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"I think we have one of the best cuisines in the world and sharing that with Australians as been our little part to play.” |
Bao Hoang - an Australian-Vietnamese entrepreneur - brings Vietnamese food and culture from his family’s table to millions of customers every year through more than 125 branches of the Australian food franchise Rôll’đ. Together with his family and Rôll’đ franchise partners, he also helps build boarding schools for children in remote areas of Vietnam.Bao was born in 1982 in Australia to refugee parents from Ba Ria Vung Tau province in the south east of Vietnam. The very “Vietnamese” values that were passed onto him from his parents, which he successfully applies in his business, are to never give up in the face of challenges, work hard and share what you have with others. He has joyful memories of his mother’s delicious meals from back when he was five or six years old. “You know your mum's food is good when other Vietnamese mums ask her to cook food for their families”, he says. As he grew up, he pursued studies in health care and then became a physiotherapist, but his love for the dishes made by his mother stayed, waiting for the right moment to be unleashed. One day, at the table, one of his friends was in awe of his mother’s cooking and suggested opening a Vietnamese restaurant in Australia. Bao was excited and ready to take on the challenge. The first Rôll’đ restaurant was opened in Australia in 2012, selling fresh, nutritionally balanced fast food using his mother’s recipes. Dishes included spring rolls, banh mi, pho, noodles and rice. The dishes were tasty and exceptional value so quickly attracted many customers, with queues out the door. From 2010 to 2011 Bao conducted market research and the percentage of Australians who knew about Vietnamese food was 10%. Ten years later, this figure had increased to 90%. Vietnamese dishes have certainly become popular among Australians. Bao and his partners dream of expanding Rôll’đ to other parts of the world, such as Europe, Asia and North America. His mother’s recipes are travelling further day by day and Bao has no intention of stopping: he wants to open as many Rôll’đ as possible. As well as bringing Vietnamese cuisine to the world, Bao contributes to society by realising Vietnamese children’s dream of going to school. This is his mother’s wish: she didn’t accept any compensation from Rôll’đ for her recipes, and instead wanted to use that money to share and help other people. Rôll’đ chose to work with Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation in Vietnam to build boarding schools for children in remote areas and new houses for disadvantaged families in the mountainous regions of Vietnam. About 80 constructions have been finished, and there will be many more. Speaking about Australia - Vietnam relations over the past 50 years, Bao says he feels proud and grateful for the two countries’ long-standing ties, and \ fortunate that he has been able to develop and share the Vietnamese values inherited from his family, which are welcomed by Australia. He is excited about the development cooperation between the two countries and believes that the opportunities ahead are limitless.
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