Le Ha Uyen, more commonly known as Summer Le in the culinary world, is an exceptional talent. A decade ago, Summer Le began her culinary journey with a blog to promote Vietnamese cuisine during her student years.
Today, she is the proud founder and executive chef of two renowned fine dining establishments, Nén Danang and Nén Light Saigon. Both restaurants have earned a place on the Michelin Selected List for Vietnam in 2024, with Nén Light Saigon claiming the title for the second year running.
Additionally, Nén Danang has been awarded the Michelin Green Star, becoming the first restaurant in Vietnam to receive this prestigious accolade. The Michelin Green Star recognizes restaurants at the forefront of sustainable practices, combining culinary excellence with a commitment to eco-friendly initiatives.
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| Summer Le, the founder, and executive chef of Nén Danang and Nén Light Saigon, proudly poses with the Green Michelin Star awarded to Nén Danang in June 2024. Photo courtesy of Summer Le. |
These achievements are a testament to the hard work and dedication of Summer Le and her team, who are passionate about showcasing the very best of Vietnamese cuisine on a global scale.
The Nén Concept
Chef Le’s journey began during her final year of university when she started a blog in English to introduce Vietnamese street food to a worldwide audience. She recognized a gap in the market, noticing that Vietnamese cuisine at the time lacked creativity, modernity, and innovation in the fine dining space.
This inspired her to launch Nén Danang in 2017. Unfortunately, the restaurant had to close its doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Summer Le’s passion and determination led her to reopen Nén Danang in August 2023 and also establish Nén Light Saigon in Ho Chi Minh City in 2022.
Both restaurants operate under the unique ‘Sto:ry Menu’ concept, a tasting menu intertwined with storytelling elements. “Sto:ry Menu is our way of celebrating Vietnamese cuisine and the cultural and historical values of this incredible land,” Summer Le explained. “Each grain of rice has a story to tell, and we want our guests to connect with these stories and find a piece of their own story within our dishes.”
The Sto:ry Menus are carefully crafted around specific themes. For example, ‘Dear Arya’ explores motherhood and Vietnamese family values, while ‘Light’ showcases the universal language of food and its ability to transcend borders and evoke emotions.
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| Summer Le proudly poses alongside the promo photos of Nén’s Sto:ry Menu concepts, displayed at Nén Light Saigon in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Dong Nguyen / Tuoi Tre News. |
The Nén team puts tremendous effort into transforming everyday life inspirations into flavorful and meaningful dishes. This is evident in creations like ‘Kaleidoscope’ from the ‘Light’ menu, which Summer Le describes as a beautiful analogy for life, with its ever-changing facets of light and darkness.
A Celebration of Hyper-Local Ingredients
Summer Le’s fine dining approach can be described as ‘purely Vietnamese,’ with Nén restaurants proudly using 99% hyper-local ingredients. This means most of their ingredients are grown in-house, and any additional produce is sourced locally to highlight the true essence of Vietnamese flavors.
Sustainability is a key priority for Nén, with vegetable gardens and fruit orchards on the rooftops of both restaurants. The team also introduced Nén Farm, a dedicated space for researching and cultivating ingredients, further showcasing their commitment to promoting local elements.
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| Summer Le is pictured at Nén Farm, where she and her team research and cultivate ingredients for their restaurants. |
The Nén team goes beyond simply growing their ingredients; they also delve into the depths of uncommon Vietnamese components such as bougainvillea flowers and beeswax. Their project, Nén Journal, meticulously documents the ingredients used, along with their textures, aromas, flavors, and practical applications.
Summer Le strongly believes in the intrinsic strength of Vietnamese cuisine and is committed to using local ingredients. “Any cuisine that wants to have intrinsic strength must use ingredients from that land,” she asserted. “We’re proud to showcase that at Nén, and we believe that our cuisine is ‘top-notch.'”
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| A selection of local ingredients used at Nén restaurants. Photo: Supplied. |
Vietnam’s fine dining scene has evolved significantly in recent years, and Summer Le is proud to be a part of this transformation. “While traditional and street food will always be the heart of Vietnamese cuisine,” she said, “we’re excited to enhance other aspects and create a vibrant, diverse culinary landscape that appeals to a wide range of palates.”
