Vietnamese couple Kym and Andrew Le live in Plaistow with their two children. In March 2020, due to the pandemic, Andrew’s chef work stopped abruptly and Kym lost her admin job. With more time on their hands and a passion for cooking, they began distributing spring rolls amongst their neighbours to keep up their morale during lockdown.

The couple started receiving requests to provide take-aways for special occasions. Neighbours encouraged them to start an Instagram page and sell their home-cooked dishes online. “We had no clue on what to do and how to do it, I don’t really know anything about social media!” said Kym.

Word quickly got around that high quality, authentic Vietnamese home-cooking was available at a time when restaurants were closed. Kym began posting a limited menu on Mondays for customers to pre-order for the weekend. Andrew cooked them and they took it in turns to personally deliver the meals.

What started off with a few Instagram orders of spring rolls from their home kitchen has now, one year later, transformed into a fully-fledged business employing four staff, with a menu of over 20 dishes, operating from a restaurant on Barking Road.

The secret? Kym modestly puts the success down to her husband’s cooking – his own recipe creations. His personal twists to traditional dishes and his home-made sauces and fresh ingredients keep the customers coming back for more.

However Kym’s personal approach to customer service and her knack for creating meaningful relationships within the community has forged a loyal and supportive customer base. She takes customer feedback on board, such as when she began using eco-friendly recyclable packaging upon recommendation.

Andrew and Kym are surprised at their own success. “We just thought selling spring rolls could help us get by at the start of lockdown, we never thought we’d run our own business. We’re so happy with how things have turned out. We’ve seen from family and friends that businesses can take a long time to grow, so we are very lucky that we had a committed customer base from Instagram. If it wasn’t for them we would never dream of opening this place. It’s only because we had them that we thought we’d get the support to keep it open, so we decided to go for it.”

What’s next for the Le family? Kym has lots of ideas including providing outdoor seating, an alcohol license and selling products such as Andrew’s popular homemade sauces bottled up.

But for now, Kym wants to ensure they don’t take on more than they can handle as keeping up their customer satisfaction and authentic home-cooking are her priorities.

Kym’s favourite moments? “The good reviews, the customer satisfaction and the sense of community. I really enjoy living in Newham. I love my neighbourhood, I love my road. The neighbours are brilliant, they are so supportive. We’re so grateful for all the local support – it’s been a lovely experience.”

Have a taste of Vietnam on Barking Road and support a local family business by visiting Le Kitchen, or by ordering online, by phone – or still, via Instagram.

Le Kitchen, 390 Barking Road. Open 6 days a week (not Tuesday). 15 per cent off on Monday and Wednesday.

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