Beautician Linda Vo has converted her long-running nail salon in Tarbes, France, into a Vietnamese restaurant and takeaway after a decade of painting nails.
The new establishment, named Les Secrets de Hué, opened on Tuesday, August 18, at 49 Rue Larrey, replacing her former aesthetics business BNL Beauty.
Vo, a mother of two in her thirties who is originally from Bordeaux, had operated her beauty salon at the address since settling in Tarbes in 2016. Where she once wrapped clients' nails in foil to strip off polish, she now wraps rice paper around fresh spring rolls.
Tarbes is a town located in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in southwestern France. Hué, which inspires the name of the new restaurant, is the historic imperial capital city in central Vietnam.
A family tradition of culinary switches
The transition follows a family trade pattern. Vo explained that her parents are originally from Hué and that her father also started out running a nail salon in Bordeaux before retraining as a caterer.
She recalled that during nail treatments, she routinely talked about cooking with her clients, who knew she loved eating and preparing food. She also retained memories of her mother making stacks of nems in the kitchen, while inheriting culinary techniques from her father.
Vo made the decision to change careers last March. She then undertook several weeks of work to dismantle the beauty salon and prepare the shop for food service.
The renovation involved removing varnish display stands, a UV machine, nail files, and brushes. In their place, Vo set up two tables with chairs, a refrigerated display case, and full kitchen equipment in the back room.
Demand clears opening stock in three days
Since opening, Vo works in the kitchen entirely by herself. Her menu includes lemongrass chicken, Cantonese rice, Bo Bun salad, spring rolls, caramel pork, a Vietnamese sandwich with five-spice glazed pork, and a banana dessert.
Word of mouth among her former beauty clients generated heavy demand, completely exhausting her food stock during the first three days of business.
The strong response required her to boost production quantities and adapt recipes, including adding radish and red cabbage to create vegan spring rolls. Her peanut butter sauce has also proved popular with customers.
Applying artistic care to Vietnamese cuisine
Running the eatery has brought a major physical shift for the former manicurist. Vo noted that while she spent ten years sitting down at work, she is now constantly standing to handle time-consuming preparation work, such as chopping vegetables, making nem sauce, and marinating meat.
Despite the demanding routine and raising two children, she expressed confidence in managing the pace, noting that her parents successfully accomplished the same transition.
Vo said that switching to cooking felt natural and marked the fulfillment of a dream. She added that she maintains her artistic mindset in the kitchen, explaining that every plate she serves must look as attractive as a finished set of nails.
