Born and raised in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, pastry chef Ha Pham spent the early years of her childhood involved in the culinary world of Vietnam. With both parents being in the food manufacturing business, she was always surrounded by the rich cultures and flavors of her native country.
Upon relocating to the United States, she found self-expression and artistic comfort in the world of pastry arts. Ha would often experiment with simple home-baking recipes and developed an interest in the grand scale and creative potential of showpiece sculptures at a young age. By the age of 16, she had taken the idea of a possible career in the kitchen seriously. Landing jobs as a barista and a line cook before eventually becoming a cake decorator.
This passion led her to pursue a formal culinary education at Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte, North Carolina. Simultaneously, she was also working as a pastry cook at a nearby upscale dining restaurant La Belle Helene. Under the guidance of her pastry chef, she honed her skills and worked her way through the industry. With her love for travel, Ha relocated throughout the states of California, Nebraska, North Carolina, and eventually Florida, working her way through numerous restaurants, bakeries, and hotels.
For the past 3 years, she has had the chance to lead the team of David Ramirez Chocolates as Pastry Sous Chef, developing her skills as a chocolatier as well as guiding the team through the business of working in a manufacturing production company. "It takes a specific personality to thrive in the environment of a kitchen," stated Pham, "I find comfort in the busy kitchen, to know that when I am creating and working, everything around me seems peaceful despite the world outside going a mile a minute." Now, as the pastry chef of La Maison Du Macaron, Ha aims to bring French recipes with vibrant and classic flavors to customers' homes as well as continue to lead and inspire the next generation of pastry chefs to not be afraid of keeping the traditional techniques and flavors of pastries alive.
