Community Highlights: Meet Simon Nguyen of Too Fresh

Today we’d like to introduce you to Simon Nguyen.

Thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
It all began when I was 8 years old. At the time, my parents were busy running the family business. My brother Richard (5 years old) and I were home alone and hungry. The refrigerator was full of food and the freezer had frozen meals. I was tired of banquet frozen food. I called my parents at the salon they owned called City Nails in Hermitage. Mom picked up the phone. I explained that we were hungry. Immediately she said there was food in the freezer. At this age, I knew how to cook eggs, make cereal, and of course ramen noodles. A young lad had to learn more. The frozen meals weren’t making us full enough and it was limited.

I asked her for a fried rice recipe Richard had asked for because I wanted to make it for us. She reasoned with me and said it wasn’t going to be safe for us. She was busy and I convinced her. I hung up and immediately started prepping. Finishing up, I noticed it was burnt. With only half to share, we ended up eating the frozen meal as well. That day sparked a curiosity about culinary arts. It was the weekend so I had a chance to try the recipe again, this time making it more flavorful. I couldn’t use the knife because my parents wouldn’t allow it, however, I was able to use the dry and wet ingredients like garlic, salt, black pepper, soy sauce, etc. I thought I was doing something adding spam or a red Chinese sausage link and this time no burn.

Edible food for my brother and I. This continued for a while and of course, my cooking got better. Even aunts and uncles were asking me to cook. The salon got busy and my parents had me working, painting nails, or removing polish. I forgot my love for cooking. My mind was focused only on helping the family business. When I graduated high school, my home would be the spot to come have drinks and food. I would make marinated orange juice burgers and Vietnamese-style smoked ribs. My friends wanted to buy my recipes. Of course, I just gave it to them. Food is for everyone. They said I should open a food cart. I didn’t know anything about being a restauranteur and I was already overwhelmed with opening the new salon, Nail Lounge.

My parents went through hard times and split up; I was put in a spiral. I always fought for my identity. Being Asian in Nashville at the time was tough. Not Vietnamese enough or thought of not being born in the States so not American enough. Although I still had solid friends, that helped it wasn’t enough. I decided to step away from the family business and went for culinary. I worked part-time at the salon and went to the art institute pursuing my goal of becoming a chef that would cook whole foods and feed the community with healthy choices. However, I was making the president’s list, with tuition being expensive and the salon struggling. I quit school and came back to help. My mother was going through a lot in her mind. She was toxic to my well-being. I left once again, but this time to cook for the infamous Otaku Ramen (Gulch).

I started on the soup side and also washed dishes. I didn’t know the industry at all so my first pay was $5.00 an hour. I became skinny and tired. That didn’t stop me from continuing. By month’s end, I made $7 and some change. I was determined to be more valuable to the company. Worked hard to prep with little to no waste and keep my station clean. I was able to move around the kitchen to each station that needed me at the time. They trusted me more and asked if I would like to be a lead cook. I was so happy, of course, I said yes. That was 6 months in with the basic knowledge. I was proud of myself, $12 an hour. Both of my parents weren’t so thrilled when I told them the news. They both said you could help me run the salon and make way more.

I already understood I was taking a pay cut, to make my goals into reality. For years, I worked for them and had nothing really to show for myself. I moved on from that and didn’t want to return. Three months later the owners were creating a new space for their sister restaurant Little Octopus. I asked the Head Chef at the time if it would be possible to transfer. With grace, he said yes. The universe is on my side, I felt. There, I entered another realm of cooking a 100% scratch kitchen. For a beginner, it was demanding physically and mentally. I loved the crew very much, however, one night during service my nose started to bleed. The stress got to me. I started to reconsider everything. Being immature I wasn’t open enough with my leaders and quit out of the blue. I felt bad I knew I put everyone in a tight position. My health was more important, at the time.

I found myself back at Nail Lounge. I did this for serval months. I decided to take the supervisor position at Taziki’s next door and juggle two jobs. Nail Tech during the day and kitchen cook at night. At this point in my life, I had found someone special the love of my life, Maria. She is always my cheerleader. With her love, she gave me a lift to the next level of my career. Her father gave me a recommendation to work for the General Jackson show boat. The Chef at the time didn’t give me the position I wanted, but I took the opportunity and got a job at The Famous Wild Horse Saloon, where I learned my speed and banquet dinning. The pandemic hit the nation and I didn’t want to gain money from our government. Chef Adom Clary was given the opportunity to work for the Opry Hotel. There I worked through the holidays, working at three different locations.

January came and I was out of the job again. My Chef called and said “Hey I got something for you, but it’ll have to be out of town. I spoke with Maria about it and she supported the idea that I go.” I felt the same way. I told my Chef, “okay. The company sent me to a Ritz-Carlton in Greensboro, GA. I felt like I was back at the Little Octopus, a scratch kitchen.” This time I had the experience. The time I was there taught me my standards in the kitchen. It was wonderful to be with other people who cared for food as much as I did. After 5 months I was called back to The Wild Horse. Maria came across a Chef, Jorge Gonzalez, at her job and he spoke about needing a Chef. She spoke to him about me and that I would be perfect for the job.

So, I resigned from Wild Horse and became Sous Chef of Luke’s 32 Bridge. The Chef I spent time with was Chef Marco Estrada, he showed me the way of a manager. Stern, reliable, and compassionate. I was there for more than a year and achieved so many goals within myself and for the company. This year, I decided to open my kitchen concept, Too Fresh LLC, where we make delicious plant-based cuisine from Asia with an American twist. I really couldn’t do this without the journey that I took, and the support of my wonderful wife, brothers, mother, and friends.

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
In the beginning, it wasn’t smooth at all. I’ve had my struggles. Opening a kitchen is not the friendliest to the pocket. For example, there were times we cooked too much food and couldn’t sell all of it.

Money in the trash. Even though there is social media and the internet, it was all new to me for business. I struggled with finding enough places that would let me have a pop-up. Hiring too many employees and had to pay out of pocket due to low sales.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We serve up South East Asian fusion cuisine with a plant-based twist. We mainly use mushrooms for the meaty texture. We believe eating whole foods is the healthiest way to give thanks to the body mind and soul.

At the moment, we are just doing pop-up tents in spaces that will let me cook. We are building a food truck and with the support of the community, I know that we will get there.

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
I went back home to New Orleans to have a family reunion and eat Banh Xeo cooked by my grandma.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.toofreshnash.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toofreshnash/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/toofreshnash