When we think about noodles, we probably don’t pay too much attention to their origin. For most of us, they have usually come out of a box, all cut exactly to the same length and shape.

In Vietnam you will experience many dishes including the quintessential favourite, Pho, that includes noodles. However in Vietnam not all noodles are the same, and they don’t come out of a box. They are made fresh. And this is where the history of noodles and the traditional way of making noodles becomes our feature story. 

Noodles are still made as they were hundreds of years ago and while you go about enjoying new and flavoursome dishes in Vietnam, this episode will give you some of the takeaway background to the noodle dishes you are trying. In the best fun way possible.

Neal Bermas is my guest and is the founder and Board chairperson of an innovative and sustainable social enterprise that provides hospitality training programs for street kids, orphans and disadvantaged youth in Vietnam, called STREETS International. 
An integral part of the program is a restaurant in Hoi An  called “Oodles of Noodles”.

Through this restaurant the STREETS international team have trained over 300 students and with this training Neal has become a leader in the development of the restaurant. Over the course of a decade Neal has taken it upon himself to learn as much as he can about the Vietnamese traditions of food making and in particular the nuances of noodle making. So he comes to the program with a wealth of knowledge and is a brilliant guest.

You may be interested to know In 2018, Neal Bermas was inducted as an Honorary Member in Vietnam to La Chaîne des Rôtisseurs the world’s oldest and most prestigious gastronomic association (founded in 1248 by King Louis IX of France). Amongst other prestigious awards; in 2015, and again in 2018, STREETS was recognized by Hyatt Hotels with a Global Community Grant Award. In 2017, Bermas received a Leadership Award from Consular Affairs of the US Department of State. In 2018, and  he was honored to be selected as CNN Hero of the Year. 

This has been a particularly  trying time for the organisation as due to Covid it has had to suspend operations so donations are welcome and purchases of the STREETS book will be most appreciated. Details below:-

Streets link: www.streetsinternational.org

Here's donation link: www.streetsinternational.org/donate

STREETS Cookbook (www.amazon.com/STREETS-3rd-Cookbook-International/dp/60477

Thank you for listening.
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