Former Vietnamese TV Chef Buys Freddie’s Pizza & Donair in Dieppe
DIEPPE – Quang Tran, a former Iron Chef Vietnam contestant, moved to Greater Moncton to become the head chef of an Asian restaurant almost five years ago. Today, he owns the Freddie’s Pizza & Donair in Dieppe.
“A friend of mine recommend[ed] it. So I came to the store. Watching. Counting. And then I decide to get it,” he said.
Hakim Mestassi, the owner of the restaurant at 504 Champlain Street, was looking to sell quickly. He needed to return to Morocco for at least “a couple of months” to take care of his sick mother, Mestassi said.
So on March 1, Tran and his wife Lucy opened the restaurant as its new owners. During the day, their customers are mostly students from the nearby high school and elementary school. In the nighttime, the orders are mostly for delivery to families.
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The Freddie’s chain was started by Fahed “Freddie” Doumani. It has four locations in the Moncton region, one in Newfoundland, one in Amherst, Nova Scotia and one in Saint John. The Dieppe location opened seven years ago.
The chain is known for its donairs, pizzas and shawarmas that are made with fresh ingredients. The Dieppe location doesn’t sell shawarmas. Tran said customers love the pizza because it’s “crunchy, not too thick, and the toppings are always fresh.”
“They have a good recipe and a secret to making a good sauce that we have to follow when we signed the contract for the franchise,” he said.
Down the road, he said there’s room to add menu items, including Vietnamese food.
“My dream [was] always opening a Vietnamese restaurant here. But when the chance comes, I don’t want to say no. I will take this and step by step I can add some items.”
Tran arrived in Canada as a skilled worker in the food and beverage industry. He worked as head chef of Mai Asian Restaurant for nearly five years. Because his sponsor was only willing to support him, he wasn’t able to bring his family for the first three years. A year and a half ago, his family came to join him after he received permanent residency status.
“So far I’m really happy now. I have a house, I have a business, my family always stay together and have more fun,” he said.
Tran had wanted to come to Canada for more than a decade. In 2003, his sister-in-law told him about the skilled worker immigration program. One of the skills needed at the time was cooking. To learn how to cook, Tran essentially asked for a demotion, moving from the front desk job at a five-star hotel in Vietnam to the kitchen.
He later moved to the larger city of Ho Chi Minh to study at a culinary school. That’s where he began building his reputation as one of Vietnam’s top chefs, serving at four- and five-star hotels, resorts and fine dining restaurants. He has also cooked at the White House when he was on a U.S. tour and taught at the International Culinary School in Ho Chi Minh City.
In 2012, he became a contestant in the first season of Iron Chef Vietnam. He also hosted his own TV show teaching Vietnamese celebrities how to cook along with him. But in Canada, he has to start all over again.
“Here in Canada, nobody knows me. So if I want to build my name, do stuff from zero, I try to focus every day, I try to make good food for the customer even if I’m working for the boss, not for me,” he said. “But I love cooking, I have a passion for cooking. When you put your love in the cooking, day by day, the customer can feel your food, can enjoy your food. And that makes you happy.”
Now with his own business, the father of two said he’d rather not share it with an investor.
“I just try my best every day. Even if the weather is not good, or the staff is not enough, but whenever the customers come to the store, I bring out the big smile, I bring out the good food, and I make them happy. That’s what I focus on.”