Help people as a way to thank life
For nearly 15 years in the kitchen, teaching cooking skills to hundreds of people, few people know that Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Hanh (74 years old, living in Binh Thanh district) is an accountant.
During her working time, Ms. Hanh had the opportunity to teach cooking classes for international tourists when they visited Vietnam.
"I say it's teaching, but in fact it's just sharing my own cooking experiences. I didn't expect it to be so popular with tourists," said Ms. Hanh.
According to Ms. Hanh, the cooking knowledge she has is mainly summarized through countless times observing her relatives cooking. No matter what dish it is, every time she sees her relatives in the kitchen, Ms. Hanh watches carefully, trying to memorize it in her mind.
After retiring, seeing that some friends and acquaintances wanted to learn how to cook, Ms. Hanh invited them to her house to teach cooking for free. The small class gradually grew, from a few people to several dozen.
At first, she taught savory dishes for free. However, when she found the cost of ingredients too high, she switched to teaching baking. It has been more than 12 years now.
Every time she goes to the neighborhood grocery store to buy ingredients, Mrs. Hanh leaves her address information so that anyone who wants to learn how to make cakes can contact her.
Students in the class range from retirees to manual workers, anyone who loves baking can participate.
"Over the past 10 years, the number of students coming to learn how to make cakes has gradually increased, each class had about 15-20 people, and now it has increased to 20-30 people," said Ms. Hanh, adding that despite her old age, she still feels happy because helping others is also a way for her to thank life.
Happiness in old age
Mrs. Hanh's baking class starts at 8am and lasts until nearly 11:30am every weekend morning.
Before each class, Ms. Hanh carefully prints out the recipe for that day's cake to give to students when they come to class, helping to save time for the students.
"Before teaching, I always go to the market early to buy ingredients. Then I will prepare them and put them in the refrigerator. When the students come tomorrow, they will have the ingredients to learn. I also print out the cake recipe in advance, with enough quantity for the students," Ms. Hanh shared.
According to Ms. Hanh, although the cost she spends to maintain the baking class is not small, it is from such classes that Ms. Hanh finds her passion and happiness in talking and meeting many people.
"I could have used the money I spent on free baking lessons to travel, go shopping, and eat out with friends, but I didn't do so because it didn't bring me much joy and meaning in life," Ms. Hanh confided.
Not only helping students develop their careers and earn extra income, Ms. Hanh also helps many students who love volunteer work to make delicious cakes by themselves, send them to charity, and share with those in difficult situations.
Ms. Vo My Hong (student) personally made 300 pig-shaped moon cakes for charity after attending Ms. Hanh's baking class.
Ms. Hong said that after just one lesson with "Ms. Hanh", she was able to complete a batch of moon cakes, something she never thought she could do before.
"Ms. Hanh's teaching is easy to understand. Just pay attention and take notes and you can do it yourself at home. Even if you can't do it at home, you can call her to ask for more instructions," said Ms. Hong.
