests to come around. It would have gas, but also a charcoal grill and wood fire oven… that might be dreaming too big. But the main importance is natural light, as I remember working in kitchens in the basement with no sunlight, and only the sterile white light.
Bone marrow R&D for a pop-up.
Whether it’s your pop-up restaurants or exciting recipes, what is one unique thing about the way you work?
Whenever I do R&D for a dish, I always start by creating the idea. However, before diving into thorough research, finding the right technique, or measuring and quantifying the dish, I conduct a “wild card test.” In this test, I intentionally wing it, essentially setting myself up to fail. I believe that by experiencing a failed dish, I gain valuable insights into what I actually want — and don’t want — in the final product.
Do you have a mantra?
Live and learn. I would always say that to my staff, because I believe that we all learn from our mistakes and failures.
What’s your brightest idea that never saw the light of day?
I would have to ask my husband, as apparently I come up with ideas every one hour. It can be from starting a factory producing toilet paper that can fully disintegrate in the water for Vietnam (lots of toilet blockage here), to a Vietnamese restaurant chain, to a soda drink influenced by Vietnamese spices and citrus. Anyway, ask me again in a few months — I might have some more bright ideas to share.
Is there a to-do list item that keeps you up at night?
I think for me, it’s that reservation at that restaurant that’s so hard to book, and you can only book as soon as they open their reservations, but you have to be on standby as if you are buying Taylor Swift’s concert tickets. That’s my one to-do list item that keeps me up at night.
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