In every place we explore and every culture we engage with, traces are left behind, manifesting as impressions and a subtle curiosity that gradually takes root within us.
By Quỳnh Anh
In every place we explore and every culture we engage with, traces are left behind, manifesting as impressions and a subtle curiosity that gradually takes root within us.
For some, these experiences are tucked away in the recesses of memory, treasured like rare gems in the chest of personal knowledge.
Yet for others, they spark a deeper exploration, an enduring attachment, and a passionate devotion, as if they’ve discovered a fateful connection they were destined to follow.
Benoit's Chú Ben Bánh Mì is unique for its innovative creations such as Vietnamese sweet baguette with fruits and fish sauce caramel. — Photos courtesy of Benoit Chaigneau
Such is the story of Benoit Chaigneau, 53, from France, who decided to stay in Việt Nam and pursue his dream of making fish sauce into a global high-end product after just one taste of the iconic condiment.
In early 2020, Benoit came here for business, but he got stranded in Quảng Nam Province due to COVID-19.
During that time, Benoit, a media professional with over 20 years of experience as a journalist, producer, TV host, and food critic, began researching fish sauce and its ingredients.
His journey started with a motorbike trip across Việt Nam to the traditional fish sauce regions.
In Quảng Nam, where he discovered his favourite fish sauce, he spent three days lying in a hammock outside a house in Tam Kỳ, waiting for an elderly local to teach him the craft.
From there, Benoit learned how to select fish and salt, as well as the techniques for blending and fermenting.
“It was like love at first sight. I immediately felt like I belonged to this country without knowing why. I think the link had been in my blood for a long time,” he told Việt Nam News.
“I come from the South of France, and around the Mediterranean we eat a lot of anchovies: salted, fermented, fresh… so the taste of fish sauce was both familiar and wonderfully exotic to me.
“I spent months learning all the secrets of the Vietnamese traditional fish sauce before starting to create my own recipe, infusing spices to modify the flavour, trying to build bridges between Vietnamese and western tastes.
“The fish sauce that is usually exported from Việt Nam is very traditional and is mainly purchased by Asian customers living abroad. My target is the remaining market, people who would never think about using fish sauce just because they don’t know how to,” he explained.
Benoit (on the left) observing a local at the Cửa Khe traditional fish sauce village in Quảng Nam, who shared insights about the sauce with him.
Once he mastered the process, Benoit set out to create a premium fish sauce with unique flavours for upscale restaurants.
He travelled extensively, experimenting with different spices and seeds, carefully fermenting them with fresh fish sauce over three to six months.
After discarding dozens of failed batches due to unsatisfactory results, Benoit stumbled upon a bottle of fish sauce he had forgotten under the sink for a long time.
To his surprise, it had developed a smoky aroma, a breakthrough that would shape his creation.
Once he perfected the recipe, Benoit named it Chú Ben fish sauce (the fish sauce of Uncle Ben) then sent it to friends who are chefs at upscale restaurants in France, Hong Kong and Việt Nam, receiving positive feedback in return.
But he also created a lot of recipes to show how this fish sauce can be used for all kinds of cuisine, not only Asian, such as mayonnaise, salad dressings, marinades and simple seasonings, but also paired with unexpected ingredients such as foie gras, cheese and even pastry and desserts.
Benoit is currently hosting workshops on fish sauce, teaching its uses and production, while participants create their own infused versions.
“In the fermentation process, I am not looking for a high degree of protein but more to hit the right note of fish aroma. Infusing spices helps me balance the usual pungent flavour of the traditional fish sauce by bringing some smoked aromas that makes my customer think about high end products like smoked salmon for example,” Benoit said.
“The aroma of a luxury fish sauce must be delicate and complex; you should only notice it when it's missing, not when it’s present.
“Made this way, it’s a perfect product to enhance all kinds of food, reveal the aromas of the ingredients, and bring umami and saltiness,” he added.
Benoit also innovated the packaging, using bottles with spray nozzles for his fish sauce.
He found that using the right amount of fish sauce when cooking was tricky, so he has been looking for a smart and different way to use it.
Making fish sauce is such a hard and delicate job that he always thinks it’s a pity to mix it with water, sugar, chilli and garlic. It kills the delicacy of the pure product and the dipping also kills the taste and complexity of the ingredients.
With the spray, customers can use the fish sauce like you would use salt, for seasoning grilled meat, adding a delicate salty and fishy taste on a salad for example, just by adapting the seasoning.
He explained: “When air is added to the fish sauce in the spray, it also helps reveal the delicate and complex aromas of the product.”
Chú Ben Fish Sauce features a range of flavoured fish sauces, each with its own unique packaging.
Building his own fish sauce brand, Benoit handled everything from production to sales.
But those challenges soon began to overwhelm the Frenchman as he embarked on his first start-up in a foreign land.
Working with locals in Quảng Nam, Benoit often found himself moved by their family dinners, stirring a deep sense of homesickness.
As a foreigner making fish sauce, Benoit’s initial product was met with scepticism, some of the people he approached thought he was crazy and mocked him.
In mid-2021 he returned to France, uncertain about continuing.
With encouragement from his family, Benoit came back to Việt Nam and pitched his project on the Shark Tank TV Show to secure investment in 2024, but he was rejected.
Determined not to give up, he continued to create and develop other brands, like Mắm House Restaurant (the house of fish sauce) and Chú Ben Bánh mì (the Vietnamese baguette of Uncle Ben).
He also passionately believes that many Vietnamese products such as Lý Sơn’s black garlic, green chilli salt sauce, dổi seeds (Michelia tonkinensis seeds), mắc mật leaves (Clausena indica leaves) and many more can find their way onto the international market.
“If you want something you never had, you should start doing things you never did. I believe that there is no success without taking risks,” he said.
“It’s the first time I've started a business. Luckily, I have met the right partners and together we make this company grow and reach every day more objectives and customers.
“Being 50 or 25 doesn’t change anything, what matters most is the sincerity and the energy you put into the project, how strongly you believe in what you do and the passion that moves you.
“I have hundreds of projects in mind to showcase Vietnamese culinary culture to the world.”— VNS
You can find the French entrepreneur and his products at:
Mắm House & Chú Ben Bánh Mì: 16 Phan Chu Trinh, Hội An Ancient Town, Quảng Nam Province, Việt Nam
