Passion stems from tradition
Ms. Tinh shared that her connection to the baking profession dates back to her grandparents“ generation in the 1950s: ”My luck is that my passion stems from family tradition; when passion is fueled by another passed-down passion, the love for that product is multiplied many times over.'.
Sensitive to the times and grasping that Vietnam was entering a period of market economic opening, where business was free to develop (around the years 1986), Ms. Tinh, with her skillful hands and endless love for the traditional confectionery inherited from her grandparents, created the first batches of su xe cakes bearing her own brand.
General Director Ngo Thi Tinh (wearing a blue ao dai, sitting in the middle) at the 2018 Mid-Autumn Festival Closing Ceremony
Mentioning the old days, Ms. Tinh's eyes still shine with pride about those “start-up” years. It is no wonder to be proud when the cakes made with “a penny of material, a pound of effort” sold out as fast as they were made, items selling like hotcakes, and even better, once customers tasted her cakes, they would get “addicted”, if she ran out of cakes, they would wait until the next day to buy rather than settle for eating at another shop.
The more I do, the more I realize that “when you love something too much, you worry less about the economics and aim for higher, more beautiful values”. That is the reason why I am determined to preserve and promote the craft of “bringing sweetness to life” from the previous generation, by improving packaging, designs, and enhancing product quality so that customers “only need to look to want to eat, and once they eat, they will love it”.
Love for traditional cakes stems from a passion for the family's xu xê – phu thê cake-making craft…
Sweat and sweet fruit
“Is there any path paved with silk? There is only the silk ribbon as a reward for those who refuse to back down, who dare to cross the precarious gravel and stones.” Ms. Tinh's path was the same, with no shortage of nights spent working through the night at the baking table, back in the days when it was so manual that there was not even a machine to seal the pastry bags; each person would take a red incense stick, smoke filling the room, sealing while lighting. The smoke was stinging, tears streamed down, yet they still had to strain their eyes to see clearly so they would not... accidentally burn their hands.
During peak seasons like the Mid-Autumn Festival or the Lunar New Year, orders can reach up to thousands of cakes, leaving her and her staff rushing at full capacity while still worrying about not being able to finish in time for customers. Often, she would work so hard that she would fall asleep at the table without realizing it, leaving the yellow light shining hot against one of her ears.
The story of those days of “sweat mixed with rice” is perhaps best understood by Chau Long street. How could one forget the days when Ms. Tinh and her niece hung two giant bags of cakes on either side of the handlebars, heavy as if playing tug-of-war, “I used up all my youth fighting with those handlebars” – Ms. Tinh wittily recounted. In those days, every morning, the two of them would climb onto their “iron horses” and ride from Chau Long to deliver cakes to the canteen of the Hanoi University of Science and Technology. There were no phones, so when work was done, she would rush over to the sales point to check if the cakes were selling well that day, and listen to customers' praise or criticism so she could make adjustments.
Bao Minh's address for sales and product display is at 12 Hang Than, also known as: com cake street
“That period of time was difficult, but in return, customers loved it and products sold like hotcakes. Just thinking about that makes me feel satisfied enough, so I do not have time to think about the exhaustion anymore”. It is true that the most precious asset to a person is not luxurious material wealth, but being able to see one's efforts blossom and bear fruit, and to smile with fulfillment; that is truly the priceless asset.
In 2003, her dream was to see the green rice cake (bánh cốm) - the specialty of “Hanoi in autumn” - reach the hands of people in the city named after Uncle Ho. But dreaming is one thing, and making it a reality is another, because at that time the shelf life of the green rice cake was only a maximum of 5 days, after which the cake would become moldy and hard, plus difficult transportation was also a barrier for Hanoi's green rice cake to reach the magnificent Saigon.
It seemed that dream would remain unfinished, but with iron determination: “Bao Minh green rice cake must have the longest shelf life, Bao Minh green rice cake must be present in all 3 regions of the country”, along with dedicated help from the Vietnam Association of Science, Ms. Tinh's green rice cake had its “lifespan” increased from 5 to 8 days, then 10 days. Finally, that seemingly unrealistic dream became reality, and what is even more wonderful is that as of now (year 2018), 15 years have passed, but no other confectionery production unit has been able to perform that miracle – a feat worthy of pride.
Green rice cake (Bánh cốm) – a traditional cake product that has contributed to building the reputation of Bao Minh
Never let the “fire” go out
Proud to be a contributor to preserving the essence of Vietnamese cuisine, all Bao Minh products are prepared from very traditional, very Vietnamese ingredients such as: green rice flakes (cốm), sticky rice flour, coconut, peanuts, sesame, mung beans, taro… but also without forgetting to innovate in quality, packaging, and design, applying science and technology to create many new products favored by young people such as: Pia cake, coconut-covered green rice cake, jasmine sponge cake… Under the steering hands of General Director Ngo Thi Tinh, Bao Minh confectionery today has been present all over the country, receiving the trust and warm welcome of customers.
Just imagine, if Ms. Tinh had allowed herself to get discouraged during those days and nights of staying up late, rising early, and exhausting herself under the desk lamp to bake. Or during the days when green rice flake cakes were not yet welcomed by the people of Saigon because they were “unfamiliar”, if she had let her determination be eroded and her passion gradually cool down, would there still be the strong Bao Minh of today?
Bao Minh Confectionery Joint Stock Company's growth of today
The years of youth have passed, health is no longer what it used to be, because everyone will eventually change, unable to fight against the harshness of time. But, in the eyes of that little woman, the enthusiasm of youth remains intact in every breath, in every beat of burning passion.
Even though we know the marketplace is like a vast sea that is rarely calm. On the other side, there are still many storms, on this side, there are still many tempests, but as Ms. Tinh said: “My journey to success does not have many footprints of luck, my only weapon is the fire of will, and my mission is to never allow that fire to go out, even for 1 second”, that statement is like an oath that: as long as that fire still burns brightly, there will be new successes waiting to be conquered.
Wishing Ms. Tinh and the Bao Minh vessel to always stand firm against storms, set sails with the wind, cross the vast ocean of waves, to reach new glorious treasures, giving wings to the flavor of traditional confectionery to continue its mission of “bringing love through traditional sweetness” to every Vietnamese family home, forever being the pride of the nation to friends across the five continents.
Thank you, sister – the person who preserves the sweet traditional flavors of Vietnamese cuisine!
