September 24, 2019
From refugee to Red Lantern, be inspired at October Business Month
Pauline Nguyen has succeeded in one of the toughest industries in the world: hospitality.
Her Red Lantern restaurant in Sydney has been running for 18 years and is believed to be the most awarded Vietnamese restaurant in the world.
Ms Nguyen will be a keynote speaker in Darwin during October Business Month.
She will speak on 14 October and lead a cooking masterclass on 15 October.
Territorians in the hospitality industry in particular are being encouraged to attend.
For details and to book, go to the OBM event booking portal
Ms Nguyen, who has written two best-selling books, Secrets of the Red Lantern and The Way of the Spiritual Entrepreneur, will tell the extraordinary story of how she and her family arrived in Australia from a refugee camp in Thailand after fleeing Vietnam in a tiny, handmade fishing boat and spending nine terrifying days at sea.
But the torment wasn’t over when she settled in Australia.
“After all we went through, my father suffered from PTSD and my brothers and I were on the receiving end of the violence, anger and abuse - both verbal and physical - that resulted from that trauma,” she says.
“It got to the point where I could no longer accept this was my life - I was depressed and suicidal and so, at 17, I ran away from home. I put myself through university and used my previous experience to work my way up the ladder in some of Sydney’s best restaurants.”
Most restaurants fold within two years. What’s the secret to her extraordinary success?
“Customer service, staff retention, food quality, good relationships with suppliers. And you need grit, courage and resilience.
“All these things will help Territory businesses not only survive but thrive.
“Working in a restaurant is hard work, emotionally and physically - and we have to have a smile on our face all the time.”
Ms Nguyen will tell Territory businesses that success demands another quality - self-mastery.
“You must remain in-spirit and inspired,” she says.
Ms Nguyen, who was named Newcomer Writer of the Year at the Australian Book Industry Awards in 2008, and the Telstra Business Award for Medium Businesses in 2012, says she is often asked if she is embarrassed to tell her grim but ultimately uplifting life story.
“Not at all,” she says. “This is my life, this is my story and I openly share my story in the service of others.”