Connect Culture and Cuisine with Diem Nguyen of Litibu Collective

Michael Dugan: 0:21

We're just excited that you're joining us in this very special house called Food is religion. We are now 7900 members strong around the world. And we talked about food. We talked about culinary arts, we talked about lots of things around food, but also about culture. And today, I'm really excited to host this talk show. I host it once a month. And then we have this talk show every month on Sundays. We have incredible conversations. I want to welcome a very special guest. I met Diem at a at a meet up at networking meetup in Seattle. And she really connected she was one of the first people I met at the meetup and she has this amazing charisma, passion positivity. She has an exciting business that she has been working on for a while. And she is the founder of Liddy boo collective, which is essentially a cultural and a culinary and an artistic experience of Lydia collective. And this is deemed when Dean, welcome to the show. Hi,

Diem Nguyen: 1:29

thank you so much. Thanks for the nice introduction, Michael,

Michael Dugan: 1:32

Very excited to have you with us in our food is religion house, I wanted to start out with kind of taking a deep dive in. And if you could walk us through what it was like growing up in your family.

Diem Nguyen: 1:45

My parents are refugees from Vietnam, they came over when they were late teens, early 20s. Growing up, I always knew that things were different. We were in a one bedroom apartment. And I didn't feel there are five of us in a one bedroom apartment. And I didn't feel poor, because we lived on top of a hill and I got the view of Mount Rainier, in Tacoma. And so I thought was really beautiful. I got to see rainbows, which are my favorite thing. But I knew that I had to work harder, or my parents told me that I had to work harder to prove myself. So I had that message in my head. Before I even started to school, I knew that food was really special. Like we were told that we weren't we had to eat everything. Because food is really special and you couldn't waste it.

Michael Dugan: 2:36

What made it special for you?

Diem Nguyen: 2:39

I think for them, maybe it was really special. Because it was scars when they were growing up. Okay, so we had that mindset. And then as we got older we had to be mindful of not overeating. And there's this phrase that in Vietnamese is a me Is Anjali means eat for fun. And we're very much of a culture that eats.

Michael Dugan: 3:08

I come from an Irish culture so there's a lot of there's a lot of drinking and not necessarily fantastic food. There's good food, but it's not like I crave other cultures foods. You know, I crave Vietnamese, like I crave Chinese, Japanese and lots of Asian isn't foods but yeah, it's

Diem Nguyen: 3:30

They're they drink for fun. I was in Ireland for interesting. four years. They were very they it was like the your neighborhood pub that you went to. Or they went and there was always a celebration.

Michael Dugan: 3:46

I'm sure there's always one. Were there any foods that you were connected to at an early age would you say?

Unknown: 3:59

I think all soups oh that has broth? Anything that had noodle in it. Oh, comforting. Comfort food. Anything favorites?

Diem Nguyen: 4:09

I have Bún Bò Huếand then Bún Riêu. ún Bò HuếIt's like a spicy beef soup. And then Bún Riêu.is a seafood soup. Yeah, and I like it from my mom.

Michael Dugan: 4:25

Wow. So is this like shrimp and scallops.

Diem Nguyen: 4:31

You can have shrimp you have egg you have tomato? We put shrimp paste in it, which some people don't like because they think is too overpowering. But I like it. Wow. Have you had you it?

Michael Dugan: 4:45

I have and I do like it actually.

Diem Nguyen: 4:48

Do you know people who don't like it? Oh, sure.

Michael Dugan: 4:51

Or maybe maybe they've actually never tried it. Right. So you know, this is a powerful it's close. Yeah, I I love lots of different foods. My biggest challenge is spicy food. I have to kind of steer clear of some of that.

Diem Nguyen: 5:07

Oh you enjoy it but you can't have it?

Michael Dugan: 5:09

Yeah. I love flavor. I love unique flavors, you know and so experiment a lot with different with different flavors both out to eat and and cooking. There's so many different flavors in the world. I just love learning about different cuisines and different flavors to what did you grow up eating and the soups? That's that's really fascinating. Any desserts at all.

Diem Nguyen: 5:32

We have this thing called jam. Have you had a note? Okay, I need I want to take you to these things. Yeah, it's like comes in a cup. So like a pint glass. And inside are like jellies and coconut milk. And you have beans in it. So all sorts of combination.

Michael Dugan: 5:57

Jackfruit I don't think I've ever had jackfruit I've always been curious about it.

Diem Nguyen: 6:03

Like allergic to jackfruit it makes my mouth itch. It's I still like it. I just have to monitor how much I eat. I got it saved with my dad. So he still likes it. He still tries to eat it.

Michael Dugan: 6:14

In your family. You were surrounded by food. You enjoyed food and you know there's some people I talked to that that didn't growing up. I remember Jodie, when we interviewed she's she is in the outback in Queensland, Australia. I mentioned her to a while back but she is a is a rancher right in the middle of nowhere like in the outback. And she grew up without house. You know, she grew up like her dad was building fences for large ranches. So they moved around a lot, but they camped basically. So food was a necessity. It wasn't you know, anything. They really enjoyed that much. And then she had never had TV. And when she I remember the story was so beautiful. It was like when she got connected to cable for the first time. Probably teenager. I think she was a teenager,

Diem Nguyen: 7:04

She had the food network channel.

Michael Dugan: 7:06

She got obsessed by the foods?

Diem Nguyen: 7:08

Yeah, I heard her. I heard her talk.

Michael Dugan: 7:11

Oh, okay. Okay. Yeah. And the interesting thing about Jody is that when she interviewed she was interviewing outside, because currently they have Wi Fi outside. And there were like wild animals, or making, you know, all kinds of all kinds of sounds, you know, like seeds said, Oh, that's a wild Dingo. And that's a that's a, I forget what kind of bird it was. But we had some really interesting conversations. Because of that. Everybody has a different experience with food at a young age is what I really wanted to say. And hers was very all about scarcity, you know, and, and to eat to survive. But then later on, she blossomed with food, and she became a baker. And she's super passionate about it. I met her on clubhouse as well. So but anyway, getting back to it. So as we go along, you know, you're grown up as child round food, the hen, what did you love to do? As a kid? Would you say? What kind of things were you into?

Diem Nguyen: 8:04

You know that you have always had that question in school? Like, what's your favorite hobby? I never had like a go to answer. I always put what I what I was doing at the time. But then I realized, later on, exploring is a hobby. So exploring, I love exploring, I love learning. And I think that's what happened to that's how I became had this. That's just the one or less. So after high school, I did really good in school, people expected me to go to college, and I didn't want to go call it because I wanted, I just felt there's so much to see. And so I actually applied to one school, and I got an extension, because I missed the deadline. And I applied, I got it and and I went and the reason is because I was like, I'm 18 What am I really going to do? Like, what am I going to really be? Like, why? I'm just gonna go to school, I'm just gonna go for a quarter. I'll see. So I went for a quarter, and then I'll, I'll go for another quarter and actually kept doing that every quarter for four years, and I finished college. And then after that I did the regular path of corporate and I did that for just a few months. And then I realized I just felt in school, I was investing in myself and I was learning and I just things became the world became richer and richer. Because the more I learned, the more connections I was able to make, like connections with like meaning, right? And I see something I see so much meaning in that because I have so much background knowledge. But then once I work, start working corporate, it was just a lot of routine for me. These in that role. It was a lot routine. I stuck it out for a year. And then I quit and then that's when I started having my adventures. I'm still very close to my family though. I do come back. So I spend months with my family especially during the summer because Seattle So nice. Oh, yeah. So but then winter, spring, I'm gone. Fall. So I like to go four months at a time. Because when I'm at a place, if I feel like it takes me three weeks minimum to start to feel like a connection, when the place where I could, is not as beyond sightseeing is like I understand, I just start to understand people's like, lifestyle or values or priorities. And I find that that part's so fascinating, like the unspoken part so fascinating. I feel like and then beyond that stories, people's stories, they don't tell you their stories or the deeper layers of their stories until later, not right away neighbor or like a vendor that you walk by buy stuff all the time, like a fruit. Or, you know, like, talk was, like Carlos mom sell tacos until she runs out. And usually is that that's 11 in the morning.

Michael Dugan: 11:03

Okay, yeah, I think it takes a while to get to know people before they share their stories. But you know, as a podcaster, for me, I'm able to cultivate those because I always try to set a space of comfort and relaxation when we interview and sometimes I know people ahead of time, and sometimes I don't, I do think that you're right, you have to be in a place for a little bit to get to know people to hear their stories. Wherever you travel. Let's let's dive into that. Because I know that you love to explore and connect to different cultures,

Diem Nguyen: 11:34

I don't think I've been to as many places as people think I have come to them long and repeatedly. Like you were talking about how I grew up Irish. And I've been to Ireland a lot. I actually I've never been to Ireland. I went to I was in a long term relationship with somebody I met in Dublin. I met him on a train, I met him and then I went to England and then I went to Austria. Oh, and that trip I was with my brother, though those were shorter trips are shorter visits. And then I came back to Ireland to get to know this person better. And then I started dating him. So I went to Ireland a lot. And beyond that, I feel like I go to our I'd actually do I go to I get this desire to go to Europe. So I'll go to Europe for a few years. And then I'll go to Latin America for a few years. So I haven't been to Asia in a while. And I think that's the way I'm going to go back to

Michael Dugan: 12:35

Latin America as well.

Diem Nguyen: 12:36

Yes. So my last trip was early. Earlier this year, I was in Peru. Oh, and I stayed until my visa ended my visa did was going to end the day the next day. So I had to leave. I tried to extend it but I put it so I had to leave.

Michael Dugan: 12:53

Peru, because my wife and I actually went to Peru as well. Oh, you did? Yeah.

Diem Nguyen: 13:12

I went to a Lima I stayed in Lima mostly as I stayed with these, this couple, you know, my my parents ate so it's really nice. I call my mom dad. And I had dinner with them every day. And I just like, have so much love for them. I really do feel like they're like reproving mom and dad.

Michael Dugan: 13:32

That's amazing. You know, the Peruvian culture is so interesting. So we had a friend Laura, who when she found out we were going to Peru, she goes oh you have to connect with my brother. So we connected with her brother and he took us all around Lima. And you know, we went to some ruins. We went to the city, we went to some really great restaurants. So as we move on, so we know that we you've been traveling now what I want to do is kind of your teenager went back to school for a little bit, but then take us into a little bit of collective like, how did that come to fruition? And what sparked your passion for embarking on this inspirational journey.

Diem Nguyen: 14:11

So when I first started traveling, I suggested to start do blogs or vlogs I didn't do it. I didn't do it because I felt like I wanted to enjoy the moment. And in order for me to like vlog something, I would have to remove myself from that moment. And I didn't want to do that to myself. And then for me to blog, something. I felt like I couldn't do an adequate job. I could just tell people where I went that day or what I recommend I could have done that. But I I actually don't think I really feel the fuller effect of my experience until three years later. Like I don't really know So the meaning of it until three years later, in hindsight, okay, and it seems like three years, but Mark for me, and that and that mount actually has gotten shorter. But it was three years for a long time. So I didn't feel like I could do a really sufficient job that I would be satisfied with. I see, tying the meaning to beyond just my I tend to travel itinerary are one of my recommendations. So I didn't do blogs, or vlogs, I had this idea of doing lidi Boo in 2011. But I never did it. And the reason why I thought of it is because I just felt like I got to have these experiences. And I got to have these experience because I wasn't working a regular job, I didn't have kids, I didn't have parents that needed to take care of. So I had that luxury, not everybody has that luxury. And I realized that but I didn't want to share my experience as much as I want other people to have their own as much as they could, when they can't leave home. And so I had this idea in 2011 in my head, and I didn't pursue it Oh, because I was still traveling. I didn't prioritize creating it, because I was just like living my life. And then when the pandemic happened, we were all in quarantine, is when I started doing it. I think that we had the rare opportunity in life where everything was cleared off our plate. And we had to be mindful how what we put back on and how we put it back on. And this is what I wanted to put on my plate. And the reason for that is during the last like few years, I felt like the American landscape was very politically and socially divisive. And I my heart, like my head could understand it. But my heart could reconcile that. Like he didn't want to accept it, couldn't accept it. Like couldn't make sense of it. My heart can't understand why people are so mean. When I'm on social media, and sometimes I like you know, you see something like light hearted and humorous. And I flip into the comment section. And I'm like, how do you criticize that? How do you? How do you be condescending towards that? So lighthearted. Yeah, find a way to be mean, I'm just like, oh my god, okay, I'm gonna retreat. But I just, it's such a bummer. I thought all I can do is be more loving. I did this practice where this when I thought of all I'm gonna do is be more loving, I was actually on a flight. And so I'm sitting on the plane, and everybody I could see in their seats, I focused on them. And I just felt like they were my brother and my sister. Wow. And I did that with everybody until I did it with everybody could see and my heart felt really full. And I just was more mindful of being more loving, as you know, day after day throughout those years. But then I felt like my reach was just, it's just my direct reach. So how do I expand that? How do I make, like, make the world a little gentle, more gentle to each other. And this was my way of doing that. So it is a subscription. Litibu Collective is a subscription box, it does come in a box. There's Ultra ingredients and box, there's recipes in a box, but it's more than just a subscription box. So that's why I'm uncomfortable calling it subscription box, even though it's really descriptive, and it helps people understand. Because beyond that there's cultural content that gets sent to the subscriber. Okay. That's, I think there's a lot of meaning in that too, because I believe that familiarity will increase understanding, and that will foster compassion. And I think that it's really important to be compassionate. We're so similar, you know, humans were just so similar. We all feel joy and happiness, we all grieve. And we all know what that looks like. Beyond language barrier, cultural barrier, we all know but these this he like human experience is like we all know that we desire acceptance that we all experienced.

Michael Dugan: 19:14

Well, I want to talk a little bit more about the box because it arrived for me I received a sampler and oh my gosh, this is absolutely amazing. So let me share my experience with how I feel for you. So what it's like to receive something like this and and I opened it up and there's this beautiful drawing with a tree and it looks like a moon and then there's dolphins and just incredibly artistic box. And as I open it up first I get a handwritten thank you. And that's so personal. But looking in the box, there's all these amazing ingredients and no there's Tamaryn there's some spices, some gourmet coffee. Let's see, we got these rice noodles, and even a coffee strainer. And then these amazing recipes like the, the, I'm choked up right now honestly, because looking at reading collective, and I'm like looking at the picture of VA, and I'm like, wow, that is just so beautiful. It's frameable you know, and then I turn it over. Yeah. And I look at the ingredients. And you know, it's really well written, it's really well structured tells me how long it's going to take to cook. And it's just a, it's an inspirational piece for me as a cook, or a wannabe Cook, to, to make this dish and to connect to the sculpture. And that's just the beginning. Right as as you're talking about, because there's music involved, there's history involved, it's like, I feel like I can connect to the Vietnamese culture and understand it a lot more. And I really feel like you hand chose these recipes to go along with this package. And I just wanted to share that because I was really, really impressed.

Diem Nguyen: 21:11

Thank you for sharing your excitement, because, you know, I do this, and I don't know how it's received, right? All the time, because people get it, but they get so far away from me. So what I'm hearing is like, days later, weeks later, months later, so it's not immediate, like yours is so thank you so much for sharing.

Michael Dugan: 21:32

is religion house. And she's a huge supporter, and we just, we just love you page. So feel free to drop something in the chat. But yeah, just excited that you're here. This is a really special time here with DM because she's the founder of Litibu Collective. And this. She's created this incredible immersive experience, both in cuisine and culture. And she has these packages that come to you. And I was saying that they have, they're delivered in a very artistic box itself. I remember seeing one of our unboxings the box itself, you can fold it, and it becomes artwork. And that was genius.

Diem Nguyen: 22:25

Thank you, it's reusable, I want to represent something more than just a corrugated box. And so I want people to artists of the culture to be able to create whatever they want to represent that culture.

Michael Dugan: 22:41

And page two, just so you know, they come with recipes and ingredients. I mean full ingredients, you know, there's there's coffee, there's spices, there's noodles, everything that you need to make a series of recipes right now she she delivered a sample to me from Vietnam. And there's tamarind shrimp, Vietnamese sour soup, melt, melt or Vietnamese condensed milk, iced coffee and chicken. And I'm excited because I want to make five never made far before. And there's this beautiful recipe that is so inspirational. So I wanted to share that with you Paige. Chi Diem, when is the founder of Liddy boot collective, which is this incredible culinary cultural and artistic journey that I I'm just amazed by because she includes history and music and in the package along with cuisine, and and some other things as well. So it's a subscription service and just brilliant. So what is it that what for you? What drives your creative process and what elements are influences inspire your work?

Diem Nguyen: 23:54

I think that for me, I live in a very emotional place. As I like being there. I like to think that things are really rich there. So I think about like things that touches the person and are like enrich their enrich like a connection. And so that's for the cultural content portion. That's why I have music. I have films I have I have history and food producers. And so it's an introduction to all those things. So it takes you takes us a scribe or beyond food, just food because it creates a connection like one of the content is how fish sauce or is produced and the hard work that goes into fish producing fish. So the ingredient one of the ingredients you get in the box is fish sauce. But then when you have like knowledge how fish us produce, you appreciate why.

Michael Dugan: 24:53

So that's wonderful. I love it and tell tell us because this is so special. I mean The artwork is

Diem Nguyen: 25:01

So the artwork, I did a focus group, and I wanted just incredible. to see what culture and cuisine were people were interested in. And Vietnam happened to be one of the top. And I've been amis. So I'm like, I'm gonna start with what I know. And that way I can understand how people are receiving it better and like, what I could offer. And so I actually use my brother. Oh, very artistic. That's my brother. And the paragraphs inside is of him telling how my mom told him the story. So that's my brother. Oh, my gosh. And my brother, my mom used to tell the story. Chú Cuội Cung Trăng. I just like to go and Uncle Cuội and the moon. And so my mom used to tell that story to us as kids.

Michael Dugan: 25:56

Well, we got to give a shout out to your brother. What's your brother's name?

Diem Nguyen: 26:00

HD.

Michael Dugan: 26:02

HD Nguyen? Yep.

Diem Nguyen: 26:03

Your grandma's on there. Because I want people to be able to connect with the artists and the chef and the chef. So I actually was going to use popular Vietnamese chef recipe. Got her permission to use it. But I actually ended up using my mom instead. Oh, the recipes are from my mom. And it's because I'm like, when else am I gonna get to represent my family? represent my mom. You know, I love her food. And so I thought I'll do it now. And so yeah, so that we actually filmed it also. We filmed it, and the filming was all day. And she like carried all this stuff. We actually filmed it in a friend's kitchen who is the chef because oh, he offered his place. He was really nice. And he had we actually moved to stove away because the stove area so then the camera can be behind the stove. Okay, so we move over the stove towards the end of the counter and said between the counter so the camera could be behind the stove, you know? Because usually a stove is guessable. Yeah. So he's like, Oh, anything is movable here.

Michael Dugan: 27:17

Behind the scenes are the best. Sure, sure. And behind the scenes I have. Yeah, I have what a call on the podcast a greenroom talk, right. And one of my favorite episodes was very beginning, I interviewed this amazing chef. And she she was from La Spiega, which is a Italian restaurant in Seattle. If you haven't been Yeah, you have to there. And there's such incredibly nice people. And Sabrina Tinsley is the executive chef and co owner withPietro Bourghesi. Casey, who's the general manager, and she locked herself in the bathroom right before the interview. So she was late. And I was like, It's okay. It's okay. We'll just talk for a little bit, we had this amazing green room talk, you know, behind the scenes about what happened and everything. And the green room or the or the behind the scenes, you know, those are the best, absolutely the best conversations that you can have. And ensuring those I think is is really is really important. But I love I love that. Yeah. So it's so interesting. So your mom's involved and your brother's involved? I mean, that's just so culturally rich. You know, I absolutely love that.

Diem Nguyen: 28:29

But the Peruvian one nobody's is related to me.

Michael Dugan: 28:32

Ah, right. But I should connect you with Erica, because Ericka is an incredible human being we, we connected and I interviewed her on the podcast, and I followed her for a long time, and she is a proven culinary Food Guide, or less so and that's her. That's her whole, you know, business. And she creates these culinary tours. So I think that that would be a great Connect for you. Thank you in case maybe maybe you feel inspired by somebody that she knows. And I met

Diem Nguyen: 29:06

This man that has a cooking school. Oh, so I got a couple of recipes from him. And I'm supposed to reconnect and see because the green is that they have in the recipe that they want to use has to be something I can get in the United States.

Michael Dugan: 29:20

Oh, okay. Okay. Wow, I get that I but it might be might be a recipe from from a chef in Peru that you do a collaboration with or something like that? I don't know. But yeah, I can I can definitely understand that. Does it have to be in the US or does it have to be out of Seattle or the importers,

Diem Nguyen: 29:39

Distributors the Peruvian ones are mostly in Jersey. Oh, okay. Southern California.

Michael Dugan: 29:47

How do you make these connections? This is so much work. But what do you do? Can you walk us through the process a little bit behind the scenes,

Diem Nguyen: 29:57

So that Vietnamese one eye A shop at a Vietnamese grocery store. So sure, so I'm familiar with where the food comes from there. And I also use it. I used to live in Long Beach. And so a lot of food comes into the Port of Long Beach. And so I notice there's a lot of distributors down in that area, Orange County area. So I knew that the Peruvian one I know approving ingredients from being in Peru. And right prove recipes from being there. And I was talking to you about my Peruvian mom. Cheese didn't she makes me dinner every day. So I knew what she would tell me her husband would tell me what they use for those dishes. So I got to be got to be more familiar with proving ingredients. And then when I came back home, I was on the search of where I couldn't get them. I when I was in Peru, actually somebody told me, some approved me and told me that there's probably a lot in New Jersey. And that was his guest. And he was right. And I asked him how he knew that he was like, my aunt lives in New Jersey. And so when I came back, I started investigating there and I found a Latino grocery store. So wasn't specific until I went there. I think he was the owner. So he's Peruvian. And he said that he gets his from New Jersey, because it there were a lot more. Can you talk to me about the shipping costs for him to get it he actually offered if I wanted to buy cases I could buy cases from him. So a lot of footwork, a lot of questions, a lot of kindness from strangers, a lot of kindness from strangers.

Michael Dugan: 31:51

Oh, yeah. No, I believe that. Yeah.

Diem Nguyen: 31:53

Yeah. It's so key. I think when you're, when you're traveling, it becomes really evident that we're really lean on each other, you know, as independent as we try to be because maybe it feel safer. But we're really, really dependent on one another,

Michael Dugan: 32:11

Something that you might consider is subscribing to her service, which is absolutely incredible. And you can find out more about Litibu collective by going to her website, you can also follow her on Instagram as well, which is kind of cool, because she does an unboxing which I just love, I love when you share your passion for this, you know, through through Instagram and through some of your videos, because I think that that's really really cool. Yeah, I love this behind the scenes, you know, it's the best. It's like learning about how these things come come to life. And yeah, I just really enjoy following along in your dream and your your idea. So let's see, is there anyone that you've been mentored by as you're going along in this journey, or anyone you'd like to give a shout out to and express gratitude to?

Diem Nguyen: 33:04

I'm not on clubhouse very much. I actually once you start, you mentioned it, I went back because I haven't been on it. So yeah. But there's so many people. I was telling it saying the kindness of strangers, we really leaned on each other. There's so many people, everyone, I don't everyone like my brother doing it. My mom, my mom doing it. She's like, you're making me do this. And you're borrowing my car. I'm like, Mom, I'm not borrowing your car, in the car. Packed our pots and pans, you know, and just just even when I was telling you about the Peruvian owner, the Yeah, told me where he gets his. Everybody. I don't know, I don't know his name. He doesn't know my name. I don't even know he remembers me anymore. I remember what he looks like. But I I've realized there's just everyone. And I do this on my own. And so I everybody that I get to brainstorm with you. Oh, yeah. Loving your ideas. You celebrating me? You being excited for me? Ah for being on here. Thank you.

Michael Dugan: 34:15

Yeah. amazing. She knows that. So she's probably a blushing now. But she loves lobster. We have that connection together. So I remember she used to post pictures of lobster and clubhouse and I'm a huge huge fan of lobster and she has a cheap on the East Coast. We pay a fortune for it Paige. I think two lobsters is over $100 to ship to Seattle.

Diem Nguyen: 34:40

I did not know that. Oh, yeah.

Michael Dugan: 34:43

And I keep every morsel right so I make a bisque out of it. I cook off all the shells after we're done. Everything means

Diem Nguyen: 34:51

Everything. Just like you know how I feel about waste.

Michael Dugan: 34:56

Absolutely. In Seattle, you've been in Seattle for a while. What five things would you recommend if you brought a friend or a relative to Seattle?

Diem Nguyen: 35:08

So I was born and raised out here.

Michael Dugan: 35:11

Ah,

Diem Nguyen: 35:13

Wow, born in Tacoma where my mom worked at. Okay. Okay. My mom worked at St. Joseph Hospital and Toma, and that's where I was born.

Michael Dugan: 35:22

Had they been there before? No, they've never been there. The farmers

Diem Nguyen: 35:25

market for sure. The Pike Place farmers, the Pike Place. I would tell them about the history of it. Okay, because sometimes a history gets doesn't get acknowledged, but they're from Japanese fishermen, you know? So I would tell them that that history, I think that the Space Needle is something you have to do. Yeah, it might be anticlimax. I feel like you have to do it because we stare at it all the time. And you see it in movies. That's a good point. I lived on a float house, I have a paddle board, the stand up paddle board. And what I used to love doing is sitting on the paddle board at night underneath the moonlight and smacking because I think it's so peaceful, like the waters glass and you get to see stuff like you need to guess the month leg. And I think that part is for me, it's the most beautiful part of Seattle. Okay, and I love bike rides at night. So a bike ride, I would say, a bike ride at night. I've always been in northeast Seattle. Okay, residential. And but you're still in the city?

Michael Dugan: 36:36

What would be northeast Seattle for people that are listening? Oh, what? What neighborhood? And of course, since we're global, we've got to say you have to Washington,

Diem Nguyen: 36:45

Seattle, Washington. And it's by the University of Washington. So there's around the University of Washington. Well, University of Washington is beautiful is for people who don't know. Yeah, the campus is beautiful. And it's around Lake Washington, which is this large lake. And we have bridges going across it to get to other cities that you might hear it heard of, like Bellevue.

Michael Dugan: 37:09

But also the mountains. Right. And the rivers and

Diem Nguyen: 37:12

Snoqualmie mountain 45 minutes away. There's a lot

Michael Dugan: 37:16

In your travels around the world. You've traveled to different places been in Europe, you've been in South America and different places. What's your favorite?

Diem Nguyen: 37:24

Oh, at all? That's hard. I know. It depends on time. I think the way I would go now, though, I'm 40 this year. And so I would go to Vietnam. I haven't been in a long time. And I think that is it's such Ancesteral Land. Like I need to go and explore that. Pay homage to that.

Michael Dugan: 37:45

Yeah, you have to meet our dear friend chef Mimi, who's the co founder of Food is Religion, and she's been a friend of mine ever since I joined the club and now the house. And she travels there quite a bit. Or she's Vietnamese and and just incredible. I think you guys would really click now I'll send an intro but she's she's incredible she is that the heart and soul of food as religion.

Diem Nguyen: 38:18

I appreciate this, thank you for thinking, thinking of connections, but think about making me think well, you.

Michael Dugan: 38:26

Have a really incredible idea that needs to be shared. And what about where you've traveled? Is there any particular dish that you just crave? Certain used to now but anywhere in the world?

Diem Nguyen: 38:46

Oh, I'm so capricious. Yeah. Right now I would like oh, I want like a pasta with squid ink. That's what I would want right now. Squid ink. Okay. This is what I would want. Now, in this moment.

Michael Dugan: 39:02

Why squid ink? I've never had it. I've always wanted to try it, but I just haven't.

Diem Nguyen: 39:08

I actually really liked making pasta with things that are unexpected. Because pasta was so comforting us a lot of carbs. Right so and cheese. A lot of time cheese. But like for example, my mom makes her spaghetti tomato sauce spaghetti with oyster sauce. Oh, well. Okay, yeah, it has a crazy, like a different adapt, like, Oh, umami flavor. Mommy used to try it.

Michael Dugan: 39:36

Okay, so as we wrap up, do you have any special message that you'd like to share with clubhouse, podcasts in the world?

Diem Nguyen: 39:44

I just want to thank you for everyone for being really supportive and sharing the thoughts, whether positive or negative. I because I've been doing this I'm doing this alone, but I'm not alone, you know. So I really appreciate people's feedback. and support. And so I hope that people understand that all experience. I want people to be able to experience a culture with all their senses, including with their heart.

Michael Dugan: 40:10

I love that. Again, you've touched on the artists, the creative chef, the cook the culture, a lot of pieces come into this. It's like you said, it's not just a box. I would say it's not just a box. It's an experience.

Diem Nguyen: 40:26

It's a subscription experience.

Michael Dugan: 40:28

Yeah, it's it's really incredible. Okay, so as we wrap up, I just want everybody to know that we do have a weekly talk show. So if you're listening, join us every Sunday be posted on in our house. You can join us every Sunday. We also have weekly rooms where we talked about anything related to to food and culture, I would say and there are amazing hosts and moderators that will really captivate you with conversation. I thank everybody for listening, especially Paige for staying on with us. And theme. Thank you so much for spending the time with us and sharing your journey and your passion and purpose. It's really incredible. And the last thing I want to say is if anyone's interested in partnering with Diem reached out her email is here and you can reach her at diem@litibucollective.com. Thanks for joining us today. Follow us on Facebook. Find our website in the show notes, subscribe on Spotify, I Heart Radio or wherever you listen. Leave a comment with five stars. And stay tuned for the next episode of Voice4Chefs.