Uyen Luu

Uyen Luu
Born1977 (age 48–49)
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
EducationCentral Saint Martins
Years active2009–present
Culinary career
Cooking styleVietnamese
Websitewww.uyenluu.com

Uyen Luu (born 1977) is a British food writer and photographer, chef and filmmaker. She gained prominence through her blog and East London supper club Leluu and went on to author five cookbooks on Vietnamese cuisine.

Early life

Luu was born in Ho Chi Minh City and moved to England in 1983 with her mother and brother as refugees. The family initially lived in Highbury and then between Clissold and Finsbury Park. Luu attended St Joan of Arc Catholic Primary School[1] and a secondary school in Highgate. Luu graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) from Central Saint Martins in 1999.[2]

Career

Luu began her career in film, directing and writing the 2000 short documentary Pho (Noodle Soup).[3][4] From 2003, she ran a small fashion boutique called Love Leluu in central London. The business closed in 2009 due to debt.[2]

After being taught to make Vietnamese food by her mother,[2] Luu started the food blog Leluu and its corresponding supper club and cooking class in 2009. She initially collaborated with Simon Fernandez[5][6] and joined the collective Grazing Asia in 2011 with Luiz Hara, MiMi Aye and May Chong in 2011.[7] ES Magazine named Leluu a key part of London's Vietnamese food scene,[8] while Food52 credited Luu with "[pioneering] the supper club movement".[9] Luu also worked with Jamie Oliver's foundation and contributed to his website, television work, and YouTube channel.[10] Luu's debut cookbook My Vietnamese Kitchen: Recipes and Stories to Bring Vietnamese Food to Life on Your Plate was published in 2013 via Ryland Peters & Small.[11][12][13]

Having paused her supper club during the COVID-19 lockdown,[14] Luu returned to cookbook writing with the publication of her second cookbook Vietnamese: Simple Vietnamese Food to Cook at Home in 2021 via Hardie Grant.[15] Vietnamese was the inaugural Jamie Oliver Cookbook Club pick that July[16] and named one of the best cookbooks of 2021 by The Observer[17] and Time Out London[18] among other publications.[19][20] In early 2023, Sous Chef described Vietnamese as having "fast become one of the go-to titles for simple but flavour-packed Vietnamese recipes".[21] Her third cookbook Vietnamese Vegetarian: Simple Vegetarian Recipes from a Vietnamese Home Kitchen was published in 2023.[22] Vietnamese Vegetarian was nominated for a German Cookery Book Award[23] and named one of the best cookbooks of 2023 by InsideHook.[24]

This was followed by Recipes from My Vietnamese Kitchen: Authentic Food to Awaken the Senses & Feed the Soul and Quick and Easy Vietnamese: Everyday Vietnamese Recipes for the Home Cook in 2024.[25] Quick and Easy Vietnamese was a finalist for the International or Regional Cookery Book Award at the 2025 Guild of Food Writers (GFW) Awards.[26]

Bibliography

Cookbooks

  • My Vietnamese Kitchen: Recipes and Stories to Bring Vietnamese Food to Life on Your Plate (2013)
  • Vietnamese: Simple Vietnamese Food to Cook at Home (2021)
  • Vietnamese Vegetarian: Simple Vegetarian Recipes from a Vietnamese Home Kitchen (2023)
  • Recipes from My Vietnamese Kitchen: Authentic Food to Awaken the Senses & Feed the Soul (2024)
  • Quick and Easy Vietnamese: Everyday Vietnamese Recipes for the Home Cook (2024)

Contributions

  • Chapter in For the Love of Cooking (2014) by Yvonne Niewerth and Charlotte Schreiber
  • Feature in J'aime London: 100 Culinary Destinations for Food Lovers (2014) by Alain Ducasse
  • Feature in East London Food (2014) by Rosie Birkett
  • Recipes in The Really Quite Good British Cookbook: The food we love from 100 of our best chefs, cooks, bakers and local heroes (2017), edited by William Sitwell
  • Recipe in Made in London: The Cookbook (2018) by Leah Hyslop

References

  1. ^ Luu, Uyen (1 April 2025). "Karaoke & Spring Rolls". Around the Table. Archived from the original on 4 April 2025. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Shaitly, Shahesta (16 March 2014). "Uyen Luu: 'Vietnamese food is about emotional wellbeing'". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  3. ^ "Pho (Noodle Soup)". Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Archived from the original on 12 September 2024. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  4. ^ "A cuppa with Uyen Luu". Photography Monthly. 27 May 2013.
  5. ^ "Young British Foodie: Uyen Luu". Evening Standard. 29 May 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  6. ^ Fernandez and Leluu's Game On Menu
  7. ^ "Food bloggers are Grazing Asia". Now This Here. Time Out. 8 October 2011. Archived from the original on 11 October 2011.
  8. ^ Seal, Rebecca (10 April 2012). "A-Z of all that's new in food". ES Magazine. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  9. ^ "Meet Uyen Luu, Who Turned Her Home Into a Supper Club". Food52. 17 December 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  10. ^ Salter, Jessica (9 April 2015). "Jamie Oliver's favourite supper club? A Vietnamese feast in London". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 23 January 2025. Retrieved 24 September 2024.(subscription required)
  11. ^ "Vietnamese Cooking, with Uyen Luu". Eatori. 25 March 2013. Archived from the original on 2 November 2024. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  12. ^ Christensen, Emma (29 January 2014). "My Vietnamese Kitchen by Uyen Luu". The Kitchn. Archived from the original on 18 May 2024. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  13. ^ Barbiero, Elena Francesca (20 February 2014). "'My Vietnamese Kitchen'". Stripped! Health. Archived from the original on 24 February 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2025.
  14. ^ Bautista, Tatiana (21 June 2021). "There Are No Sad Salads in Uyen Luu's Kitchen". Taste. Archived from the original on 20 September 2024. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  15. ^ Walker, Ella (28 May 2021). "I learned how to make Vietnamese food from scratch at home – now I'm hooked". The Independent. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  16. ^ "Jamie Oliver Starts His Virtual Cookbook Club". Times Entertainment. 6 July 2021. Archived from the original on 31 March 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  17. ^ Various (21 December 2021). "Essential recipes from Nigel Slater, Claudia Roden and Ottolenghi: the best food books of 2021". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  18. ^ Hui, Angela (19 November 2021). "The best cookbooks from London restaurants and supper clubs". Time Out London. Archived from the original on 8 September 2024. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  19. ^ Clarke, Emma (26 July 2021). "Best cookbooks 2021: From celebrity chefs' recipes to home cooked food". Heart. Archived from the original on 21 September 2024. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  20. ^ Chernoff, Julie (29 November 2021). "The 16 Best Cookbooks of 2021". Better Magazine. Archived from the original on 30 May 2024. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  21. ^ "Uyen Luu on Balance and Flavour in Vietnamese Recipes, and Vegetarian Favourites". Sous Chef. 13 February 2023. Archived from the original on 15 September 2024. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  22. ^ Katz-Ouziel, Jonathan (15 May 2025). "Great Books: Vietnamese Vegetarian, by Uyen Luu". Flavors of Diaspora. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
  23. ^ "German cookery book award for Jan Hartwig". Restaurant Ranking. 2 December 2024. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
  24. ^ Amanda Gabrielle (20 December 2023). "The 10 Best New Cookbooks of 2023". InsideHook. Archived from the original on 15 September 2024. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  25. ^ Ibrahim, Mex (14 August 2024). "Uyen Luu's 'Quick & Easy Vietnamese' – Review by Mex Ibrahim". Women in the Food Industry. Archived from the original on 13 September 2024. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  26. ^ "The Guild of Food Writers Awards 2025 finalists announced". Speciality & Fine Food Fairs. Archived from the original on 13 November 2025. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.